The frontier did not disappear when the maps were finished. It simply moved inward.
— Mike Martin

The Honest Wilderness follows Mike Martin’s search through Daniel Boone’s story, wild places, forgotten roads, and the questions that rise when life no longer fits who we are becoming.

Part memoir, part historical journey, and part reflection on the frontier within, this is a book about finding your way back to yourself.

Stories as Maps

Project Mindfully Outdoors blends firsthand field research, American frontier history, wilderness travel, and memoir to explore the places that shaped us—and the resilience, identity, and meaning we still carry forward.

The Honest Outdoors Podcast

Stories from the places where history, wilderness, and the human experience meet.

Join author Mike Martin as The Honest Outdoors explores the frontier—past and present—and what the road can still teach us about ourselves.

Listen to the Podcast

Where wilderness, history, and reflection meet.

Project Mindfully Outdoors brings firsthand field research and wilderness experience into the stories of the American frontier—using the ground we walk and the past we uncover to explore resilience, identity, and the frontier within.