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Derick Lugo is back!
37 Plays16 days ago
Join Alasdair and our first revisiting guest, Derick Lugo, on launch day of his new book! We discuss the expectations in writing a second book, how the process has changed and we discuss some of the stories embedded within this amazing book!
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Transcript
Introduction to the Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the Outdoorsy Educator podcast, where learning gets a breath of fresh air. I'm your host Alistair, and each week I talk with people from all walks of life to explore how education, the outdoors, and real-world experiences shape who we are.
00:00:19
Speaker
From classrooms to campfires, trails to town halls, we dig into the lessons that move us, challenge us, stick with us, and can make the world a better place.
00:00:35
Speaker
And
Special Edition with Derek Lugo
00:00:36
Speaker
on this very special edition of the Outdoorsy Educator podcast, we have our very first returning guest, Derek Lugo. Derek, how are you today? Hey, I'm your very first returning guest. You are a first returning guest. What an honor. Yeah, man. I love it.
00:00:52
Speaker
Well, we're releasing this on a special day as well. Instead of
Celebrating Derek's New Book Release
00:00:56
Speaker
usually releasing the episode on Mondays, we do we are releasing it on Tuesday, February 3rd. A very special day in the life of Derek Lugo. Derek, tell us why this is a special day for you.
00:01:07
Speaker
Oh, man. This is the ah the book release day of my second book, A Fabulous Stuhl-Hike. So many of you who are listening will either have heard Derek's previous podcast with me, another podcast, or read his book, The Unlikely Thruhiker. And this, while it's not necessarily sequel, it follows a similar similar genre. Why don't you tell us a little bit about this book?
00:01:30
Speaker
Yeah, this follows ah Mr. Fabulous's new adventure. So this is 10 years after my through hike of the Appalachian Trail.
00:01:41
Speaker
And
Adventure on the Continental Divide Trail
00:01:42
Speaker
it goes into new territory, the Constantly Bide Trail, where it's one of the harder of the three main trails, the three main trails being the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. So it's 3,100 miles of the trail, deserts, high peaks, totally different terrain than I've ever done. I've never hiked in the desert, things like that.
00:02:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's it's it's like, do I still have it? um And how do I mess this up and then try to fix it? I love that. And I don't know the numbers, but just knowing about hiking in the outdoor worlds i'm at the outdoor world, I'm going to assume that this is the least hiked of the Triple Crown trails. It is. Yeah.
00:02:31
Speaker
Yeah. i mean, when people talk to me about hiking and camping, everyone knows the ATE. And everyone knows that the PCT, that the Continental Divide Trail, be what is that? Where does that go to and from? um It still seems to be a little bit of a mystery.
00:02:47
Speaker
Yeah, i'm I'm really excited about this book because they there there aren't many books out there about the Continental Divide Trail. And... When I finished the trail and the experience that I had, i was very, very excited about just diving in and not just writing about my experience, but also writing about the trail.
00:03:09
Speaker
my um a few editors from my new publisher said, let's make this let's make the trail character, which I had already started doing it, but I went even deeper and just got people to learn and and understand understand and and and and follow me along this this trail that not people not many people actually travel through.
Reflecting on Writing Success and Challenges
00:03:40
Speaker
Yeah, that's something that I really enjoyed about your first book, The Unlikely Thru Hiker, was there's loads of guidebooks out there on the ATE, and that wasn't it, which I really appreciated. Of course, you you talk about the trail, but it was much more about your personal journey on on it, um yeah which I really enjoyed.
00:03:59
Speaker
Yeah, and in a way, the first book was easy because I didn't and to anticipate anything. I just wanted to share my story about the Appalachian Trail. So I was like, you know, who yeah no one's going to hopefully judge my my my book. And if they do, who cares? There's so many out there. um It turned out to be, you know, it was a um success.
00:04:21
Speaker
And I'm thankful for that. But this one was a bit tricky because I wanted to make sure if it's oh If there aren't many books out there, I want it to be a really good one. And I did care how people, if people were getting something out of it. And when I say something out of it, it's either good stories, learning about the trail, and hopefully being inspired to go out there and and either do the trail or do something out of the ordinary.
