CURRENT MISSION

Experiencing different city arrangements in order to find a way to make the American life more sustainable.

ABOUT ME

I got married at 21 and that's when my life really began. Since then, we've bought and sold a house in a transitional neighborhood in Nashville, TN. We started careers in Charlotte, NC and hated it so we moved back home to Columbus, Ohio. We decided to attempt a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2009, so we moved in with her mom to secure cheap rent while we worked and saved money to make that happen. We got our opportunity and lived on foot for 6 1/2 months, walking day in and day out from Georgia to Maine. It was CRAZY! We've made all sorts of friends and have really never stopped adventuring.

Now, we're both in school and adventuring whenever we can get away. I'm in Grad School for City and Regional Planning, so every new town is a welcomed experience!

PHILOSOPHY

"In short, all good things are wild and free. There is something in a strain of music, whether produced by an instrument or by the human voice--take the sound of a bugle in a summer night, for instance--which by its wildness, to speak without satire, reminds me of the cries emitted by wild beasts in their native forests. It is so much of their wildness as I can understand. Give me for my friends and neighbors wild men, not tame ones. The wildness of the savage is but a faint symbol of the awful ferity with which good men and lovers meet." Henry David Thoreau, from "Walking"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Throughout my AT hike, I met several "regular folks" that had no interest in hiking, but were quite interested in meeting hikers and helping them out. We call them Trail Angels. I'm still a hiker at heart and I'd love to share my experiences and see your city through your eyes. Maybe someday I'll be more of a host, or Trail Angel, but I fear my schedule is just too busy for that right now.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've hosteled, stayed at friendlies, camped and surfed couches belonging to friends. All of these experiences have come during or as a result of my AT hike.

I've hosted a hiker that I barely knew on the trail, and I've developed close friendships with strangers over as few as one or two days together.

Interests

Long distance hiking, city planning, smart growth, alternative energy, foot travel, vegetarianism, hockey, art appreciation, music.

• arts
• walking
• traveling
• music
• hiking
• backpacking
• hockey

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: The Features, Coldplay, Andrew Bird, Rocco Delucca, Phoenix, Jack Johnson, Deas Vail, Eric Hutchinson, Death Cab for Cutie, Jimmy Eat World, Radiohead, 3OH!3, Needtobreathe and plenty more.

Books: I'm a big fan of Donald Miller's works. I like "Searching for God Knows What" the best.

Movies: Action and/or comedy.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hiked 2200 miles over 6.5 months.

Teach, Learn, Share

If you've ever thought about backpacking a long hike, I'm your guy. I did it with no experience, which means I had to do a crazy amount of research first, I'd love to share it!

Countries I’ve Visited

Czech Republic, Germany, Moldova, Netherlands, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States

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