Wild camp in the Pyrenees
Van life, hiking and climbing across Europe
Home is where the handbrake holds.
I’m Aelita. Since 2022 I’ve lived full-time in a motorhome with my husband Tomas and our dogs, Summer and Shadow. This is where I write down the roads, passes and trails we find.
Pick a trail and start walking.
Every guide here comes from somewhere we parked, a route we climbed or a mistake we paid for. I include the costs, the parking spots and the bits that went wrong.
As you scroll, the marker on the right climbs from sea level to Passo Sella, the highest pass in my Dolomites series.
The series
Four passes, one campervan.
We drove the Dolomites one pass at a time and slept at the top of each. The line shows the real summit heights, in the order we drove them.
The map
Places with a story attached
Each pin is somewhere we parked, hiked or climbed. Click one to read the post. I add more as I write them.
Winters in Sicily, summers in the Italian Alps, and the kettle always within reach.
13+
countries
4
years on the road
15
years climbing and hiking
365
days a year outdoors
Fresh tracks
Latest from the trail
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Shakedown Hike Guide: Test Before You Backpack
A shakedown hike is a one to two-night test run with your full backpacking kit, done in real terrain with real elevation, before a…
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Backpacking water filters in Europe: what works (and what doesn’t)
A standard backpacking filter – the kind inside a LifeStraw or Sawyer- works by pushing water through a bundle of tiny hollow tubes, each…
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Backpacking sleep system for the Pyrenees: what we spent (and what went wrong)
A complete backpacking sleep system for summer mountain routes in Europe costs between €200 and €350 for one person – sleeping bag, inflatable mat,…
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Backpacking Gear Costs: What We Spent to Start Multi-Day Hiking in the Pyrenees
How much does it cost to start backpacking in Europe? For two people heading into the Pyrenees for seven days, our total spend came…
Who is writing
Meet the crew.
I’m Aelita, 39 and Lithuanian. In 2022 we swapped a flat for a motorhome and I’ve been writing things down ever since. I’m not a guide or an influencer. This is what happened to us, costs and mistakes included.
- Aelita
- Writes, films, cooks and knits
- Tomas
- Drives and reads the maps
- Summer
- First into every lake
- Shadow
- Trail scout