00:04:46
Speaker
I love that. I'd love to ask you about... Nea, we've talked about your first book a little bit, and obviously we want to focus on the book that's coming out today. How did the writing process vary from the first book to the second? Yeah, the first book, um I...
00:05:03
Speaker
I had so much time with the first book. No one knew who I was. um I didn't have to go and I didn't have any crazy responsibilities. So I just took all day writing. I'd get up in the morning and I decided I would write a certain amount of words, started with 500 and 1,000 and 1,500 words a day.
00:05:23
Speaker
And it wouldn't stop till I got to that word count. With ah the second book, I couldn't do that because when I got off the trail, I had to quickly get back to, ah I focused on teaching about the outdoors.
00:05:40
Speaker
So I would do talks. I had small writing projects I was doing. So I couldn't just get back and take more time off and just focus on writing. So I decided I was going to just do time. So every morning I get up and when I first started, it was like maybe 20 minutes, 30 minutes of writing.
00:06:00
Speaker
Then I move on. And then within a few weeks ended up being like the whole morning i was writing. So I would write from, you know, whatever, six, seven till 10, 11, 12. But it took a while to to get to that point. So the beginning was word count. Second time was um really time. I made sure that if I'm gonna write, I'm write up to this point. And then, know, as long as i felt like I did something that day, then I knew I was moving forward with the story.
00:06:32
Speaker
That's, you've really touched it. I love this. You've really touched on the next question I wanted to ask you. And I was thinking a lot about expectations. When you wrote this first book, it sounds like there wasn't a lot of expectations placed on yourself or from outside sources. But I'm imagining that may have shifted a little bit this time. Could you talk a little bit about that?
00:06:51
Speaker
Yeah, as soon as I got off the trail, two things people were asking me. When are you doing the Pacific Crest Trail? Right. And when's the book coming out for the Continental Divide Trail that I just finished? And, you know, some people think you just finish and within a week you got a book written. No, no I don't know if people really think that, but um it takes a while. So with this one, I knew I had to.
00:07:17
Speaker
The first book, again, i didn't have... No one was really anticipating anything from me. And I also didn't have a publisher. no one knew who was. I didn't have a writing resume.
00:07:29
Speaker
So it took it took a year and a half, two years to write the book, the manuscript, and then a few more years to find a publisher, and then another year to get it published because it takes a while even if you have a publisher.
00:07:44
Speaker
um But this time around, I knew that it had to be a bit faster. i had to cut that in time. I mean, I finished the trail in 2012, the AT, and then it got the book, The Unlikely Thru Hiker, was published seven years later, and I didn't want that to happen again. So this time around, I i threw hiked the Continental Divide Trail in 22, finished the book in 23, and
00:08:09
Speaker
and had a publisher by 24. So um it still so took some time I had it published by 24, but it took about a year and a half to actually get it published.
00:08:22
Speaker
So... Right. That was the difference. That's the difference. I think a lot about this. A friend of mine years ago once told me that everybody has a book in them. Not that everyone should publish it or should should follow, but everyone has a really good story to share with the world. And...
00:08:40
Speaker
I've got no immediate goals of doing that, but maybe one day. But I was thinking about this. When did you consider yourself or call yourself for the very first time an author? Oh, when I got published. i mean, I. That was the moment.
00:08:52
Speaker
Yeah, I would always say I'm i'm i'm a big believer that. Some people are afraid to say they're a writer. And I think if even if you write your journal, you're a writer, that that doesn't matter. Getting published is is is different. You're an actual, you become an author.
00:09:09
Speaker
And when my first book got published, I became an author. Before that, I was writing short stories, manuscripts that I i finished, some I didn't finish, poems, bad poems. you write um But nothing that ever I ever published until The Unlikely Threw Hikers. So that was the first time when said, oh, okay, I've reached that goal.
Passion for Writing and Future Goals
00:09:32
Speaker
What's next? So I knew I wanted to continue writing, getting published, and just wanted to reach more people. So never satisfied with just one goal. Got to keep going and and try to, you know, with with anything better myself.
00:09:47
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, i don't want to give too much away about the book, but I want to dip our toes into some specifics, of course, whet the appetite so people yeah know what it's bit more about. I was wondering if there was any part of this book that you almost left out and what does what did you well why did you decide to keep it in?
