No more weekly outdoor tips for Steve - Stueby's Outdoor Journal goes into semi-retirement mode

Cross-country skiing with Huck 

Hi all, 

I turned 65 last summer, and I'm looking ahead to semi-retirement in Spring 2025.

And so, when this time of your life emerges, it's wise to wind down a bit and focus on what really matters in life ...   

To that end, I'm in the process of phasing out my books and maps business, so it makes sense to phase out my weekly outdoor tips on Stueby's Outdoor Journal. Here's a head's up: There won't be any more weekly outdoor tips from Steve in 2024! 

And I won't be sharing any outdoor tips on 94.9 FM The River on Friday morning drivetime. 

Steve and Ron Abramovich at Brundage 

Why? The whole purpose of doing my outdoor blog was to not only share great ideas about outdoor adventures in the greater Boise and SW Idaho region but also drive traffic to my web site, SteveStuebner.com, so people could buy my hiking, biking and paddling books if they wished. 

Back in 2008 when I started my blog and the radio gig with The River, I figured if I'm doing blogs, videos and PR outreach for my clients on a professional level, why wouldn't I do the same thing for my own side business? It made sense and it has worked. 

I've been at the outdoor guidebook thing much longer! My first book, Mountain Biking in Southwest Idaho with co-author Stephen Phipps, was published in 1992. That one flew off the shelves as the sport of mountain biking really took off in Boise. Stephen and I tried to give people places to go outside of the Boise Foothills on purpose, but it turned out, that people wanted to ride in the foothills regardless! We started the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association (SWIMBA) in that same year, 1992. 

Steve on his old Cannondale full-suspension Y-bike 9 (circa 1990s)

My first version of Mountain Biking in Boise was published in 1994. It was super fun to explore tons of trails with my friends to find the most suitable ones - the "keepers" - for publishing. I sold thousands of Mountain Biking in Boise over the years in six different versions and many printings. It's how many people in Boise learned the foothills trails before Ridge to Rivers began to get better about printing details on their maps. 

I stopped printing Mountain Biking in Boise several years ago because the latest edition with 65 rides (still available in ebook) just didn't sell like the others had in the past. More online mapping apps, free stuff online and an improved R2R map and interactive web site made my book obsolete.

Steve riding in McCall 

Mountain Biking McCall was a great seller in McCall from the mid-90s to 2020. And then I decided to let that one go out of print out of deference to CIMBA's McCall hiking and biking map.  

Working with Mike Cooley (now retired) of George's Cycles, I created the Boise Road Cycling Guide in the 2000s. I got in great shape doing all the 30+ rides for that two-sided, full-color waterproof bike map. I reprinted that map several times and sold thousands. And then the bike shops didn't want to buy it anymore. So I stopped printing the map. (Bob's Bicycles has the bike map on their wall)   

Steve at Hilltop Summit on the road bike 

  

Generally, the trend with trail guides is going toward everything being available for free online or for a fee online. I'm fine with that; I've seen it coming. 

My outdoor books and maps always have been a side hustle for me - I've called it "beer money" - and my main focus always has been on my PR and Marketing business and client work. That's my bread and butter. 

So now, by phasing out my blog and winding down my book and map business, I can work on simplifying my life, looking ahead to retirement. 

Steve and Wendy on the Salmon River, Middle Fork in the background 

Hope you have enjoyed my posts! There are over 600 posts on my blog that you can peruse anytime. I've averaged 8,000 views a month, and had nearly a million views on my blog since the beginning. 

In the future, I'll post every once in a while if I'm inspired to do so. 

In the meantime, you can see my powder forecasts on opensnow.com, and follow my adventures on my social channels, Facebook and IG. I do occasional client-related business posts on LinkedIn.

Ciao!   

- SS