After ten days of traveling in New Zealand, my mom and I had already destroyed two French presses. Despite this rather alarming number of casualties, our trip had thus far gone off without a hitch. Twenty days later, we were … Read More

Our Miharo welcome to New Zealand continued into day two with a wonderful breakfast followed by yet another off-roading adventure around the property. In our short time there, we must have covered just about every track that Miharo had to offer … Read More

Getting to New Zealand isn’t easy. First of all, it is on the opposite side of the planet, which means it will surely take quite awhile to get there. On top of that, you have to cross the international date … Read More

And we’re off. I finished up my time in Baja with an exciting night outside the Loreto airport and a quick flight back up to LA. There, I walked from LAX back towards Santa Monica, feeling fed up with the … Read More

Well, it seems that my jaunt down the east coast is drawing to a close. Once I finish up in North Carolina, I will be heading back to Madison, WI to switch gears for the next 6 months. I’ll be … Read More

In May of 2016, my National Park tour concluded. For all intents and purposes, that trip had been the driving force between this website. What role would Chasing Cairns play in my life as I transitioned away from the National … Read More

In the last fourteen months, I have driven over 40,000 miles. At an average speed of 55 mph, that would mean I spent about a month sitting behind my steering wheel. That sounds awful. And it would have been, if … Read More

A few weeks ago, I concluded my first season of instructing with NOLS in the Wind River Mountains, realizing a dream ten years in the making. It was everything I hoped it would be.   From boulder-studded, high alpine meadows … Read More

When I waltzed out of the woods on June 7th, I had absolutely no idea what the next month of my life would look like. Would I be offered a contract with NOLS? Would I be kayaking up on Lake … Read More

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone when I say that the most common question I got on my trip was: What is your favorite park? It was also a question that I still refuse to answer. It is … Read More

As some of you may know, my wilderness education began at a very young age. Whether we were spending time on the Fey farm in Dodgeville, WI, kayaking in the Apostle Islands of Lake Superior, taking off of school to … Read More

It is hard to believe, but this phase of my adventure ended as the Tetons faded into the obscurity of my rear view mirror. On August 25th­, 2015, I embarked on a mission to grow my understanding of American wilderness … Read More