00:10:06
Speaker
Good one. um There may not be, of course, but I just thought there there may be. they they You know what? I almost kept out. There was a part with a hiker that this is my story. So I can't really, didn't want to dive into, um, another hiker's experience, but when that experience, uh, is mixed with mine, i wanted to share some of it. And it was very, I felt it was impactful for myself and for that hiker. And I thought for the readers, if I did share a bit of that hiker's experience, um,
00:10:44
Speaker
and not giving away the the main, there's like three other main characters, I call them Kappa hikers in the story, and in a my Continental Divide Trail story.
00:10:57
Speaker
And Dan is his name, AKA Buck Wilde. And he was on a trail for many different reasons. I will get into it. It's in the book, ah but it was it was a little confusing for me to understand because I wanted the best for him.
00:11:15
Speaker
And he was a little hard headed and just couldn't figure it, you know, certain things out, but you gotta let people hike their own hike as they say, right? So, right but I would like to think that at the end, you know,
00:11:31
Speaker
we go through, you know, we're doing this amazing thing on trail and we're trying to learn or grow or something, get something out of it for, for ourselves for the through hike. And I think he did by the end and I love, and I will, I won't share at the end of it, but,
00:11:49
Speaker
there's something that it wraps up. And I was, I'm very grateful that he allowed me to share some of his story of his through hike. And because again, i wanted people, cause i learned from it and I wanted others to to learn from it as well.
Community and Long-Distance Hiking
00:12:05
Speaker
I love that. And I love that. And and this, your first two books now, it's it's not just about you. i love that your story is intertwined. It's like a tapestry, which is what Long Distant Hiking especially.
00:12:18
Speaker
i don't know anyone who hasn't be impacted ford's really good french it's all about the community of hikers ultimately exactly exactly when i first started through hiking i didn't realize that was a thing that there was an outdoor community a through hiking community um when i had someone read my manuscript for the second book they said the one thing i got out of it is that this book is about community.
00:12:47
Speaker
And I said, yeah, exactly. I love that. And coincidentally, I interviewed a lady for the podcast last week and it it actually came out yesterday. Amanda Black, who runs a company called the Solo Female Travel Network. And we actually ended up talking about the fact that I've heard this from other people too.
00:13:07
Speaker
they'll take people all over the world. She has traveled all over Africa, South America, seen literally seen the seven wonders of the world with groups. But then being a good business owner, she will survey the people that went on the trip about what worked, what didn't, what was your favorite moment.
00:13:22
Speaker
And i i don't want put words in her mouth, certainly, but I've heard that it comes as a surprise when people are like, yeah, Machu Picchu was great, but the friendships I forged on the trip was my favorite thing. And nobody expected that.
00:13:36
Speaker
You know, yeah they were going to see somewhere and ended up that was almost second place. I mean, we as humans, we need other humans. I didn't realize that until I was always a people person. But when I hit the AT, that's when I was like, whoa, there's something about humanity that you don't really get.
00:13:59
Speaker
in the busy, in the quote unquote real world. When you step back, you're doing something out of the ordinary and you're just focusing on that and everyone around you is doing the same thing. that's it just changes your perspective of people.
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah, and I find that to be an unexpected thread through my podcast when I talk to people from all walks of life, it always boils back down to the people, whatever it is they're doing, wherever they are.
00:14:27
Speaker
Yeah, and and I think that's why my first book was a success, and I hope this one follows, is that I love writing about dialogue because I love the conversations I had on the trail. And um yeah, just people like to see the how how strangers and people from different parts of the country, even the world, are are just connected.
00:14:49
Speaker
And the the the conversations we have and the laughs and the experience is just... it's it's yeah It's a great thing. It's a beautiful thing. and but We have both attended two different trail days together, one in Virginia, one in Oregon.
00:15:06
Speaker
And you're right, it's that sense of community. There's an immediate bond there to where I certainly feel I could just go up and talk to anybody. um And it's something I felt during various hikes, the the sort of irony of when you're on the trail,
00:15:20
Speaker
It's an immediate icebreaker. You're there with your brothers and sisters on a hike, but sometimes 100 yards away, there's there's a busy road. And you would never dream of talking to somebody. You're passing, walking through Brooklyn, you know, where you're from. You know, you just kind of keep your head down and mind your own business.
