Those Who Roam: Troy Wong
Give a warm howdy to Troy Wong! Troy and I met at a backpacking clinic that the Austin Backpackers Meetup group held in the fall of 2021. We collaborated on a webinar about how to map out routes for a backpacking trip and he helped me plan a group trip to Lost Maples in May of 2022. He has taught me a lot about the outdoors and that is why I wanted to highlight him in this series!
Let’s hear what he has to say.
Q: Tell Us a Little About Who You Are
My name is Troy and I'm a native Texan I grew up in Houston and spent most of my life in Texas until college. I went to the University of Texas here in Austin and then after that, I had the opportunity to travel and live all over the world.
I lived in Europe for a while, I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, I was a banker in Singapore, and then I moved back to Texas a number of years ago and I’ve just been working here in Texas.
Q: When Did You Start Adventuring in the Outdoors?
I first started adventuring in the outdoors when I was a little kid. Basically, my dad was really good about taking our family camping.
We'd also go fishing quite a bit both on the coast in the Gulf of Mexico as well as in some Lakes like Livingston and Lake Conroe. We were always just out adventuring never afraid to get dirty playing the dirt. Those are probably my earliest memories of being outdoors.
Q: In What Ways Has Nature Helped With Your Mental Health?
Some of the ways that nature has helped my mental health? I think I'm pretty stable mentally, just in general, but more just like mental framework.
I think whenever I go out in nature I tend to…well, let me put it this way.
In our daily existence, we usually wake up we have breakfast, we go to work, we have lunch, we work some more, we might go out to dinner with friends, or family. It's very much a routine.
There's nothing wrong with that but I've always found that going out in nature – I just experience things. I see things for the first time because every time there's something new. It could be a trail that I've hiked on for the first time or it could be a trail that I've hiked on many times, but there might be different colors because of the season.
Or I might see a different type of animal or even an insect or find a plant that I've never seen before and then learning about that plant or observing something about that plant just makes it interesting. Every experience that I have outdoors every time it's something new and for me it's exciting
Q: What advice would you give someone who wants to find their space in the outdoors but is scared to take the first step?
For somebody just venturing into the outdoors, I think the most important thing is just go with what you have. Put on whatever shoes you have and whatever clothing you have. Take a little bottle of water and some snacks and just go out and look around and see what you can see.
Start off gradually on a very easy hike. It could be something that might be a mile or so. I think most people can walk a mile but whatever distance you feel comfortable at just start with what you got. What's nearby and then as you gain more of an appreciation and as you gain more understanding, you can always do more challenging things.
It's the same with if you're going to go paddling or fishing or bicycling or anything just go with what you got and if you don't have much you know there's so much gear out there so many things that you can just borrow from people.
Sometimes I think it helps if you have an adventure buddy, so if you do have somebody that you know who is kind of outdoorsy, ask them, “Hey, would you mind if I tag along with you?” or “Hey, I'm thinking about going to do this activity would you mind coming along?” and it always makes it more fun when you can do it with other people.
Q: Who had the most significant influence on your outdoor journey?
The person who has had the biggest impact on my outdoor journey is probably my father. At an early age, he took me and my siblings out and instilled in us no fear of the outdoors. The plants, the animals, the weather, you know as long as you're somewhat prepared like humans have been living outdoors for centuries.
Some people have a fear of the outdoors. I think that prevents them from going out but I think my father just very early on instilled in me the desire to go outdoors. As well as have the confidence.
Q: What are your goals in the outdoors?
I don't really think of myself as having too many goals for outdoor adventures. I think I've done quite a bit but one of the things that I've kind of learned is it's really about the journey for me.
I've never really been interested in just reaching one destination or just doing one activity but it's kind of a journey. A number of years ago I just wanted to see Latin America, so I just made a plan, and I got a motorcycle and just traveled without any objective of hitting any places or things.
Since then, a lot of my outdoor activities have been like that. I just have an idea about something that might be kind of fun and then kind of pursue a plan but really only have like maybe 80 percent of it planned and leave 20 percent of it for whatever happens.
There are two things that I've always thought about doing and I don't know if I'll ever be able to do them but one would be to ride a Mongolian horse across Mongolia and the other is to paddle the length of the Danube River in Europe. I think it's the second longest river in Europe — something like 1800 miles or something like that. I recently picked up paddle boarding and I thought about taking a trip just traveling along the Danube River.
Q: What is your most significant outdoor accomplishment?
I have never thought about my outdoor activities as accomplishments but I've been pretty fortunate to do a number of things. One of them was I hiked the John Muir Trail like 210 miles and at the end of it I was able to Summit Mount Whitney.
Even prior to that, I had the opportunity to travel to Africa and Summit Mount Kilimanjaro so that's always something that was kind of cool.
But honestly, climbing mountains is not really my thing. It's more just the experiences, the things, and the people that I meet along the way that I kind of enjoy.
Perhaps the thing I'm most proud of is independently traveling and meeting people along the way and gathering those stories.
Q: Where is your happy place outdoors?
In terms of a happy place, a happy place for me you know it could happen anytime, any place, anywhere, but I think it would probably involve dusk. That period of time when the sun has set but there's still that glow. It would also involve being on water, perhaps just floating on water.
I've had a number of those experiences and those just seem to make me really happy and just really calm. A lot of peace in my heart. I guess that would be my happy place.
Q: Any final thoughts?
I guess a final thought, I don't know if it's necessarily advice, but it's just something that I try to follow is that nowadays there's just so much outdoor gear, outdoor apparel, outdoor equipment, and I'm very susceptible to acquiring gear and things like that and putting it to use.
One thing I've really learned is whether I'm new to hiking, new to paddling, or new to fishing, the gear and the equipment are very easy to obtain. But as I got more experience I found that I needed less and less of it.
So if you're starting your outdoor journey and you don't have a lot of resources, like a lot of gear, try to find somebody who has some knowledge. Just having knowledge of the outdoors is so much more meaningful.
I think it’s important to your enjoyment than having the appropriate apparel or gear or things like that. Then, you know, it's also about getting outdoors. There are a lot of people that have influenced me in a positive way — inviting me on trips or challenging me to take certain trips.
That's always a good thing but I think ultimately I've learned that my own adventures in the outdoors are always most meaningful when they come from my own heart. From my own interests. My own curiosity. Always pursue those things that are of interest to you don't let your journey be shaped by somebody else's Instagram.
Find your own way and your own journey.
The end
From traveling all over the world to enjoying all the small details of nature, I hope that this piece of Troy’s story inspires your journey in some way. Check out his Instagram (@troyfromtexas) and his blog, The Adventure Begins.
What is the Those Who Roam Series?
Those Who Roam is a video and blog series Victoria Rosa Flores created to highlight the stories of all the wonderful people she met outdoors to share their stories, accomplishments, and reasons for getting out in nature. From improving mental health to developing friendships, each person featured has their reasons for roaming through winding trails, paddling in rivers, climbing bouldering walls and so much more.
If you know an outdoor adventurer who would be perfect for Those Who Roam, email me at roamtheouterspace@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can set up!
