Hi, my name is Eric. 👋
I’ve been drawn to the outdoors for as long as I can remember. As a kid, nothing made me happier than being outside — camping, hiking, or spending time in the woods as a Scout. Somewhere along the way, being in nature stopped being a hobby and became a core part of who I am.
My first National Park visit was in 2008, standing on the summit of Haleakalā. A year later, my brothers and I backpacked through Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and that trip is what truly hooked me on backpacking and the mountains.
In 2009, the Ken Burns series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea aired, and I made a decision that would quietly shape the next chapter of my life: I was going to visit all of the U.S. National Parks.
I started planning a two-week trip to Yellowstone and Glacier for the summer of 2010, and it became one of the most memorable and formative experiences of my life. After that, I was all-in.
In late 2025, I visited park #63 of 63, completing that goal over the course of more than 17 years and 180+ individual park visits. Along the way, the parks shaped me in ways I never expected — through moments of awe, challenge, silence, and connection. What surprised me most wasn’t finishing the list, but realizing it didn’t feel like an ending at all.
63/63 wasn’t the end — it was the foundation.
My favorite National Park is Yosemite.
There’s something about that valley — the granite, the waterfalls, the giant sequoias, the way the light shifts, the way the air changes when the sun drops behind the walls. I’ve stood in front of Half Dome as it glowed orange, watched moonlight spill across the meadows, and felt that unmistakable pull that says: you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.
I return to Yosemite more often than anywhere else. It feels less like a place and more like a part of my story.
When I’m out in wild places, I bring a camera everywhere. I love capturing timelapses, alpenglow, quiet trail moments, wildlife encounters, and single-shot long exposures under dark skies. Photography is how I share the feeling these places give me.
Thanks for being here and following along on the journey.
Eric
MountainsCalling.me