Editorials & Profiles

Revolutionize Your Life With an Outdoor Challenge: One Inspiring Woman Shows You How   Written for Washington Trails magazine   Visit the published magazine article here and the companion blog here   Do you have trouble keeping your New Year’s resolutions? Maybe you’re thinking too small. Whether it’s to get outside more, hike farther or discover new trails, there’s a cure for the common New Year’s resolution. It’s a big, bold audacious yearlong challenge. Think it can’t be done? Meet Beautiful Existence. We first learned of Beautiful Existence (yes, that’s her legal name) and her signature yearlong challenges in early 2014, as she set out to spend the year trying every sport that REI offers gear for. In the process, she revolutionized her...

Forever on Trail and in Hearts: Lessons from Karen Sykes   Written for Washington Trails magazine   Visit the published article here   I often find myself wondering about the meaning of life. Don’t we all, at some point? There comes a time when we simply can’t go through the motions—getting up, going to work, coming home, falling asleep and living for the weekend—without wanting something more. But knowing you want more is the easy part. The hard part is discovering what that means. How, exactly, do you go about having a more meaningful life? An ancient proverb says, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” And I know no better teacher than Karen Sykes, the beloved and prolific Northwest outdoors writer who introduced thousands to hiking...

Lessons from Legends: Washington’s Hiking Icons   Coordinated, written  and edited for Washington Trails magazine   Visit the published article here   How do you leave a legacy for trails? That’s a big question. For inspiration in answering it, we went in search of wisdom from some of the most epic—and impactful—hikers we know. None of them set out to leave a legacy. Some of them didn’t even start out as hikers. But all of them have changed the face of the outdoors in Washington. Their stories and lessons show how you can do the same.   Joan Burton: Introduce Kids to the Outdoors (Photo above) In the Washington outdoors scene, Joan Burton is nothing short of a celebrity. As a teenager, she climbed six of the highest mountains in...

Day 38: When Darlene Bock, 52, was in elementary school, she came home crying nearly every day after school. The kids said she was too tall, too skinny, and too ugly. It was, to say the least, incredibly hurtful. And it impacted her confidence, until she learned something that her own mom had learned many years before. “You don’t let people tell you who you are,” Darlene said. “YOU tell you who you are.” Darlene’s mom had gone through a lot of the same challenges in life that Darlene was facing, and then some. Her mom was legally blind, very tall, and not attractive. Both suffered from Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disease that affected their eyes, heart, lungs, kidneys, and nearly every other body system you could think of. Marfan Syndrome was the reason...

Day 75: Bill Kenower, 47, knows a lot about stories. He’s the Editor-in-Chief of Author Magazine, hosts a weekly radio show by authors for authors, and recently finished writing his memoir, “No One is Broken.” Bill knows first-hand how to craft a good story, but for many years he did just the opposite. It impacted his whole life, and according to him, you may be falling into the same trap. Although Bill is a full-time writer now, things weren’t always this way. For more than 20 years he worked as a waiter while writing and acting on the side. It was a way to pay the bills and support a wife and children. The money was a blessing, but the job felt like a complete curse. “I felt trapped and imprisoned at the restaurant,” Bill said. “And I felt like a victim to the...

Day 54: Last week I finally had the opportunity to sit down and speak with New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin O’Brien. I had been looking forward to our meeting immensely. It wasn’t just the fact that he was a famous author that had my curiosity piqued; he came with his own reputation. Several people in the writing community had sung his praises to me, and I had to see what all of the excitement was about. As soon as Kevin joined me at the cafe table, steaming cup of coffee in hand, I felt like I had known him for years. It was the way he was so easy to talk to, his propensity for good humor and laughter. I couldn’t wait to ask him about his greatest life lesson. “It’s really simple,” Kevin said. “Always clean the lint trap for the next person.” As we...