00:15:38
Speaker
And this I think about that a lot, you know. Yes. I'm so grateful for that too. My life is so much better because of it. I've met people that I would have never have met or hung out with um on the trail. And it's just, it's just a blessing. It's something i always say that it should be mandatory for people to to do a through hike, not necessarily the AT or the long run, just to show.
00:16:07
Speaker
ah few weeks out there yeah of the outdoors and meeting people because it should it should be a part part of your life. Yeah, I mean, that's something I do a couple of times a year. I try to go for a hundred mile hike somewhere because it's it i meet really interesting. people every I've never not met fascinating people, but man, it's good for the soul.
00:16:27
Speaker
Man, it's good to have that emotional reset. You and I got to do a ah through hike or a backpacking trip this year. I'm I'm I'll be in Texas this year for my book tour. That's right. Come on down. and um There's a few good ones knocking around. this I've never done Eagle Rock Loop that's in Arkansas, but it's a few hours drive for me.
00:16:50
Speaker
Let's do it. Yeah. still It looks like a cool one. Sign me up. But speaking it of the trails, if we go back to the actual CDT, in my head, and tell me if I'm wrong here, it's a little less defined, a little more unpredictable,
00:17:04
Speaker
than other trails might be. did what Is that true? And did that kind of uncertainty change or shape your experience on that trail in particular? It's true, yes. Unlike the AT, the Continental Divide Trail is...
00:17:20
Speaker
a few different trails. You don't just stick to one trail. um There's alternate trails that most hikers, about 99.9% of the hikers take, especially like the Gila River alternate section, where you can take a section that you're crossing a lot of the same river several times and you're just surrounded by cliff dwellings. It's beautiful.
00:17:43
Speaker
Or you can just catch that typee the CDT where none of that is there. And people do the the the alternate. so And then you have, there may be fires, forest fires or weather that what you have to do road walking. There's a lot of road walking. on the console, not all of it is connected by trail.
00:18:06
Speaker
So um I was wary at first because I read somewhere that I should expect to be lost an hour a day, every day on the console divide trail.
00:18:18
Speaker
That said, I think that was before the app was out. You know, we have now the the far out app and that helped a lot. Once I figured out how how to use it, it was my first time using an app.
Navigating the Continental Divide Trail with Technology
00:18:30
Speaker
um once I figured it out, it was a bit easier. I still get turned around, so um you know i it it it doesn't matter. It just it just happens.
00:18:41
Speaker
But um to have the app made it kind of a bit more comfortable for me, and I was able to backtrack if I went the wrong way. So that was the one thing I was thinking, okay, this is a longer trail of almost a thousand more miles than the AT. It's harder.
00:18:58
Speaker
I just took it one step at a time and solved problems. is as they they came up and like you read in a book on the first day I had a problem. so Right. Right. Yeah. I've read, you know, I don't, I didn't know if I should say, but yeah, I've read the book and it's fantastic. man I think will be recommending this to anyone who will listen. um I was thinking this morning before we started what questions to ask you and you know where where to go with this conversation. And I think this question could go one of two ways. I was wondering if you could walk one section of the CDT again, which section would it be and why? Because it could have been one you perhaps had to you know go around or skip, there was a fire or was one particularly breathtaking, impactful.
00:19:47
Speaker
It was a small stretch to do again. I would say i would do the, the glaciers again in Montana. It was like the last section is so beautiful.
00:20:00
Speaker
I would do that again. um i would go back. There's two sections. That one, and then I would go back and do the southern San Juan's because I wasn't able to hit the mountain section of it because we were there too early and the snow was too too bad. and all the hikers that were i even took a week off to...
00:20:20
Speaker
to kind of let the the the snow melt and it be it would be, it thought it would be safer for all of us to hike, but we just couldn't. And during that time, everyone that was through hiking had to take it the alternate route below, which is just as beautiful. Well, maybe not just a few, but it was still beautiful. um And you can see the the the top of the mountains from a distance and stuff. But um yeah, I would do that. I would do those two sections again.
00:20:49
Speaker
I love that. um Something else I was thinking about this morning was some some universal truths about long distance hiking. We've talked about community and people.
00:21:00
Speaker
And something else I tend to find is true is people start these long distance hikes with questions. That question could be very deep and internal. It could be, what's my next career move? Can I do this? Is this for me? A range of questions.
