The Modern Explorer

From a spark at a young age, exploring many of the country's national parks, to urban exploration as a young adult, to what has now captured her full attention in the mountaineering and bike-packing scenes, Emily does not lack adventurous stories. It was a pleasure hearing about her experiences in the Eastern Sierras, where she found the belief in herself and passion for climbing big mountains, to...

This was a super fun episode with Zach, talking about how early sunrise hikes before class in high school turned into 3 months abroad exploring Iceland, the Italian Dolomites, and the Faroe Islands. Since then he has spent time in Peru on three separate trips, with one story that you are sure to want to listen into, exploring remote homesteads, hiking through torrential downpours, and building con...

In this episode, Natalie shares her journey from starting off her career in California spending time at the beach and hiking in the surrounding area to becoming obsessed with the mountains once she moved to Seattle and experienced the grandeur of Mt Rainier. After a tough experience in her next role in Phoenix, she soon found herself back in Washington finding the healing powers of the mountains a...

If you're looking to get deep, this is your episode. Ian and I dive into some great life lessons and he shares some incredible journeys and trips he has been on over the years. He first picked up a camera as a therapeutic device to get him outdoors and embrace the healing powers of nature as he recovered from several head injuries, and little did he know, this would be the spark for future travels...

This episode is loaded with fun stories, life advice, and inspiration for your next adventure. Chris shares how he broke away from the 9-5 and the spark that through hiking the CDT created for him in his new life. Listen in to hear a wild hitch-hiking story early in his CDT trek and some vivid descriptions from his experiences with monsoons while in Nepal. On top of these stories, he shares some s...

This conversation was such a blast with Bryce. He talks about the defining moment of work taking a toll and how a trip to Europe changed his whole perspective. Not too much later after his return to the States, he was off in his truck from Charleston to White Sands, the some 2,000 plus miles basically on a whim. We dive into the benefits of social media and the way it's connected us and other peop...

Pumped to be sharing this one with you all as Paige shares some exciting stories from two different volcanic eruptions and some details into the life of a storm chaser. Listen in to hear about her leaving her rental car on the side of the road in Guatemala as she and her crew trekked up Acatenango to witness the eruption, wearing a dress in 10 degree weather in Iceland, and getting caught in 80-90...

Jump in for a listen to Brandon Dotinga's journey to landing in the beautiful state of Utah. Brandon shares how he jumped around a bit from California to the midwest and how a few backpacks in Utah led to him eventually settling in there. While managing the busy lifestyle with a young kid, he managed to share the camping experience with his son this past year, and has plans to continue this in 202...

This episode is loaded with adventure and wisdom from an absolute badass mountaineer in Jason Weiss. He shares stories from the start of his time out west and the spark that a backpack through the John Muir Trail had in leading him to gradually make his way to bigger and badder stuff. Hop on for a listen to his time in Nepal and summiting Ama Dablam for sunrise as well as a few quotes that are sur...

While my aim of this show is to share other people's stories and experiences, I figured with the end of the year coming up, it could be fun for me to share more about my experiences over the last year as opposed to the small snippets you may have heard in past episodes. This year has been one I've been dreaming about since early in my Colorado days. I never would have imagined traveling to Patagon...

This episode is full of stories from Alaska to Utah along with some great mindsets for anyone looking to expand their networks and ways of thinking. Kai shares some memorable moments from time spent living and working up in Denali and some experiences road-tripping through southern Utah where he was joined by a group of 8-10 other creatives along the journey. Through this episode you will be quick...

This episode is full of stories from Travis, highlighting backpacking trips through the Elk range in Colorado to several treks throughout Peru, and then a wild one from peaking one of Colorado's toughest 14ers in Capitol Peak. He shares some valuable lessons and takeaways from these travels as he pushed his limits, often while out on solo adventures. I'm sure we will be having him back in the futu...

This episode was a ton of fun diving into Pat's story and a few trips along the way. He is an absolute beast of a hiker and clearly well-traveled from the stories you will hear in this episode. His insight to change and being a late-bloomer to the outdoors scene is worth the listen no matter what your hobbies are. Pop this one on for some good laughs, inspiring stories, and a spark in the way you...

It was a pleasure having Wyatt on this episode and hearing about the work he's done to keep trails up and the beautiful places we explore clean, some wild adventures including a trip to Vietnam, and his plans for the future with his family traveling and living out of their camper. He also shared some wise advice for those wanting to get out and do more with what means the most to them that is wort...

Super pumped to have a good friend and incredible photographer on this episode today, Mike Dowdell. We met about a year ago chasing the fall foliage in SW Colorado and have been on some incredible adventures ever since. Mike shares how his love for photography was instant as soon as he picked up his first camera three years ago, and his travels ever since have produced a number of stories that we...

On this episode, I chat with Wyatt Shaffer, a talented photographer based in Florida, with an eye for everything from cityscapes to landscapes as well as some beautiful product work. He shares some stories of trips where there wasn't much of an agenda, except to go out and explore and see what catches his eye, a mindset I think a lot of photographers these days could take note of. We also talk abo...

After a bit of a hiatus, I am back with a new episode and stoked for this one. Chandler and I have been chatting for a while, but with the fall season keeping both of us busy it took some time to get this one lined up. We are quick to get into how covid inspired him to pick up a camera and start exploring more of where he grew up in the state of Utah. He shares how the hobby quickly became a passi...

Stoked to be back with a new episode with a new guest, Taylor Dalton. He shared some amazing stories from traveling the country in a converted bus to jam-packed 24-hour adventures in the desert. His advice, not only for creators, but people in general looking to grow and live a life they can look back on and be proud of is worth the listen alone. Go follow along with his new adventures on instagra...

We are back with this in-person episode from Twin Lakes with some sage words from Brad Couture. I've been following Brad for quite a while and was stoked to finally meet him in person as we both were sending it around Colorado to catch the fall foliage. He has some of the most underrated photography work out there and also some mindsets that can be applicable to anyone, regardless of their occupat...

In this episode, Madi shares how her love for photography has been with her since a child, yet has evolved over the years into what now is a love for wildlife photography. Among this and a few other experiences, she talks about the importance of being present in a world of social media, where our attention is constantly being pulled to other parts of the country or world. She also expresses the im...

The people you meet on your travels are what makes the trip and in some cases your life. This episode's guest, Luke Stankiewicz, can say that both were the case while working on the road, leading to him meeting his wife. Luke shares his story from initially traveling for work in the events industry to picking up his camera and honing the craft to share more of his life from the road. A fellow east...

Bryce was a pleasure to have on the show as he shared some incredible stories from his travels and some defining moments in his life that completely shifted his outlook. The lessons he describes from all of his experiences are ones that everyone can learn from and look to implement into their lives as well. It was cool to hear how he is bringing those lessons and mindsets to his work on a set of d...

The positive energy from this episode is palpable. Luke brought some awesome experiences and mindsets to the stage and got me excited to go out, do some exploring, and keep living the life that is authentic to me. He shares how he took a complete career jump and how that, and his move from the Midwest out to Utah, has changed his life. Anyone I've talked to has shared how passionate Luke is about...

Grab some headphones and give this one all your attention. Justin has the most inspiring story I've heard on the show, countless lessons and mindsets, and the ability to tell some damn good stories. He shares memories from his childhood, spending time catching frogs in the woods until the sun went down, and some big life decisions that changed his whole trajectory. After overcoming drug addiction,...

This episode was a new one for the pod in many ways. To start, Courtney was the first nominated guest that I had never met prior to our conversation. On top of that, it was the first virtual conversation. With all that said, it was an incredible chat. Courtney clearly has been up to some awesome adventures and the excited energy she spoke of her trips with made it clear how passionate she was abou...