Rick grew up in the suburbs of Washington DC, and his fascination with long-distance hiking trails did not begin until his junior year of college. He took a course that opened his eyes to long distance hiking by spending 2 weeks on the Appalachian Trail hiking with, “the herd” of AT thru-hikers . After his college graduation and a brief, failed attempt at office-life, Rick decided to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail in 2007 and embrace his love for dehydrated foods.
In 2013, he left Campo on the Mexico/California border to thru-hike the Pacific Crest Trail, where he met his wife-to-be on the way to Canada in the forests of Yosemite. While keeping with the theme, Rick and his wife spent several years in Boulder, Colorado, to make time for a 2015 thru-hike of the Colorado Trail with their dog, and relocated to Burlington in 2016. Rick and has 2 kids that he’s already trying to impart his love of hiking and mac and cheese on in preparation for their first backpacking adventures.