Stories From The Mountain

Laura Stewart (@_laurajstewart_) Hello! Who are you and where are your hiking roots? I grew up in Liberty, a small town in Southeast Texas and, growing up, was never what you would consider an “outdoors person”, or even an athletic person for that matter (I was a dancer, which is athletic...but I was never good enough to make any sports teams). In 2017 I was having a hard time with the fact that I was turning 34 and was single, had no children, was up in the air about my career - I just wasn’t happy with where I was in life at the time and decided that I needed to do something about it. I started thinking about the...

Hello! Who are you and where are your hiking roots? Hi, my name is Bret Blakely, I grew up and live in Buffalo, NY which I absolutely love. It is nice as a photographer to have Niagara Falls 20 minutes away but many people don’t realize how close we are to so many amazing places like Letchworth State Park. Letchworth is known as the Grand Canyon of the East and is truly spectacular. I spent many days as a child and adult hiking Letchworth, the Adirondacks and Allegheny. This started at a young age with yearly camping trips with the family from as young as I can remember and I’m appreciative that they exposed me to the outdoors. I have...

Hello! Who are you and where are your hiking roots? Hi my name is Spencer and I’m a student, climber, photographer, documentarian, steward, and friend.  Having been born and raised in Washington State, I don’t have any specific memories of when I started going outside. As long as I can remember, I have been in the outdoors in various capacities. However, I think my first regular contact with the outdoors, and wilderness in particular, was through the Boy Scouts. So if I were asked “what do you love most about being outdoors? Health, quiet, solitude, friends, pushing your limits?” I’d say- yes, all the above. I remember being fairly apathetic towards the concept of merit badges, ranks, and troop rivalries;...

Hello! Who are you and where are your hiking roots? I’m Liz, I’m a chronic over-thinker and hopeless romantic daydreamer who finds solace on the trail. Although I wasn’t raised hiking long distances or backpacking, my parents instilled a curiosity for the world around me. That wonder translated to nature when I was in high school and bought my first pair of trail runners, La Sportiva Fireblades (I ended up having three pairs of these, but they eventually discontinued them. I’m still heartbroken). Those bright yellow Fireblades made me feel unstoppable. Even if I was slow, I felt fast every time I put them on. After school, I would hit the local trails near my house on Signal Mountain, Tennessee....

My name is Kimber Cross and I am born and raised in Western Washington. My parents raised me on a small farm an hour away from Mount Rainier. We raised cows and have a massive orchard and garden. My hiking roots begin in my youth when my friends and I would do weekend hikes. That turned into backpacking trips as I got into my twenties, then full on mountaineering and summiting all the volcanoes and peaks that I could in this beautiful state during my thirties.