My name is Thomas, and I'm driving from Alaska to Argentina with my girlfriend Jessa in a 1986 Toyota motorhome. Over the next year. We're looking to make new friends along the way, and maybe find a few places to park our rig. We hope we can share some of our journey with you! That's the abbreviated version, read on if you'd like to learn more about me! And then check out our blog, TheLittleCamperThatCould.com for some of our stories from the road so far.

I have wanted to travel on an open ended schedule for a long time. I am lucky to have been raised in a family where we traveled often and that's where my wanderlust springs from. Since graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from UBC I have been working for an engineering consulting firm in Surrey. At a time when many of my colleagues are getting married and putting down payments on houses I have chosen to invest my money differently. Whether buying a house is the smartest way to invest your money aside, I have chosen to invest in an experience instead. When I come back I will likely have no money, no camper, and generally far fewer possessions than I own now. What I'll gain is a lot less tangible, and a lot less certain.

This February, in the midst of one if the poorest snow seasons in over a decade in British Columbia's coastal ranges, we headed to about the only place in the world we'd heard had snow, Japan. Jessa and I formulated the plan for the trip on a plane to Tokyo. Sometimes it takes 9 hours of being confined to an airplane seat to come up with this kind of idea. Between a 40 hour work week (or 50 or 60 or more), social engagements, family time, extracurriculars or whatever else takes up ones time I have found that it becomes very hard to find time for reflection and mindfulness.

We bounced many ideas around; Nepal, Bhutan, India. Ultimately we decided that the trip for us would be to drive from Alaska to Argentina, the great Pan American adventure. I was born in Calgary, and grew up skiing and hiking in the Canadian Rockies. I have always been drawn by the mountains, so it seemed a natural choice to start in the legendary Chugach and Alaska Ranges and work our way down to the Andes; hiking, skiing, surfing, and climbing all the way down.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

By building relationships, learning lots and hopefully teaching a thing or two during my travels

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I couch surfed in Greece when I was backpacking in Europe in 2010, I'm looking forward to more great experiences down the road.

Interests

Surfing, hiking, listening to music, learning banjo, taking photos, relaxing!

• wildlife
• walking
• traveling
• blogging
• investing
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• surfing
• skiing
• rock climbing
• engineering
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

I think all genres have great music, and I like hearing music I've never heard before. I like playing guitar and singing

I like reading books that teach I can learn from or that take me away from reality

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

After I graduated from UBC in 2012 I hiked the North Coast Trail on Vancouver Island solo. It was an incredible week spent walking through rugged rain forest and camping on beaches. I saw a great deal of wildlife and met some great people on the trail.

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Norway

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