Author: Evan

I’ve spent the last 17 years leading IT teams during the week and every free moment chasing wild places. I’m a lifelong problem-solver, a maker, and the guy who buys the tool and figures it out rather than calling a contractor. That curiosity and grit eventually led me away from screens and deep into the Sierra Nevada backcountry. My path into backpacking wasn’t pretty. My first trip as an adult was so miserable I returned all my gear. So I got myself stronger, learned the ultralight way, and found that when you carry less, you experience more. I’ve never had a bad day on the trail since, even in the rain, even when things go sideways. Especially then, because nobody remembers the trips where everything goes perfectly, the stories are in the hard stuff. For almost 20 years I’ve guided whitewater trips, hiked and backpacked in the Sierra, and raised five kids on a steady diet of forests, rivers, and outdoor adventure. In my adventure group they call me the Fun Ambassador, because I’m usually the one saying, “Yeah that sounds rad, when do we leave?” I believe in Type 2 fun (the kind that’s hard and unforgettable), and occasionally Type 3 fun, though we try to keep that one off the itinerary. I’m not a mountaineering hero, or an expert botanist, or a professor of Yosemite history. What I am is a Wilderness First Responder, a permitted guide through the National Park Service, and someone who has spent years earning lessons the real way, one mile, one mistake, and one sunrise at a time.