12/03/2026
20 years ago today I stepped onto the Appalachian Trail.
It took 5 million steps, 15 states, and 2,200 miles (3,500 km for the rest of the world).
In the first week on the trail I wrote:
“Walking through the woods, feeling each step, sometimes painful, sometimes light… it brings you back into the body. Life becomes simple out here. The goal of the day is just to experience it all. Soak it in. Walk. Feel.”
I was 25 and, and like many at that age, a little lost and searching.
What I found was simple: Nature+movement+community+adventure changes everything.
The funny thing is that while the trail ended, the adventure and the searching hasn’t
Before the trail, the sudden loss of my dad had already sent me to India, Africa, and Mexico, looking for answers in temples, inner practices, and philosophy.
After the trail came China, Mandarin, qi gong, martial arts, and spent time in silent retreats.
Then love brought me to France with Claire and into the “challenge” of a more “normal” life with real jobs, a rent to pay and eventually and our 2 boys Lou and Finn.
Then that famous midlife phase (crisis or opportunity?) has brought all the seeking back to the forefont.
Recently the path has taken me to Peru for shamanic journeys, and in a few weeks I’ll spend 10 days in darkness in a dark retreat, my second in a year.
And yet what brings me closest to my truth remains simple: breath, time alone, time deeply connected with others, and listening to the quiet compass inside.
This summer I’m hosting two retreats in Indiana in July that feel like a continuation of that same journey: a small mixed retreat exploring our North Star (a few spots left) and a Men’s Breathwork Retreat.
Many meaningful adventures don’t require extreme effort, faraway travel, or 2,000 miles of trail… just a willingness to step out of your head and listen a little more closely to your heart.
If that resonates, feel free to reach out.
