What is Without Baggage?

Without Baggage is an online magazine about traveling written by Hank Leukart. "I don't write about every place I've ever traveled or everything I do when I travel," Hank explains. "Instead, I write short essays about other places and cultures and the funny things that happen when you're thrust into them."

Who is Hank Leukart?

Hank Leukart, the personality behind Without Baggage, is a Los Angeles-based freelance television producer and journalist.

Hank has worked as a producer on the US version of the hit television show "Big Brother" for CBS Network Television and as a producer on the show "Pitchmen" for the Discovery Channel. Hank wrote and published The Doom Hacker's Guide (Henry Holt/MIS:Press), a 300-page book about sprucing up the 1990s computer game, Doom. Hank and the book were featured in many major publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report, and People Magazine.

Hank earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, where he wrote over 130 pieces for The Dartmouth newspaper, and authors Dick Lehr and Mitchell Zuckoff featured him in the book Judgment Ridge for his journalism work at The Dartmouth. In the past, Hank also has written many articles and essays covering travel, technology, and the arts for publications including The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Computer Gaming World, Computer Player, NetGuide, and Games Domain Review.

Hank has traveled to over 120 cities in over 20 countries while writing Without Baggage — including places such as Alaska, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Botswana, Chilean Patagonia, Costa Rica, Delft, Denver, Edinburgh, Ecuador, Florence, Honduras, the French Pyrennes, the Galapagos Islands, Glasgow, The Hague, Laos, the Loire Valley, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Miami, Montreal, Puebla (Mexico), New England, New York, Normandy, Northern Thailand, Paris, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, South Africa, Southern Mexico, Toulouse, Washington DC, and Vancouver — but there's still ten lifetimes of destinations left to explore.

What does Without Baggage mean?

When Hank travels, he carries as little as possible and avoids having a set itinerary with advance reservations. "Leave your physical and emotional baggage at home and look at the world with a new perspective," he urges.

How can i contact Hank?

You can write to Hank Leukart at nojunkhank@nojunkwithoutbaggage.com.

Awards.

Selected as one of the Internet's top five travel blogs in the 2009 Weblog Awards (the Bloggies).

Chosen as one of the Internet's top ten travel blogs in DivineCaroline's Love! This Site Awards.

Featured in the Blog of the Day Awards on February 29, 2008.

Press.

The illustrious editors of The Guardian designated Without Baggage as one of their favorite six travel blogs on their blog roll.

Travel website Gadling described Without Baggage as "a traveler's online magazine with brains and heart" with essays that "evoke emotions and intellectual pursuits that aim to explore the depth and meaning of travel experiences."

The Sierra Blogging Post described Without Baggage as "a fantastic resource for backpacking essays and photos" and wrote, "You can expect to want to take many treks after visiting the Without Baggage site. Leukart, a freelance journalist and television producer, is a great writer and not a bad photographer either. His skills, combined with his extensive travel experience and seeming fearlessness, create an engaging travel website. You simply must check it out."

BestHike.com featured the collection of Without Baggage essays about the West Coast Trail, calling it "one of the best trip reports I've yet seen" about the hike and urging readers to subscribe to Without Baggage.

Travel website Dohop.com wrote that Without Baggage is "good for backpackers and others who like to travel without baggage (or with limited baggage), all presented in a layout refreshingly like one of those old-fashioned paper publications we used to read before the web came along."