Our Crew

The head honcho, the big cheese, the crew’s veritable Ernest Shackleton. Have I gone too far? Perhaps, but I’m the one making the site and writing the copy, so tough luck. This important role does not come without hard work and sacrifice! I rallied the troops, braved the doomsday-prepper’s lair to acquire affordable freeze dried meals, made packing lists, hosted coordination calls, and selflessly tripped over a root night one and destroyed McInnes’ chair to teach everyone a valuable lesson about bringing untested gear into the field (you’re welcome Cam)!

To think he was at one point considering bailing?!?? With who, then, would have I spent hours training the sequence of motions needed to acquire the permits we sought at exactly the moment they opened? And if he hadn’t locked in one of them himself, this crew page would be 4 blurbs shorter. Plus, for not much of a camper, this guy got down and dirty with the best of em (and was one heck of a snuggler).

In her (ultimately failed) attempts to dance around repeated offers of drinks from my aunt & uncle on Four Pass Eve, Meg unwittingly performed an ancient rain dance and helped empty the clouds of a typhoon-level amount of moisture that night, clearing the skies for an idyllic few days of trekking. What this chiquita lacks in size (and vocal decibel), she more than makes up for in kickass camp crocs. Oh… and did I mention her pack is ultralight?!??

The epitome of ice-in-her-veins cool. On little more than a week’s notice, this queen powered through mile after mile of trail on blistered feet without so much as a frosty remark. If that wasn’t cold-blooded enough, she made us all look like major herbs as she outlasted us all at Snowmass lake, leisurely chilling in freezing alpine runoff like it was a piping hot bubble bath.

Who’s this lil’ 5’ 5” firecracker?? It’s none other than our badass bohemian backpacking babe, Helena! She planned training trips in the months prior and then ran security for the party on the real deal, packing bear spray neeeeearly as spicy as her personality (jk, not even close). Luckily she’s a nature-loving pacifist and the alignment of the heavens (with which she is perfectly attuned) helped guide us to a path free of pepper-shed.

Was hard to say I wasn’t in the middle of the Terminator 4 filming the way this trail cyborg chewed up terrain. If so, I must have missed the scene near the end of the last one where they switched from machine oil to bourbon whiskey & looseleaf tobacco as his maintenance lubrication. Who brings a full handle on a backpacking trip anyways? A man/robot with his/it’s priorities straight, that’s who.

This heavy metal coder splashed on the scene from sea level and quickly decided that altitude was a myth, shredded grueling pass climbs like it was a jaunt through Central Park (his 2nd fav Big Apple attraction after only Times Square). The guy is a walking Peloton ad, no wonder my camera couldn’t stay off him & that fit that would make a highlighter jealous.

So what if his tent is weird and soaking wet? The man bounced back from his van biting the dust on the drive out, literally Ubered several hours to the trailhead to bring the people what they wanted (the Cams) and what the mosquitoes didn’t (head nets for the whole gang), truly an MVP. Not to mention the freshest pits on the trail and those sexy ankle gaiters… sorry ladies, this handsome hog is spoken for.

You know what’s sicker than hiking nearly 30 miles through high alpine terrain? Doing it with only one fully-operational knee. Practically speaking, that other knee is responsible for like double the credit, soooo like 60 miles of credit #trailmath. If we’re rolling the dice (like the ones she cleverly packed so we could game Dead-Man’s-Chest-style at camp) for the toughest S.O.B. on the trek, my money’s on it coming up double Ted.

What are the odds a guy a day behind catches up to the group (let alone finds them!) in the middle of the vast wilderness? Pretty dern low. And what’s the apex possible set point for a hammock in which the setter can still safely (well, mostly safely) get inside? Turns out, it’s pretty dern high. From your lows to your highs, chances are Sullivan is your man to defy expectations.

Not going to lie, was a lil’ worried about how this sweet munchkin’s backcountry manners would hold up, but he was remarkably well-behaved! Not only did he stay on trail, but his eager kisses were the closest any of us had to a shower over the 4 days! And so what if he might have made a move for a friend’s dad?? The guy was dressed like a tasty piece of jerky and ’Nobi is only human (wait, no… canine), so who can blame him.

Unseen but surely felt, this wily force deftly orchestrated not just one, but TWO unlikely trail reunions that made this fractured hiking party whole and several adorable marmot encounters (such as the one that can be spotted here by the eagle-eyed among us). And I know I’ve already attributed the perfect weather to Ms. Meg, but I have a hard time believing ol’ trail magic didn’t have a wand wave involved in the business.