Our Team

  • Owner and Guide

    AMGA Apprentice Rock Guide and Single Pitch Instructor

    My first independent long trips away from home were mountain biking adventures in north Georgia. I remember going on trail rides with friends and saying “Why would I ever choose to go hike when I could ride a bike?” Almost 20 years later I consider long-distance hiking one of my favorite things to do and still believe that covering land by foot is hands-down the best way to travel.

    Early on in my outdoor experience I found passion and happiness in spending lengths of time outdoors on long trails. It was on one of those long trails that I met my best bud and go-to adventure partner, Marcus. Since then we have spent weeks and months at a time out on adventures to climb, run and summit peaks in places that leave us feeling even more inspired than when we arrived.

    These days I find the same passion and happiness while rock climbing, riding my bikes, sleeping outside under the stars, studying the plants in our forest, and guiding and instructing others along the way.

    I am currently working on gaining skills and experience to continue my professional development within the American Mountain Guide Association. I am also working on developing my skills and knowledge as a volunteer of the Transylvania County Rescue Squad.

    I live with my best friend and wife, Hunter and our three-legged dog Huckleberry. On my days off you will likely still find me in the forest but I also enjoying spending time at home, tackling fun projects with Hunter and hanging out with our incredible community of friends and family.

  • Backpacking Guide, Trail Running Guide and AMGA Single Pitch Instructor

    Born and bred as a North Carolina native, I was fortunate to be introduced to the mountains at a young age by my parents. In April 2015 I set out to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. Five months and 2,189 miles later I completed the trail along with my new friend James Perkins that I had met in the Great Smoky Mountains. Since that life changing hike, I have gone on to pursue over 10,000 miles of long distance thru hikes. Those hikes include the Mountains to Sea trail of NC, the Benton McKaye Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail. Beyond my passion to hike I found an intimate connection with ultra running, rock climbing and mountain biking. My pursuits have led me to placing in top 10 finishes of multiple ultramarathons, summiting big alpine peaks across the United States and Mexico, and grinding deep into the backcountry on long distance bike-packing routes. Over the past 10 years my career has stayed in line with my passions. Between thru hikes and climbing trips I have worked as an REI gear specialist and taught classes on thru hiking and backpacking. I am an AMGA certified Single Pitch Instructor and trained in Wilderness First Aid and CPR. When I’m not guiding you can find me trail running or biking with my trusty trail dog Luna, or enjoying a summit sunset after a day of climbing.

  • Backpacking and Day Hike Guide

    I grew up in Maryland immersed in the outdoors. It was a childhood spent climbing trees, splashing in creeks, and embarking on epic backyard adventures. These experiences, though often accompanied by bug bites, mud, and encounters with poison ivy, sparked a lifelong passion for nature. Learning to canoe and camp in my own backyard marked the beginning of my journey toward a career dedicated to the outdoors.

    I pursued a degree in Therapeutic Recreation, which led to years of teaching and facilitating outdoor education across diverse environments—on the water, in the snow, and deep in the woods of West Virginia. Encouraged by many to move to Western North Carolina, I explored the country through backpacking and hiking before settling in Pisgah National Forest. The connection I feel to the Appalachian region is profound, and sharing its beauty and wonders has become my passion.

    When I'm not working outdoors, you’ll likely still find me exploring nature. And now, I can share practical lessons, like identifying poison ivy!

  • Social Media Manager

    I am a proud Cheesehead, born and raised in Wisconsin. I didn’t grow up in an outdoorsy family. My mom was opposed to anything cold, wet, and uncomfortable. The one time we went camping, she hated it. Yeah, we went to Devil’s Lake State Park and went for nature walks along the trail and at Parfrey’s Glen but my undying love for the outdoors came much later in college. I was studying Public Relations in college and felt deeply dissatisfied with the career paths my professors were pushing on us. I was in my junior year, feeling lost on what I wanted to do with my life. I picked up a Recreation and Leisure Studies minor which required a field study. That’s when I found a recreation internship in Estes Park, CO at the YMCA of the Rockies in the summer of 2017. I fell in love with Rocky Mountain National Park and discovered parts of myself I didn’t know existed. My first backpacking trip followed in the Spring of 2018 in a backpacking college class where we spent three days on the Ozark Trail. I was hooked. After these life-changing experiences, I decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Recreation Management. From there, I moved to Colorado full-time in 2020 to work for Gilpin County Parks and Recreation, worked as an intern at Arches National Park, and then finally landed in Western North Carolina in 2021 which I called home for four years. I worked as a Digital Account Executive for a communications agency in Asheville, NC that specialized in outdoor brands primarily focusing on social media and email marketing management. In my spare time, I began volunteering in search and rescue with Buncombe County Rescue Squad and Transylvania County Rescue Squad. I earned my Mountain Search and Rescue certificates, became an EMT-B, completed North Carolina’s Technical Rope Rescue series along with the Wilderness and Swiftwater Rescue additions, and became an Advanced EMT. In May 2025, I made the decision to pack up and move to Arizona to pursue my dream of being a park ranger. When I am not park rangering, I am working on Adventure Grown Guide’s social media presence, knitting, reading, or trying to plan my next epic hiking trip.

  • Backpacking and Day Hike Guide

    I am an Appalachian-born mountain kid with a deep affinity for the wilderness.  My love affair with public lands began just outside of Brevard in Gorges State Park wherein I worked as park attendant assisting with trail maintenance, rescue operations, tracking wildlife, and a lot (a whole lot) of lawncare.  In 2019 I took up backpacking in search of myself which eventually grew into fastpacking and ultrarunning all over the southeast.  In 2021 I set my sights west along the Arizona Trail - my first completed thru-hike.

    I find movement to be an avenue for presentness, and especially so in wild and engaging places.  Working hard to ascend through the alpine brings me a similar kind of clarity that I find while pulling sleds through the arctic or running through the forest.  I think the beautiful thing about movement is that it scales to the aspirations of each of us, and some form of it can be found every single day if we are open to it.

    Most of my guiding experience has been served in snowier lands, which now means I have much to look forward to in sharing my home region and all its fascinating history with others in these ancient hills.  Along with that, I am excited to learn more about guiding in an environment that offers such a variety of accessible terrain.  Finishing my International Polar Guiding Association (IPGA) certificate, deepening my field medical skillset, and acquiring a naturalist’s certificate are all in my sights.

    When I’m not doing the whole outdoors thing, I am usually at my home in Sapphire reading adventure memoirs or enjoying a nice beer and discovering new music.