the blog

I’ve got somewhere in the neighborhood off 3000 selected images (not total, just my selects of the favorites) from our crossing. I’m trying to narrow that number down to around 150-200 for a coffee table book. 1 out of every 20 image selects, 1 out of every 66 total images. Now I understand why print isn’t dead.

Bali, Indonesia, circa 2017. Trying to keep up with the real surfers, but generally just swimming.

Harvesting fireweed near Healy, Alaska, for making fresh herbal tea.

Portraits: Day 20 of 25 at sea. Captain Eric’s beard was almost as unruly as my hair.

Small house, big back yard.

Warm summer nights in the desert.

Pulling photos for a new client has me combing the archives and finding some favorites through the years.

Somewhere in the day 8 or 9 range of a 30 day paddle around the island of Crete, Greece. Morning coffee + salt water swims was an ideal start to some very long days, simplicity in tandem with challenge has been something I’ve sought out more and more these days.

There’s something about a long and empty road, symbolic of opportunities that lay ahead, of the path laid out, there for the taking.

Prepped for liftoff. An early morning flight in a hot air balloon was definitely a highlight for our trip with @briannamadia to Turkey.

Two years ago we were at sea. It seems like two weeks sometimes; I can still taste the salt in the air it’s so fresh. These types of trips just stick with you.

Climbing for me is more exploratory, less about the grade but about the rock, the trees, the snow, the mountain and place as a whole. It’s a place to go and just be, a place to reflect, and hopefully to grow. A place to return from a little better than you left.

I keep my photo albums pretty well organized, so it’s always fun to open up some random folder and see what I was doing at any given time over the last few years.

The classic “summit selfie” recently outside Moab. I think being able to stand on top of a striking peak is innate, the desire to be able to see your surroundings. We all want to have all the answers, and this is a tangible way to know things in one specific way.

Whenever a new Grand Canyon lottery opens up I get an email, and a little glimmer of hope pops into my head that I could find myself down in this beautiful world sooner than I expected. When @backcountry asked what I’m most excited for this summer, I first thought climbing, but then again, being out on a secluded river sounds like a pretty solid option.
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I am continuing to partner with @backcountry in hopes to encourage you to get outside and find your backcountry, wherever that may be. Use code WILLIE15 for 15% off your first purchase at backcountry.com! (exclusions apply ) #findyourbackcountry

I think it’s better to admit what you don’t know than to try and pretend that you do. We’ve gotten to such a point of cumulative knowledge that our assumption is that we’re always right and know everything, but what about making the case for curiosity, for deep conversations, for life long learning.

A few 35mm film moments from summer of 2020. Our quarantine looked different than most people’s, more outside, maybe even more disconnected to the regular world. But in this time we came together to support each other, a true van life outside of the pretty photos you see here. It was gritty, showers were rare, but the connection we shared was deep and lasting.

Desert dog days, a May tradition.