Hi! I’m TJ. Thanks for stopping by.
It’s easy for me to pinpoint where my love and respect for the outdoors stems from. Everyone experiences nature in their own way; your idea of the outdoors might be vastly different than mine. I was brought up in the great Pacific Northwest, surrounded by family and friends who spent a good amount of time in the outdoors. Starting out very young, my cousins and I started working for the family farm where we grew fruit and raised cattle. As for our downtime, we would do things like finding trails to ride our dirt bikes on, fishing in someone’s pond, or hunting small game.
When i was a young teenager I was fascinated with the story of my uncle who had once been lost for a week in the woods during the winter and barely survived. I took the fear of the unknown and decided to challenge myself. By then i was spending a majority of my time camping with friends in the woods so learned how to build a shelter and start a fire and always carried certain items with me to be prepared.
Once driving myself became an option, it is fair to say that the outdoors became even more apart of my life. White water rafting season starts in the spring and my summers were spent entirely outside, floating the river, camping, and wake boarding at the lake. During the winter i found it hard to keep up with the attendance requirement at my high school thanks to the excellent snow conditions calling my name on the slopes.
Recently I decided to relocate from the paradise that is the PNW and move to a Caribbean island, still driven by the outdoors. Now I hike in the rainforest and I’m learning to surf! Plus, camping out on the beach is a blast!
Although nature is full of beauty we must not forget the dangers that may be lurking around each corner. Unfortunately accidents can and do happen, and when you are far from help it can be traumatic. In my own experience I have broken bones and have lost loved ones in the outdoors, so I urge you to educate yourself with your surroundings and always be prepared when you are enjoying mother nature.