When Holly and I first conceived of Hobnail Trekking back in the fall of 2016, we quite literally had no clue that it would become what it is today. Back then, we developed the idea around a single partnership created by a chance encounter with a Nepali Sherpa in downtown Nashville. At the time, Holly and I knew that we wanted to trek to Everest Base Camp and, well … that’s all we knew.
A lot has changed over the past seven years. Today, Hobnail arranges adventures that span some 15 countries and counting.
The natural question you probably have is … how? How can two goofballs like you guys manage to accomplish this crazy thing?? (By the way, we’re the two taller goofballs in the middle of the photo above…)
I don’t blame you; I often ask myself that very question.
The simple answer is that the adventure travel industry is built largely on networking. All over the world there exist skilled tour providers who specialize in hospitality, tourism, and guiding, but often have no good way to place their services in front of the potential American customers who might use them.
That’s where Hobnail Trekking comes in. Thanks to industry connections we’ve developed over time through many hours of research, video meetings, and our membership in the Adventure Travel Trade Association, Holly and I can essentially choose destinations and particular adventures that we’d like to offer to our customers.
“But how in the world do you choose which place you’re going to offer next?” you’re probably demanding to know, but in a very polite way.
Well, OK, I’ll tell you, and it’s pretty simple. Ready?
We pick the places where we — Mark and Holly — want to go.
It’s true. We decided a while back that if we offer the treks and adventures that get us really excited, it’s a good bet that you’ll want to do them, too.
(It sounds a bit absurd when you say it out loud like that, but it seems to work.)
Then, once we target a potential destination, we do the legwork necessary to find a local, highly vetted, and skilled tour operator who may want to work with us to create custom treks. If we find that person, it may take several months or more to work out all the details, itineraries, and logistics. In the end, it’s worth the wait.
So, that’s basically it. Every single Hobnail adventure is literally a reflection of our own, personal, travel bucket lists. The irony of the whole thing is that we are usually too busy making these adventures happen for you, our cherished customer, than doing them ourselves. And that’s OK. Frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Sometimes, you’ll hear us say, “We’ll handle the logistics, you handle the experience.” This isn’t just a slogan — it’s how we actually feel.
And now, you know the rest of the story!
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