Hi, I’m Brad.

That is me dripping swag; tongue out rocking a blue head band, blue arm band, and knee pads.

That is me dripping swag; tongue out rocking a blue head band, blue arm band, and knee pads.

The Origin Story

I grew up in rural small town USA. My hometown, Liberty, IN, is home to a population of ~1,900. My summers were spent either playing basketball or bailing hay on my family’s farm. Growing up, my dad brought home seemingly endless piles of books for me and I devoured them all. My favorite genre is fantasy/adventure, which I now credit for my love of creating on my own adventures (thanks Dad!).

I played basketball collegiately at a college in Fort Wayne, IN, which I credit mostly to my height (I’m 6’7”) and hard work. Post college, I started working in finance and data analytics. I also became really involved in my community and volunteered for local non-for-profits.

Now 6 years out of college, it’s time to switch it up and enter an early retirement to spend 7 months attempting to hike the Great Western Loop.

 

 

How’d I get into backpacking?

Well… my friends and I were at a bar.

After a few tall beers at the Buffalo Wild Wings, we began sharing the crazy ideas on our bucket lists. At this point, we were all fresh into our friendships having met only a few months earlier at a leadership development course. We were all young – in our early to mid-twenties – and ambitious, so our bucket list items contained big goals: go to all seven continents, do an Ironman triathlon, get a pilot’s license, etc.

Landon shared his dream of going on a weeklong backing trip through a national park, and I was instantly sold.

Before this day, my only experience backpacking was a cold, miserable, three-day-turned-two-day trip in Rocky Mountain National Park during college. My college buddy and I spent a few days basking in the warmth of Denver in early fall. Being young, ignorant, and mostly stupid, we set off into the higher elevation of the Rocky Mountains with our backpacks, food, a tent, and no sleeping bags. As the sun set over the mountains, the temperatures quickly dropped from a comfortable 70 degrees into a bitter 30 degrees. We spent the night shivering despite cuddling for warmth. The next morning, we cut our trip a day short and hightailed it out of the park, thankful to have survived the night.

Now, three years later fueled by the liquid courage of those few tall beers, I was 110% ready  to plan a weeklong backpacking trip with Landon. We invited two other friends and got to planning. It didn’t matter we only had 3 total nights backpacking between the four of us – we knew this was going to be the trip of a lifetime!

We set our sights on a six-day backpacking trip through Yellowstone National Park. The trip highlight: the Thorofare Ranger Station famous for being the most remote dwelling in the lower 48 states. 25 miles to the nearest road, and as “out there” as one can be.

The trip was epic – we battled through snow, injuries, and the difficulties of hanging our food from bear bags – and I will never forget the feeling upon reaching Ranger Station. It was a place straight from my childhood dreams: we happened upon a worn-down trail meandered through a meadow before reaching the log cabin set against the stark grey of mountains a few hundred feet behind.

And since that trip, I’ve taken almost every vacation day to go backpacking.

First Backpacking Trip in Yellowstone in 2018. Pack weighed ~43 lbs for a 6 and a half day hike.

First Backpacking Trip in Yellowstone in 2018. Pack weighed ~43 lbs for a 6 and a half day hike.

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