Welcome to the Trail

July 30, 2026

If you're reading this, you're probably one of two kinds of people: someone who loves being outdoors, or someone looking for a little more meaning in the outdoors and unsure how to get started. Either way, you're in the right place.

Why This Site Exists

I've spent a lot of years on trails — as a hammock camper, a backpacker, and an adult leader with Scouting America. Some of my best memories have come from teaching a kid how to read a map, watching a Scout figure out a bowline knot on his own, or sitting under a tarp in the rain with nowhere better to be.

Along the way, I started noticing something: almost every skill the outdoors teaches you — patience, preparation, trust, endurance — has a scriptural echo. Packing light isn't just an ultralight philosophy; it's a lesson in what you actually need to carry. Reading the terrain ahead isn't just navigation; it's a picture of walking by faith one step at a time.

This site is where those two threads come together: practical outdoor skills and the faith lessons hiding inside them.

What You Can Expect Here

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Gear guides and trail reports — real breakdowns of what's in my pack and why, including lessons learned from planning and hiking longer trails.

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Skills-based how-tos — the same things I teach my Scouts and my own kids: shelter building, navigation, campfire basics, trip planning, and more.

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Faith-and-outdoors reflections — short devotionals that pull a spiritual lesson out of a physical skill, meant for anyone who wants their time outside to mean something more.

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Tools to help you plan — I'm building a gear weight estimator to help you dial in your own pack, with more resources on the way.

What's Coming Up

Right now I'm deep in training for a multi-day thru-hike of the Foothills Trail — about 76 miles through South Carolina and North Carolina — with my son. I'll be sharing the training plan, the gear list, and the story as it unfolds, good and bad.

You'll also start seeing this content show up on YouTube and Instagram soon, so if this resonates, stick around — there's more coming.

Glad to have you here. Let's get out there.

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