Ex-BigLaw Associate Completes Cross-Country Trek with His Dog, Mabel, Ponders the Future
A former restructuring associate at Sidley Austin’s office in Chicago has been restructuring his own life over the past year, as he walked, with his dog, Mabel, from Delaware to a dog beach in California.
Occasionally, he accepted a ride, generally for safety considerations, although he turned down most offers of a lift from passing motorists, George Tyler Coulson tells the Am Law Daily.
Despite an encounter with a black bear, which shredded Coulson’s tent before Mabel scared the animal off, Coulson said a number of the drivers he encountered were the most frightening parts of his trip.
He says the trek, which he began March 11 and completed last week, took him past some beautiful scenery and taught him some things he wouldn’t have learned otherwise. (Getting a cart for his gear, he told the Am Law Daily earlier, made a huge difference in his ability to go the distance.)
However, he’s not sure what he will do next, other than perhaps write a book about his experience.
“I think anyone who does something like this is unhappy for some reason. It’s not something you do if you’re happy or content. And this is just about the most pointless thing you can do,” he told the Am Law Daily in October. “It accomplishes almost nothing.
“But I always wanted to do something epic. I had a bunch of little ideas and this was kind of like a now-or-never thing. I’m not getting any younger, and I like the outdoors, so I made the decision to see if I could do it.”
Additional coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Who Quit Sidley for Cross-Country Trek Credits Dog in Bear Battle”
