How to Travel Like Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir

Here is a list of ways that you can make your travel experience last a lifetime and beyond just like Theodore Roosevelt.

Few people in history embody our mission more than Theodore Roosevelt. The exhausting pace that he lived his life enabled him to pack more into 60 years than any 5 people. His productivity wasn’t born from a reckless, carefree nature that offered him so much free time. He stuck to a regimented schedule that allowed him to write 35 books, serve two terms as president, campaign for a third, serve as governor of New York, police commissioner of NY, Colonel of the Rough Riders and navigate an uncharted Amazonian river. He was a man that knew how to travel and how to make that travel count.


    1.   Write write write!
T.R. was an avid writer. Two of his thirty-five books, “Through the Brazilian Wilderness” and “African Game Trails” were written while on expeditions. “African Game Trails” was written on horseback as he trod across the African landscape and by firelight while the memories of the day were still fresh in his mind. “Through the Brazilian Wilderness” was written from a canoe, some of it while he was falling extremely ill to Cuban fever. 

• Write it all down before the day is done. 
  

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Sedan Chair

     2.    Don’t seek comfort
When T.R. was approached about venturing down the unexplored ‘River of Doubt’ now known as Rio Roosevelt, he was accompanied by Father Zahm. Zahm had become a nuisance to T.R.’s son Kermit who journaled that he was “a very commonplace little fool” with “an incessant annoyance”. After complaining about the long horse rides in the Amazonian jungle, Zahm had picked up the habit of riding in a ‘Sedan Chair’ carried by the tribes people. Shortly after this behavior T.R. penned the following note: 

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“Every member of the expedition has told me that in his opinion it is essential to the success and well being of the expedition that Father Zahm should at once leave it and return to the settled country.”

In his experiences with the Rough Riders up through his leadership of a volunteer unit in WWI, Roosevelt found that comfort produced weakness. 

• Look for ways to challenge yourself especially in times of travel. It helps to give yourself limitations that you’ll have to overcome. The easiest way is not always the best way. 
  

T.R. addressing a crowd

3.   Make a schedule
It is well known how orchestrated the life of a president can be. T.R. brought the practice of scheduling out his day to his personal life.

• Make time for a morning walk, journaling, exercise, reading and conversation. 
  

4.   Stay focused
After leaving office T.R offered friendship to the newly elected president William Howard Taft. It wasn’t long into Taft’s presidency that T.R. became resentful of the way Taft was treating the office. His frequent golf outings and increasing waist line were representative of the lazy approach Taft had to governing. T.R. had no patience for a sedentary lifestyle.

• When you’re out on the trail, use that opportunity to assert yourself into leadership roles you otherwise may not take. Take control of the things you can. Hunt and prepare your meal, learn to navigate by the stars, take pride in your campsite, fire, organization skills and volunteer every chance you can.

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5.   Look for opportunities
Roosevelt was shot in the chest at point blank range on Oct. 14, 1912. The bullet hit his tin glasses case and folded up speech and lodged itself in his ribs. After being shot he demanded he be driven to the space where his speech was to be delivered and he spoke for 90 minutes before being driven to the hospital. He was known as someone that lived large and left an impression with everyone he met. He was capable of a roaring laugh and barking rage. Someone you loved to have on your side and shuttered to think of as an enemy. Apart from the lessons we can learn from his detailed schedule, we can learn from his attitude toward life. 

• An adventure should be a time dedicated to living fully in the moment. Make sure this is a goal for your next outing and be sure to write it all down!

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Sources: 
Morris, Edmund. Colonel Roosevelt. New York, NY. Random House Trade Paperbacks. 2010. pg. 320.
McKay, Brett. "Lessons in Manliness: Theodore Roosevelt On Living The Strenuous Life." The Art of Manliness RSS. N.p., 21 Feb. 2008. Web. 04 Mar. 2014.