COUNTING WHAT MATTERS

Adventure Travel Counts

Tracking Experiences That Matter

I’ve always been a list-maker. I’ll be using what I call Adventure Travel Counts to track experiences, moments, and milestones as they happen.

Lists are how I give structure to my experience. They’re a reminder that I did something — sometimes something small, but still worth acknowledging. Other times, lists of things I want to do or see give me focus, motivation, and direction.

My love for birding is a good example. Birders keep Life Lists — records of the birds they’ve seen. For me, it’s not about showing off. It’s about keeping track of what I’ve experienced and marking personal milestones along the way.

Sometimes those counts will decide the route. I won’t always follow the standard lines on the map, because I’m letting what matters to me shape where I go. I’m doing this for myself — but if sharing it encourages someone else to chase an idea or start their own list, that feels worth it.

Hiker on the JMT, an example of a route listed in my adventure travel counts.

COUNTRIES

MILES RIDDEN

BIRDS SEEN

FISH CAUGHT

DISC GOLF

CRITTERS SEEN

BAG NIGHTS

MILES HIKED

What do these Adventure Travel Counts include?

These Adventure Travel Counts reflect the things I care about paying attention to while riding my motorcycle around the world. Some are obvious, like countries visited or miles ridden. Others are more personal—critters seen, birds seen, miles hiked, and the smaller things I decide are worth counting.

Not everything here is meant to be impressive, and not every count grows quickly. Some numbers will change daily, while others will barely move at all. That’s intentional. The goal isn’t to optimize progress, but to stay aware of what I’m actually doing, seeing, and experiencing as One Lap Around unfolds.

The Lists

The above section showed the totals of my main Adventure Travel Counts—but what’s actually included in those numbers? Below, you can see a quick snapshot of the birds I’ve seen, the countries I’ve visited, and more since my last update.

For more detail on each category or to see the entire record, use the “See Full List” button to navigate to the page for that specific count. There you’ll find the full list, my wish list, and why that count is important to me.

Table of Contents

Countries · Birds · Critters · Fish · Disc Golf · Hikes