Walking the World’s Most Beautiful Trails

Welcome! I’m Shawn, a lifelong trail explorer drawn to the quiet majesty of ancient forests and wild landscapes. My love of nature began on horseback, riding the chaparral trails and forgotten concrete rivers of Griffith Park beneath the Hollywood sign, and along the Pacific Crest Trail, where I first sensed that the land holds wisdom and deserves reverence.

That early bond grew into a passion for understanding how people and landscapes coexist. With a background in geography, park management, and environmental education, I work at the intersection of field experience, conservation, and cultural insight to help protect wild places and deepen people’s connection to nature.

From those early days, I’ve wandered the Blue Mountains of Australia, slept on temple ruins along La Ruta Maya, hang-glided past Christ the Redeemer, and had my ponytail tugged by a curious silverback gorilla in Rwanda. These experiences continue to shape my work in conservation, education, and public engagement.

Each trail reinforces my belief in the importance of safeguarding the wild landscapes that sustain and inspire our communities.

How can we stop human-caused biodiversity loss?

I’m exploring how we can move upstream toward true transformation, rethinking the stories we tell, the systems we uphold, and the values we live by. To do this, we must examine the structures, incentives, and institutions that shape human impact on the planet, asking where leverage exists to protect life and ensure a sustainable future for all.

Current questions I’m mulling:

• How can we safeguard the last remaining ancient forests, large wildlife, and oceans — the great lungs and lifeblood of Earth?

• What would it take to redesign the business model itself so that profit no longer comes at the expense of the planet, and companies are truly accountable to the ecosystems they depend on?

• How do we ensure policymakers and leaders not only understand but act decisively to protect the air, water, soil, and beauty we all depend on?

• How do we reimagine our economic systems around care, reciprocity, and natural limits?

The shift I'm exploring:

From‍ ‍→‍ ‍ To

Awareness campaigns → Systemic accountability

Individual action → Collective transformation

Nature as scenery → Nature as life’s foundation

Green capitalism → Embedded Economy/ Well-being economy / Post-growth economics/ Check out Doughnut Economics

This site is part trail journal, part exploration of ancient forests, and part philosophical inquiry into what it means to live responsibly in a time of ecological crisis, a time when standing in the presence of ancient landscapes can remind us how to belong to the Earth again.