Welcome to Footnotes from the Earth — a reflective space dedicated to stories of hiking, cultural exploration, and travel writing.
Where solitude meets connection, anthropology meets adventure, and every hike becomes a deeper exploration of the inner self and the external world.
My name is Veer Shah, and I'm a student anthropologist, writer, and slow traveller. I document the cultural landscapes that unfold along with the physical ones - discovering myself while traversing through remote, quaint, off-beat paths.
This platform is for anyone wanting to delve into the heart of mindful travel and seek soulful reflections beyond the conventional work-life paradigm.
Read on below to learn a little more about me.
The Journey Behind the Words
How It All Began
I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I was very little.
At first, I just loved the physical task of writing. I liked the feeling of ink on paper - fingers moving fast, mind locked into rhythm.
Eventually, I discovered my deeper passion in the art of expressing myself through words.
Perhaps it’s because I lived through such diverse reality - growing up in a multicultural, busy city like Bombay; spending my teen years as a student athlete in Spain; studying at university in California; and working in the legal field in England.
I find it therapeutic to write reflections, realisations, and resolutions - how places, memories, and connections impact my feelings and reveal a profound understanding - of myself, and the world.
With my writing, I aspire to capture the present - with people, with places, with the quiet in-between moments that reveal something deeper.
Embracing Anthropology & Hiking as a Lifestyle
While studying anthropology at university, I found that writing could be a tool of observation, reflection, and human connection. It could express the emotional terrain of travel - curiosity, solitude, awe - as much as the physical.
After I got my degree, I did what most people do - got a corporate job. I worked my way through departments, chased promotions, even moved countries with my work.
In time, five years of full-time work culture burned me out. I felt depleted - emotionally and spiritually. I had achieved what I thought I wanted: independence, a stable job, the chance to travel whenever I got time off. But something was missing. I felt like I was living for the weekend, living for a break - I wasn’t able to travel slowly, on foot, hike through off beat paths across multiple days, and really explore the world.
If it came at the cost of working 40 hours a week in an enclosed place… I couldn’t digest it with optimism.
So when I quit my paralegal job at 22 to pursue being a full time writer and traveller, I made a quiet vow:
to never go back to what I had escaped.
Formed by Travel through Tennis
I first discovered the power of travel through tennis. I spent countless hours - days, months, years - on the court, competing across clubs, states, and continents as a junior athlete. The sport didn’t just teach me how to move; it taught me how to endure.
Tennis showed me the power of resilience and the ability to adapt to your environment with grace and humility.
From grueling matches to cross-country tournaments, I learned resilience, courage, and the ability to start over - over and over again.
These are the same qualities I bring to every journey I embark on, and to every story I write.
A Writer Born of the World
The kind of writer I aspire to be emerged naturally.
From everything I’ve seen and felt.
From the cultures I’ve immersed myself in.
From the way I travel slowly, and pay attention.
I’m sensitive. Observant. I draw mental maps of the world’s similarities and differences. I understand culture — not just as something to document, but as a source of wisdom, of memory, of meaning.
I’m not just writing about places. I’m writing about the emotional geography of escape and recovery.
Being a self-ethnographic writer and hiker means that I write with intention. I seek deeper meaning, heartfelt connection, and a quiet kind of wellbeing.
I get to study myself by studying others.
What I Want to Share With You
I want to write about places that offer solace through solitude -
Places where footsteps match your heartbeat, and
sunlight or rain feels like a reminder of who you are.
Mountains, hills, valleys. Oceans, lakes, beaches. Castles, forts, pathways, and trails.
I want to write about history, culture, and heritage - the ancient and the intimate.
I want to listen. And learn. And always write with people at the center - especially you.
Come With Me
I’ll write about my greatest adventures - and I hope you’ll live them through my writing, until you live them for yourself.
We’ll be far, but we’ll all be here, forever.
This is your space, too.
Welcome.
Stay in Touch
Interested in sharing your adventures with me? I’m always looking to connect with like-minded travellers. Sign up to my Substack with your e-mail to directly interact with me, and get exclusive access to my writing, all for free!
It’s where my words wander a little deeper, where I share the full story: raw reflections, trail maps, gentle musings, and the in-betweens. Subscribe for free, and walk a little further with me.
& for BTS moments — check out my Instagram here <—