5 Blogging Lessons from a Deep Wilderness Hike |

July 11, 2026 blogging tips 🕑 5 minutes read

Sequoia National Park Three Rivers California

My wife and I hiked deep in the wilderness of the Sequoia National Park.

The government website refers to this region of the park as being “remote”.

They aren’t kidding.

After driving 7 miles down a desolate, winding, mountainous road transitioning from compromised asphalt to rutted dirt, a little known park entrance awaits you.

Mountain lions, black bear, bobcats, coyote, deer and rattlesnakes are abundant here.

The place was void of human presence. Too hot during the summer as temperatures reach 110 degrees. The road often washes out entirely during heavy winter rains.

I learned five blogging lessons after trekking through the Sierra Nevada wilderness.

1: Growth Means Discomfort

Burs raked our legs.

The sun beat down on us.

Temperatures reached 103 later in the day.

Hiking in the lower Sierra Nevada Range proved to be a fabulous but uncomfortable experience.

No doubt, we improved our cardiovascular systems by hiking for hours in challenging conditions. I dissolved mental blocks relating to hiking in a desolate location as well.

Growth goes hand in hand with feeling discomfort.

Successful bloggers leave their comfort zone consistently. Do what scares you. Move beyond fear into organic traffic. Ease beyond discomfort into blogging income.

Reach your blogging goals by leaving your comfort zone consistently.

2: The Best View Requires the Greatest Mindful Effort

Sequoia National Park offers some of the most stunning views in the States.

Kelli and I reached the mountain tops through mindful effort.

We:

navigated steep grades
knifed through biting burrs on switchbacks
climbed over boulders in ravines
plowed through down trees

to reach the mountain tops.

Dazzling views demand one to put forth a mindful, sustained effort.

Become a successful blogger by mindfully:

creating detailed content
building bonds with loyal readers and pro bloggers

for years.

Be one of the few who follows these practical strategies for years.

Look past fear.

Blog through thick and thin.

Follow the fundamentals.

Enjoy the view from the blogging top.

3: Convenience and Comfort Means Crowds

We had the park to ourselves.

Check that; we enjoyed this portion of the park for ourselves.

Peace, quiet and serenity held us in its embrace.

Being in one of the most remote regions of a 400,000 acre park meant no human beings were around. Humans can be noisy. Tourist throngs descending on the park during peak summer time can be downright raucous.

Locals told us that the main park entrance becomes a mad house on weekends during the summer time. Large tourist groups flock to the Sequoia National Park from around the world to see the mighty Sequoia trees; the biggest on earth. Chaos tends to follow. No judgments; just a honest observation from someone who has circled the globe since 2011.

We passed:

five large cattle ranches
five modest homes

on the lonely, winding, mountain road leading to the park.

We saw not one human being inside the park. No cars. Nothing. No one.

The convenient, comfortable to execute blogging strategies yield:

zero organic traffic
zero blogging income

Who tries to succeed with convenient, comfortable blogging strategies?

The crowds – or the blogging masses – try to get something for nothing.

Crowds of bloggers fail.

Successful bloggers walk an at times inconvenient, uncomfortable, lonely path to go pro.

If every blogger does it……SPRINT in the opposite direction.

Chaos follows the blogging crowds.

You will be cold pitching the same 1,000 strangers today as the 1,000 other struggling bloggers in an echo chamber.

Blogger number 1,001 publishes his 700th detailed, targeted, long form blog post today to drive his 2,000th page view today.

Blogger 1,002 to blogger 2000 wastes 12 hours chasing strangers in their inbox; just like the first 1000 bloggers.

Go pro.

Be one of the select few who does what pro bloggers do years before going pro.

4: Embrace Risk

“Oh shit. This is dangerous.”

A narrow path cut into a sheer cliff.

Kelli and I had to crawl down backwards before nearly jumping to the foot wide path.

What would happen if we slipped from the trail?

Injury or death; a 50 foot drop into jagged boulders awaited anyone who stumbled off of the trail.

We slowly baby-stepped our way safely to the trail but not without feeling intense fear.

Becoming a successful blogger comes down to embracing risk.

No one knows when the big organic traffic and blogging income will hit. Bloggers cannot predict their future.

Struggles, failures and critics await every blogger. Facing each risk becomes par for the pro blogging course.

Hug risk. Accept the unexpected. Roll with your fears.

Every worldly reward comes with an inherent risk.

Successful bloggers inevitably lose quite a bit to gain quite a lot in traffic terms.

5: Prepare Yourself for the Journey

wore my gigantic sun hat
slathered on sun block
drank a liter of water on waking

before hiking for hours in the mountains.

The temperature reached 103 degrees in the shade that day. The heat index topped out at 107 degrees.

The UV index is a dangerous 11 every single day here.

I had to prep myself for the journey or else I’d have suffered from dehydration.

Pro bloggers prep themselves for going pro years before reaching the full-time level.

Aspiring pros:

invest money in a domain and hosting
consistently publish long form content on one niche to earn topical authority
build bonds with readers
establish relationships with pro bloggers

Do your blogging prep work.

Prepared bloggers transition from being amateurs to pros.

Bonus Tip: Turn Around When You Need to

I intended to visit a large Sequoia grove.

But the trail became impassable at the second ravine.

Jagged boulders, downed trees and slippery rocks stopped us in our tracks. The challenging hike became borderline suicidal even to adventurous me.

We called it a day at that point.

We lived to hike another day.

Spamming strangers for 14 hours daily kills your blog.

Blogs branded with the scarlet letter “S” – Spam – are dead and buried.

Spamming bloggers burn through:

social media handles
email handles

and struggle to get even one blog comment approved anywhere.

Turn around from spammy strategies.

Start fresh tomorrow.

Publish detailed blog posts. Cover one niche. Build topical authority.

Engage in genuine blogger outreach. Listen to readers for a steady flow of blog post ideas.

Monetize through multiple income channels. Never rely on one traffic source.

Get on the successful blogging track.

Conclusion

Get out into nature.

A simple hike can teach you helpful blogging lessons.

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5 Blogging Lessons from a Deep Wilderness Hike