A new adventure ahead 🐥

Some of you may or may not know: I’m having a baby!

Well, physically, I’m not having a baby – but my lovely wife is. Together, we’re growing our family – and we couldn’t be more excited. This is a new life adventure we’ve been planning for a longgg time. You can probably imagine the hurdles that exist as a queer/lesbian couple trying to navigate what it takes to bring a baby into this world. I will spare you the details (and bitching) about that process, but let’s just say, we’re so glad to have made it to the other side and are very excited to welcome our baby this month or early next (the official due date is March 1).

With this massive life change comes a shift in my freelance work – for the meantime, at least. I’ll be taking 3-months off (~March-May) of writing and lightening my client workload to spend time with Courtney and our new little one. I can’t imagine a better time to bond, connect as a family, and ease into our new normal than in those early months of our baby’s life.

Our baby shower was camping-themed – of course. We had a tent filled with baby gifts, a build-your-own trail mix station and a chili bar, and a hand-made cut out of my adventure van, Urb. We’re so lucky to have such a loving and supportive Village of family and friends to celebrate with us.

I am SO excited to share that I’ve kicked off with a new client: the Thruhikers.

You all may know Tim and Renee from TikTok. They boast a community of over 2.1M followers on TikTok and hundreds of thousands more followers across YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. They’re a dream team to work with.

I’m helping them with a slew of projects — mainly project management and support on various projects including media relations, affiliate marketing, social media efforts, and continuing growing sales for their amazing and recently launched cookbook: Thruhikers: A Guide to Life on the Trail.

PR folks and Brand marketers 👉 If you’d like to connect on creative brand collaborations to reach their MASSIVE audience, please let me know. They love dreaming up brand partnerships and content ideas – and I’d be happy to make the intro.

Backpacker / Outside: These Are the Best Hiking Destinations for Every Month in 2025

Backpacker: 17 New Year’s Resolutions Every Backpacker and Thru-Hiker Should Consider

Treeline Review: Best Waterproof Socks of 2024/2025

CNN Underscored: The best sleeping bags in 2024, tried and tested

Michigan.org Blog: Where to Winter Stargaze in Michigan

Field Mag: Stay in a Modern-Meets-Retro Motel in the Mountains of Vermont

PR folks: I would still love to receive your pitches, product and destination updates, and story ideas. I’m not completely shutting off work but I likely won’t commit to much pitching until closer to May.

Freelance peers: I will still be following along with your writing endeavors and adventures on Instagram! And as always, find me there too!

Let’s pick back up in May!

With a new baby comes pulling back a bit on travel, which is *totally* fine with me given I’ve been on the road so much and so often the past few years. That said, my wife and I are planning a road trip around Michigan, the Upper Penninsula, Wisconsin, and Illinois at some point in the spring (Mayish?). We’re VERY stoked to camp and explore with a little one –and we’re not wasting any time doing so. Stay tuned on the adventure to come!

Shameless plug to listen to my recent interview on Chicago NPR station WBEZ ➡️ Winter Adventures in and Around the City 🎙

I’ve also been loving Sierra Ferrell – and, specifically, one of her new songs, Dollar Bill Bar.

Thanks for reading ✌️

Your pal, Erica ✨