About Me

My first memory of backpacking was hiking Alaska’s Resurrection Pass Trail at age nine. Thence began my lifelong love of backpacking.

In my youth, I backpacked all over the West Coast and Alaska. In the Cascade Range of Northern California, I backpacked on cross-country skis, pitching my tent on the snow. On a road trip from Maine to California, I hiked and backcountry-camped in too many locations to mention.

I lived for a year in Norway, where I enjoyed hiking and cross-country skiing in the alpine tundra of the vidda.

While living in Alaska, I often backpacked and cross-country skied in the Tongass National Forest. During a research project for the National Park Service, I hiked and camped for 10 days in the heart of Alaska’s Seward Peninsula, about 45 miles from the nearest road, 100 miles from the nearest village of Nome, and 500 miles from the nearest highway.

While living in Japan for 15 years, I hiked many of Japan’s premier trails, including Mt. Tate, Mt. Haku, Mt. Rishiri, Mt. Hotaka, and the west coast of Rebun Island.

I traveled for over three months in Southeast Asia, where I did two three-day treks. One was in the mountains near Mae Hong Son, Thailand. The other was in the jungle of Taman Negara National Park, Malaysia. I also hiked at Mt. Bromo, Indonesia, and Alishan, Taiwan.

I now live in Columbus, Ohio. I often go on day hikes in Hocking Hills and Hocking State Forest. Every spring and fall, I take overnight backpacking trips in Zaleski, Wayne, and Shawnee National Forests. On three-day weekends, I backpack in Red River Gorge, Kentucky, and Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. I recently backpacked from Newfound Gap to Mt. LeConte in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina.