Mojave National Preserve

Born and raised in central Kentucky, my love of the mountains developed slowly. First, I fell in love with the Appalachian mountains while working in watershed development in Eastern Kentucky. Later, after moving to Asia, I began to feel the ever present call of the mountains as I road the trains of Japan and China through them, weaving my way through places like Japan's Gifu mountain range and China's famous Guilin region during my many reporting trips. It was not until I moved to the Caucasus region that my love of the world's peaks became insatiable and utterly undeniable. I climbed through every mountain range I could get my hands on while living in the country of Georgia, from the more ancient ranges of Borjomi, to the spectacular Svaneti region, to the remote and magical Tusheti region. After that, I chased mountains where ever I went, from the Greek Islands to across the US; from up and down the east coast, to all over the central and southern rockies, to the rugged southwest. Now that I am based in Southern California I am in the mountains every week exploring the trails, plants and animals that call these strange, beautiful coastal desert mountains home.