THRU-HIKING, BACKPACKING, AND BIKEPACKING PROS:

Juliana “Chaunce” Chauncey

Chaunce got her first taste of living outdoors while working as the media director of a summer camp in Sierra City, CA, in 2013. Four summers living in a tent alongside the Pacific Crest Trail contributed to a growing desire to hike the trail, but before her first long distance hike, . . . Read More

Sara “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego” Dhooma

My life was changed forever after collapsing and nearly dying from a pulmonary embolism. While recovering in hospital, I vowed to live life to the fullest and complete my trekking bucket list. Since quitting my 15-year office job in August 2017, I have been full-time long-distance hiking around the world. I truly feel most alive and connected to the earth while walking a long-distance footpath. Read More

Jeff “Legend” Garmire

The thrill of adventure first spurred me to take a term off college and hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 2011. Since then I have hiked over 23,000 miles on eight thru-hikes ranging from 200 to 8,000 miles. I have been charged by grizzly bears, attacked by moose, swam frozen rivers and sprinted through lightning storms. The simplicity of living out of a backpack, being self-sufficient and covering every mile on foot is the allure. Somehow the same Katabatic Flex 22 quilt has accompanied me on over 15,000 of these miles! Read More

Cam “Swami” Honan

One of the world’s most prolific hikers, Cam “Swami” Honan has trekked more than 60,000 miles (96,561 km) in some 56 countries since the early 1990’s. In January, 2015, Backpacker Magazine called him, “the most travelled hiker on earth.” Read More about the man we like to call “The Original Katabatic Ambassador.”

Marco, Allison, Lucas, and Asha

Our family has always loved adventure and travel, but it wasn’t till COVID hit that we discovered our passion for hiking and backpacking. Living in Vermont, we are surrounded by trails and mountains. With the pandemic, we were forced to cancel our annual trip to visit our family in Ecuador and we were faced with the question of what to do. We decided to start hiking a mountain in Vermont every week. It was so fulfilling and energizing that we have made hiking an integral part of our life. We are preparing to thru-hike the Long Trail in Vermont this coming summer. Read More

Whitney “Allgood” LaRuffa

Whitney “Allgood” LaRuffa has hiked many long trails in the US (including the AT and CDT), but is most proud of his 2014 pioneering first thru-hike of the Chinook Trail, a 293 mile route through the Columbia River Gorge in Washington & Oregon. His K-9 companions have accompanied him on more than 6,000 hiking miles over the years. Read More

Steven “Twinkle” Shattuck

High summits, hard to reach wilderness, and lonely landscapes. That’s what I get in Colorado, and that’s what I strive to incorporate into my life as often as possible. I particularly enjoy long distance backpacking, having hiked most of the triple crown and several mid distance trails over the past decade. The full immersion is unlike any other form of outdoor recreation that I’ve found. Read More

Tales on Tyres: Jona and Franzi

We’re Franzi and Jona from ‘Tales On Tyres’ and we have been living a nomadic lifestyle since 2012. Our love and passion for the great outdoors simply keeps us moving and constantly wondering where we should head next. We started our long journey with a 3000km hike across New Zealand and although we loved it, we traded our backpacks only a few month later for two cheap hybrid bikes in India. Read More