Outdoor Adventures

From 2006 to the present, I spend most of my free time in the outdoors one way or the other.  I first acquired the backpacking bug from my Uncle when we did a short section of the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park in August, 2005.  I then went on a rock climbing and whitewater rafting trip to the New River Gorge, West Virginia in 2005 with my high school Outdoor club where I was the president.  My love for rock climbing grew and so did my passion for whitewater.   On a road trip with my mom later in 2005 in New England we decided that it would be a great idea to go ocean kayaking in Bar Harbor, ME.  This turned out to be an amazing trip and it opened our eyes to adventure.  The next day we headed west towards the mountains and went with Moxie Whitewater down the Kennebec River. Our guide Ben and the other crew made an amazing steak lunch in the middle of the trip. After graduation from high school I went on a trip with my dad and step-mom to Colorado where my dad and I hiked to the top of Pikes Peak.  The ascent was a two day trip in which we stayed at Barr Camp where we received an excellent place to stay, enjoyed some friendly company from the resident staff at the camp, and had a great breakfast before our "summit bid". I received a kayak from my dad for a graduation present soon after the Colorado trip.  The next few years in college were a lot of fun as my girlfriend Trista (now wife) and I did a lot of hiking and kayaking in western Pennsylvania.  I acquired some rock climbing gear one year for Christmas and Trista and I took rock climbing classes at Exkursion Outfitters in Monroeville, PA.  These classes proved to be a great experience and I soon started taking others climbing including the Outing Club at IUP.  The club's president soon graduated and I thought it would be a great experience for me to share my love for the outdoors with others so I acquired the leadership of the club. In 2009 I acquired a whitewater kayak and began to take classes at Rocky Mountain Outfitters in New Stanton.  Time and training constraints led to me eventually selling my boat but I am committed to getting back into the eddies.  After graduating from college, I got a job, a wife, a house, and now I have a daughter born on January 26th, 2011.  Although the 2011 season was a bust for adventure I am now working on getting youth involved in the outdoors through the United Church of Christ in western Pennsylvania.  I am working on being a licensed minister through the UCC church where I plan on starting an outdoor ministry program that will spread the word of God through parts of the community that typically do not go to church on a regular basis.