So you want to know a little more about me?

At 23 years of age from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, I'm a recent graduate (well, I will be when I finish the chemistry correspondence course sitting in my closet) of the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. I´ll graduate with a BSE in Occupational Safety.

The outdoors have always been a big part of my life. As a sailing instructor for two years (my 470 class racing sailboat is in the back-yard now, awaiting my return), I enjoyed sailing the open waters of Lake Michigan, and organizing a racing team in high school. In college, I filled that craving for open space by learning to soar the open skies as a hang-glider pilot and by organizing the UW-Whitewater Hang Gliding Club, hence my Trail name—“Skygod” (and the fact that some hiking involves climbing in or above the clouds). In the winter, I enjoy skiing in a big way. I taught skiing for Snowstar Ski School out of Milwaukee for eight years, and now that I am done with college life, I currently teach skiing full time at Vail Mountain in Vail, Colorado, and have skied over 130 consecutive days since Thanksgiving

Upon finishing my internship in Occupational Safety for GE Medical Systems last August, I was looking for an opportunity of a lifetime—something I would only be able to do now, before getting a job that would lock me into a life of 40 hour work weeks and very limited vacation time. Upon
thinking about this, images of a couple of the spring break trips that I spent hiking the AT emerged, along with the adventures and challenges that were parts of this experience. Suddenly, I found myself in the computer lab gathering information on thru-hiking instead of typing my papers. And, the rest is history ... or soon will be.—Andy