Pheonix McAuley grew up hiking and camping with his family. His earliest distinct memory of hiking is from Crescent Bay when he was around 7 yrs. old. Spending a lot of his time in the great outdoors from a very young age, fostered in him an adventurous spirit and an appreciation for the beauty of nature.
For Pheonix, the great outdoors has certainly delivered some adventures. One morning, when they were camping in Yellowstone, he and his family departed from the camper in the morning to find their whole campsite had been trashed by bears, who decided to leave a generous amount of their scat behind. Another time, when he was 14, he was out exploring with his 10-year-old brother and one of them stepped on a subterranean bee’s nest. “I left him in the dust,” confesses Pheonix, “My parents were really upset about it and I think my brother still hasn’t forgiven me.” …show more content…
He also enjoys being able to see preserved nature in a world where its constantly disappearing. He also relishes the opportunity it presents him to get away from people and from life in general, to go out and spend some time alone. In his words “It’s kinda Zen.” Another thing that contributes to his love of hiking is a book called Walden: Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. According to Phoenix, Walden is about a man who goes out, lives in nature, and finds out what it means to be alive. Since reading this book, hiking has begun to appeal to him on a more spiritual level. While Pheonix doesn’t plan to adopt a hermit lifestyle anytime soon, he feels like he gets a small taste of that experience every time he goes on a
For Pheonix, the great outdoors has certainly delivered some adventures. One morning, when they were camping in Yellowstone, he and his family departed from the camper in the morning to find their whole campsite had been trashed by bears, who decided to leave a generous amount of their scat behind. Another time, when he was 14, he was out exploring with his 10-year-old brother and one of them stepped on a subterranean bee’s nest. “I left him in the dust,” confesses Pheonix, “My parents were really upset about it and I think my brother still hasn’t forgiven me.” …show more content…
He also enjoys being able to see preserved nature in a world where its constantly disappearing. He also relishes the opportunity it presents him to get away from people and from life in general, to go out and spend some time alone. In his words “It’s kinda Zen.” Another thing that contributes to his love of hiking is a book called Walden: Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau. According to Phoenix, Walden is about a man who goes out, lives in nature, and finds out what it means to be alive. Since reading this book, hiking has begun to appeal to him on a more spiritual level. While Pheonix doesn’t plan to adopt a hermit lifestyle anytime soon, he feels like he gets a small taste of that experience every time he goes on a