CURRENT MISSION

To find a couchsurfing host (or more than one if four nights are too many) for my desire to attend the July 18-21 Integral Theory conference in Burlingame.

ABOUT ME

I'm passionate for political activism and social and economic justice. Having hiked nearly 4,000 miles, I'm an avid backpacker. Before getting a master's degree in public administration, I spent a decade in the investments industry. Now I'm in Prescott College's limited-residency Master of Arts Program in adventure education, focusing on wilderness travel.

Interests

Backpacking, sports (baseball, basketball and football), progressive public policies and politics, public service.

• arts
• education
• politics
• traveling
• survival
• hiking
• backpacking
• camping
• hunting
• sports
• baseball
• basketball
• soccer
• teaching
• public administration

Music, Movies, and Books

I like classic (e.g. AC/DC) and southern (e.g. Lynyrd Skynyrd) rock. One of my favorite older movies was Twelve Angry Men. Both Silence of the Lambs and State of Play were great. Two movies I enjoyed very much that I saw in theaters in recent years were Inception and The Avengers, and I'm addicted to Showtime's "Homeland" series. Currently, I'm reading Bram Stoker's Dracula. Of course, I spend most of my time reading books and periodicals related to my studies.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Once I set out for an afternoon hike without much gear. As soon as I turned around to begin hiking back to my car, I realized I was in a serious predicament. A wall of fog, which prevented my ability even to see my outstretched hand, met me almost confrontationally. Because I knew the terrain as well as I did – one side of the trail descended steeply down the mountain – I struggled with the realization I would have to make camp without a tent. After a while, rain began to fall relentlessly and the temperature probably dipped at least to forty degrees. Having become soaked, frankly I thought I would not make it through the night. Because of my shivering body and chattering teeth – what I consciously recognized was the onset of Hypothermia – I knew I had to do something. Remembering that I had some hand and toe warmers in my backpack, I began to rub them up and down my calves to maintain a flow of blood. … Obviously I survived that experience, but I realized I badly needed to develop my survival skills.

On another hiking trip, I inadvertently startled a hunter -- who was hunting illegally with a cross bow. At point blank range he thought I was a deer. Thankfully, he realized his error before releasing his arrow.

-- the view from Pike's Peak.