00:21:15
Speaker
And I was wondering now that both your hike and the book are finished. What questions do you still have or did you enter the trail with or enter the publishing and and writing of the book with that may still linger or do you have new questions for the next section of your life?
00:21:31
Speaker
Yeah, I would say was it was 10 years after the AT and I wasn't sure also a few more few months before I started the Continental Divide Trail I attempted to do the long trail and um ah and in today Two days into that through hike, I got off because i my my my water filter was not working correctly and I was drinking contaminated water. i was drinking beaver dam water, which is probably the worst water you've been drinking. Right, right.
00:22:05
Speaker
um And after that, it left me a little shook and I thought, can I still do this? And then something inside me felt like... One, it was time for me to to do another Thu Hike and to see if I can can do it after all this time. And to kind kind of get up, i most of my stories in both of my books,
00:22:29
Speaker
are about getting knocked down and then dusting yourself off and trying to figure out how you can move forward and make the best out of a situation. And I think that's what I wanted to do with the console on the biotrail. I was very uncertain. I wasn't sure why I was doing it. But what I did know was that I wanted to at least try and
00:22:54
Speaker
maybe have a story for for to share with others of how, again, i got knocked down and was able to get up and move forward and be successful at whatever goal I wanted um for that time.
00:23:08
Speaker
I love that. And I think that ties into really my final question I'd written down for you today, which is, what do you hope this book gives readers permission to do in their own lives, whether that's on the trail or off?
Inspiring Extraordinary Adventures
00:23:21
Speaker
I think it's the same as the first book. What I've got from people saying that um now they're they're inspired either to do a through hike or to get out there and hike or to do something out of the ordinary. And I think this second book echoes the first one.
00:23:38
Speaker
New adventures, new amazing people, but same humor, same way of telling a story, um but just a lot more of it.
00:23:49
Speaker
I
Where to Purchase the Book
00:23:50
Speaker
love it. And then as we've talked about right at the beginning, your book is released today, which is very exciting. Where can people find it, support you? What's the best way to get a copy of this book in their hands and then become part of the, I like to think it as the unlikely community. Yeah. Okay.
00:24:09
Speaker
you get Yeah, you can you can buy anywhere you buy your favorite books. um You can get it, um Barnes & Noble, Amazon, small indie books. if You can get it on my website, DerekLugo.com.
00:24:24
Speaker
Yeah, anywhere you get anywhere you get books. While I'm on the road, I think it would be more beneficial if you want signed copies to get it on my my website. Other than that, yeah, anywhere you feel comfortable getting your books.
00:24:39
Speaker
Awesome. And i I got to know you through your first book and I purchased a signed copy and I'd highly recommend that because that's something I think, you know, many, many years down the line, what are my kids going to be left with to clear out of my house when I'm gone? And I've told them if the book is not signed,
00:24:56
Speaker
with one or two exceptions. Give it give it to charities, sell it, do what you want. But if it's signed, it's signed for a reason. So hold on to those ones. Even if you don't like it, you're not allowed to throw it away. um So I'd highly recommend going through DerekLugo.com.
Engagement on Social Media
00:25:13
Speaker
And you're on but Facebook, Instagram, TikTok. You could be yeah found on all these places, right?
00:25:19
Speaker
Yes, all of them. I focus more on Instagram, but... My Instagram goes straight to my my my Facebook, and i've been I've been doing TikTok as well. So, yeah.
00:25:29
Speaker
Yeah, I love it. Well, I can't wait to get a physical copy of this book in my hands and read it, and I'll be sharing it with everyone who cares to listen about Fabulous Through Hike.
00:25:40
Speaker
Thank you, brother. I appreciate you. Absolutely, man. Derek, thank you so much for joining me again. It's been a pleasure as always. Thank you for having me, brother. Absolutely.
00:25:52
Speaker
Thank you again to this week's guest and I hope today's episode was as enjoyable for you as it was for me and perhaps even inspired your next adventure. If you did enjoy the show, please be sure to subscribe, leave a review or follow us wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more information at theoutdoorsyeducator.com or follow us on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook. Until next time, thank you so much for listening to The Outdoorsy Educator Podcast.