People of the American Outdoors

“I had this idea for a mentoring program, and part of it grew out of just being grateful for my experience of having these really amazing mentors, who not only taught me technical stuff, but… the mindset, it’s not about how hard you climb—it’s the adventure, the culture, and the places.”

“I love it all.  Climbing and skiing probably give you the most thrill, and when you’re done, you’re in a really good mood. Sometimes when I do a half day in the morning, I come back and I can’t work.”

“So I’m in a new boat, thinking ‘I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t do this’. But I’m in it. The first big rapid: 35 foot falls. I went down the first 10 feet, it flattens out for a moment—just long enough for me to hit a boulder and flip and do the rest of it on my shoulder.”

“I feel the constant need to get big things done and see amazing things and be accomplished. Because we only get one life, as far as I know. And there is so much to do, and wasting that opportunity terrifies me. I was like, ‘I gotta do something’, and I think it just kind of happened that it was the AT.”

“I’ve shared many great times with people I don’t even know that well, but I’m so much closer to them than anyone else in my daily interaction. Like I’m trusting my life to you over and over and over again, and you’re doing the same with me. It’s wild.”

“It’s the freedom—I can just start driving and park somewhere and sleep. I could go anywhere I want to and have everything I need. And I can leave at a moment’s notice. It’s liberating to not be tied down like that.”