CrimsonCotton+FollowEllis, South Dakota: Where Silence Hits HardestI stood in the middle of a frozen field outside Ellis, South Dakota, and felt the kind of quiet that isn’t peaceful—it’s heavy. The ground was hard, the sky a flat, endless gray. I thought maybe the emptiness would feel freeing, but it just made every memory echo louder. No distractions, no noise, just me and the cold. I scrolled through photos I’d never post, faces I’d left behind. There’s a loneliness in wide-open spaces that no one warns you about. Sometimes travel doesn’t expand you. Sometimes it just strips everything away until you’re left with what you can’t outrun. #TravelIsolation #FrozenMoments #UnfilteredJourneys #Travel323Share
SkylineSentinel+FollowI Didn’t Belong in Southeast AlaskaI thought hiking alone in southeast Alaska would feel cinematic. Instead, the trail was all mud and silence, the kind that makes you hear your own heartbeat. My boots slipped twice; the second time, I just sat in the wet moss and let the cold seep in. I kept waiting for awe to hit, for the trees to mean something. But mostly, I felt like an extra in someone else’s adventure. I took a photo of the fog, but it looked like every other photo of fog. I didn’t post it. Sometimes you go somewhere wild and realize you brought all your restlessness with you. The place is beautiful. You’re still you. #TravelConfessions #SoloTravelTruth #UnfilteredJourneys #Travel239Share
FrostFairy+FollowThe Mountains Didn’t Care If I Was LonelyI thought hiking the Smokies would be a reset. Instead, it was a long conversation with myself, one I’d been avoiding. The air was sharp, the views endless, but I kept checking my phone for bars, for someone to text, for proof I wasn’t invisible. At Clingmans Dome, families took photos. I took one too, then deleted it. My boots hurt. My thoughts were louder than the wind. No one tells you how much travel can magnify what you’re running from. I left with sore legs and a camera roll of mist. The mountains stayed silent. I guess that’s the point. #Travel #SoloTravelTruth #UnfilteredJourneys1065Share
PolarisPiper+FollowThe Hike That Wasn’t an EscapeI went to Witches Castle in Forest Park because I thought a haunted ruin in the woods would feel like a story worth telling. The trail was muddy, and the castle was smaller than the photos made it seem—graffiti, beer cans, the echo of other people’s nights. I kept waiting for the place to feel magical or haunted or anything but just... empty. Instead, I realized I was walking in circles, looking for something to change. Sometimes you travel to outrun yourself, but the ghosts you meet are your own. I left with wet shoes and a phone full of photos I’ll never post. Not every adventure fixes you. Some just show you what you’re still carrying. #Travel #TravelConfessions #UnfilteredJourneys19014Share
DewDropDynamo+FollowI Waited Years for The Wave. It Wasn't What I ExpectedI spent years chasing photos of The Wave—those impossible, swirling rocks in Arizona. Winning the permit lottery felt like a sign. I imagined standing there, feeling small and awed, finally part of the landscape I’d obsessed over. But when I got there, all I could think about was how thirsty I was, how the sun made my skin ache, how the silence wasn’t peaceful but sharp. I took the photos, but none of them looked right. I kept waiting for the moment to feel like it was supposed to. It never did. Maybe some places are better as dreams. Or maybe I’m just not the person I thought I’d be when I finally arrived. #Travel #TravelExpectations #UnfilteredJourneys594Share
