#outdoorafro

Introducing Taishya Adams, Policy Director at Outdoor Afro and newly appointed Business Advisory Council member!

I’ve been working on the camper for about 4 weeks now after a 4 month break. I realized early on that I can’t work on the camper if it’s under 50 degrees so I pushed to get the fiberglass and paint done before closing down for the winter.

Now I’m back and I’ve spent the last 4 weeks worried about the tail and marker lights. I had to install and wire the brand new tail and marker lights and I’d never done any electrical work before. The first hurdle was finding the time to wire the camper. Youtube tutorials said it should take 30 minutes to an hour to wire a trailer. I expected it to take me even longer because I needed drill holes to feed the wires in and out of the camper. I also had to make a wiring map to reference throughout the process. In the end it took me 3-4 hours to finish and when I plugged the camper into our SUV nothing lit up. This was the second hurdle.

That was hard. Because I had no idea how to figure out why it didn’t light. I guessed that either my map was wrong (it wasn’t) or that my connections weren’t secure enough (they weren’t). So I called my mechanic. He came out and did a free look over and confirmed my suspicions. Everything was wired correctly, I just needs special adapters and connectors to complete the circuit. 2 weeks later, he came back and secured everything. Even though all the wires were in the right place and matched up perfectly, the connectors required a lot attention to detail and it took him another 3.5 hours to finish. When we plugged the camper into the SUV, it lit up! 

I don’t know the last time I squealed with so much joy. Until this point, I’d spent so much time second guessing this project. I thought I was in over my head. I thought the lights would never work. I again wondered if I should just sell it. But now I am ready to finish. I’m riding this excitement wave until the end. At this point I estimate 2-3 weeks until it is camping ready. Maybe a few more weeks to be “done” (decorating, etc). The end it in sight. I can’t believe it.

Here are some photos of the current interior. While waiting to get the lights working, I filled some wall patches, added some waterproofing to the interior cardboard, installed the ceiling panels, finished the bunk bed structure, made progress on the pop top, and cleaned up the door frame. 

For everyone who’s just joining us, Roe & E here, two brown folks living their liberation right now. We’ve decided next year we’re hiking the John Muir Trail, a 221-mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail, and I thought it might be cool to interview the mastermind behind this big feat, E. Johnson. I was curious about what the hell this has to do with minimalism and, like, why would we do this in the first place?

Q: What do you think about the stereotype, “Black people don’t camp” and what does that mean to you?

A: Well, I think it’s like every other stereotype. It’s short-sighted and unrealistic. It’s basically saying Black people don’t because black people can’t, when really black people don’t until black people do.

((shakes head)) I don’t buy into stereotypes in general. We’re too expansive to be limited.

Q: Okay, so, in the past, you might have laughed and described yourself as “indoorsy”. The John Muir Trail is so…not that. Why this trail and what put you on about it? Why the change of heart?

A: I didn’t like the idea of limiting myself. Especially when I see so many more possibilities than I do limitations. I actually saw a documentary about it called, “Mile. Mile and a Half.” and the views that were captured were pretty awe-inspiring. And the idea of it being so accessible and so shared by those in the group made it seem that much more endearing and it sparked my curiosity. So, after a lot more page searches and video-watchings, the possibilities far outweighed any potential reason for self-limitation.

Q: Okay, I can see that. So, to you, what does thru-hiking have to do with minimalism?

A: This is actually a sectional hike. A thru-hike is a long-distance trail, end-to-end, within a single hiking season. So, [ even though the JMT is 211-miles long } it doesn’t go from one country to another [ Mexico to Canada ]. Even still, it forces you to be intentional with every item you feel you need and want. It forces you to prioritize the value something has for you.

If I had to carry all the things I really value, what would I choose? What would I bring? And that forces me to really dig deep and hone in on what makes something valuable in my life. It forces me to ask the big questions.

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