Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
487 FOLLOWERS
Hey, I'm Brian Cray, adventure travel writer and seasonal worker. Check out my hitchhiking, freight hopping and backpacking guides along with short stories.
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
2y ago
Some of the first hiking and camping experiences I remember take me back to an ambient palette of blue skies cast out along the ridge of the Shenandoah Mountain Range. We wandered trails that zigzagged over Skyline Drive lugging around far too much gear over a multi-day trip that ended sooner than expected. The trepidation ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
(Spring 2019) My eyes felt heavy like stone as I woke to Spanish chatter from an early morning construction crew. It was 5 am. Men stood around a concrete pad working on a foundation as I fumbled around trying to pack up my gear, completely drained of serotonin with bloodshot eyes, and a strong will ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
I zigzagged through the green maze, pushing my way through the thick vegetation, limbs and thorns clawing my bare arms and snagging my pants, as I hit walls of impenetrable forest. The faint trail left by other riders over the year had faded to muddy banks with a creek snaking through it. My feet sank ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
Craynadian Wanderin’ the Summer of 2019 It’s 5 AM. I can’t sleep again for the third night on this train. It’s cold. The rain finally stopped after nearly four days of intermittent pitter-patter and downpour, but the chills of the night sky linger with films of morning dew in the air. I can’t help but ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
I woke up early that morning on a bed of mulch with limbs of pine drooping overhead and thick dew in the air. The clanking commotion from heavy equipment jostling stone boulders around bellowed over the sound of freight working in the train yard. For the most part, the yard looked pretty empty compared to ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
The hardest moments for me are goodbyes. Always. Don’t get me wrong, I very much enjoy my solitude, but the goodbyes always tear me down like watchin’ a building of emotions collapse as you push that tiny red button. Sometimes I’d rather just hit fast forward on life and skip ahead a day without havin ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
(Spring 2019) My eyes felt heavy like stone as I woke to Spanish chatter from an early morning construction crew. It was 5 am. Men stood around a concrete pad working on a foundation as I fumbled around trying to pack up my gear, completely drained of serotonin with bloodshot eyes, and a strong will ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
I zigzagged through the green maze, pushing my way through the thick vegetation, limbs and thorns clawing my bare arms and snagging my pants, as I hit walls of impenetrable forest. The faint trail left by other riders over the year had faded to muddy banks with a creek snaking through it. My feet sank ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
Craynadian Wanderin’ the Summer of 2019 It’s 5 AM. I can’t sleep again for the third night on this train. It’s cold. The rain finally stopped after nearly four days of intermittent pitter-patter and downpour, but the chills of the night sky linger with films of morning dew in the air. I can’t help but ..read more
Brian Cray | Adventure Travel
3y ago
I woke up early that morning on a bed of mulch with limbs of pine drooping overhead and thick dew in the air. The clanking commotion from heavy equipment jostling stone boulders around bellowed over the sound of freight working in the train yard. For the most part, the yard looked pretty empty compared to ..read more