Meet our Shoestring Adventures Trip Leaders, the real life superheroes who make up our family.
Shoestring Adventures Trip Leader: Canyon
Hometown:
Los Angeles, CA
Real life superpower:
An acute sense of direction.
Favorite Outdoor Skill to Teach:
How to make a proper campfire.
Tell us about yourself!
Life outdoors is my passion. I don’t see it as a form of recreation but more as a way of life. We were born from this Earth, and I think when we are in tune with its most simple state (nature) that we are our most balanced.
I love teaching! Before graduating college with a Recreation Systems Management degree from San Diego State I was a Head High School Lacrosse Coach. While I had an extreme passion for coaching, I wanted to transition my teaching into what I loved outside of work.
Leading camping/backpacking trips is a dream come true and I hope my enthusiasm for the outdoors and teaching shines through positively on our warriors!
When did you first discover your love for the outdoors?
I first discovered my love for the outdoors when I got my license at 16.
Throughout my early childhood all of my time was spent outside having grown up in the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity my parents gave me on road trips in my early years to see beautiful outdoor settings (National Parks, etc.). As a kid you don’t really conceptualize where your passion lies, you just live it. So the ‘first’ time I consciously recognized it was after I got my license. I was driving my car deep into the mountains with friends, sneaking into campgrounds and camping in the cuts. That was the first time the ‘this is it’ feeling started to set in.
What do you love about leading Shoestring Adventures trips?
What I love about leading Shoestring Adventures trips is the opportunity to be in the planets most beautiful places and meeting new people!
How do you spend your time when you’re not leading Shoestring Adventures?
I spend my time surfing daily, if not multiple times a day. Exploring new craft food/beer scenes with friends. Car camping and backpacking. Climbing. Slack-lining. Cliff Jumping.
Honestly, I’m up for anything as long as it’s new and preferably outside!
What is your favorite piece of gear?
A durable/warm multi-layered water proof jacket. Once you get cold it’s really tough to swing back to warmth, so the goal is to not get cold. A great jacket prevents that.
What advice do you have for first-time campers who want to get outdoors?
Start small; go to local State Parks, first-come-first-serve campgrounds and do weekend trips off. All you need are good vibes, food/water, and something to keep you warm at night.
Second in that regard is don’t talk about it. Be about it!
What do you hope Shoestring Warriors will learn from you?
How to love and coexist with nature while respecting it.
Who’s someone who has inspired you? Tell us why.
Plenty of people have inspired me, but in hindsight without knowing it at the time, my inspiration was a close friends sister who surfed professionally. Seeing the way that she built a formula to sustain her living while doing what she loved, surrounding herself by amazing people, and always traveling, showed me that if you follow your passion it can become your whole life.
The perfect s’more?
Bronze on the outside. White on the inside. More crunchy chocolate than graham cracker. The crunch is what does it…
Follow more of Canyon’s adventures on Instagram!
