Beyond climbing crags and areas like eastern Utah, parts of Colorado and the Sierras, the density of road nomads decreases radically. And they’re doing it in the West, where public lands and outdoor recreation opportunities are plentiful. In other words, they dirtbag on the weekends and live in houses and apartments during the work weeks. Instead, most on-the-road trail runners are using truck and van buildouts to cut hotel costs at major races or when training in mountainous locations.

Recently, trail runners have begun to adopt the trend of the road trip life with one major difference from the #VanLifers and climbing dirtbags: For many, it’s not a full-time commitment. They dirtbag on the weekends and live in houses and apartments during the work weeks. Versteeg, who is also an accomplished rock climber, points out that “dirtbag” was not coined as an endearing term but rather a derogatory nomenclature for the climbing vagrants living out of Yosemite’s Camp 4 in the 60s and 70s, some dumpster diving and even living on cat food to survive and devote as much time as possible to their sport.īeyond climbing, #VanLife has exploded as a lifestyle choice (and Instagram hashtag) embraced mainly by millennials who eschew the cultural norms of 9-to-5 jobs and houses with white picket fences in favor of a simple life focused on a wealth of experiences. If Instagram posts-or even stories in The New York Times-are any indicator, a van with a kitchen sink a full-sized bed and an ocean view is the new American Dream.

For climbers, vehicle buildouts are not so much a trend as a de facto part of the sport’s hardcore culture. Living out of one’s vehicle is not new to the adventure world. Morgan Sjogren and Michael Versteeg | Photo: Jubilee Paige

Cat bradley trail runner magazine