This book would not exist if it were not for Hilary Oliver, my wife, creative partner, and primary editor of anything that makes it out of my brain and onto the internet. Her eye, intellect, and sensitivity have prevented countless disasters, missteps, and written and drawn pieces of questionable taste since 2012.
Steve Casimiro, outdoor media legend and guru, was the first person to believe the stories on Semi-Rad.com were worthy of a larger audience. Since 2011, Steve has been an editor, inspiration, and dear friend. I shudder to think about what my career would look like if Steve had never noticed my stuff.
Christian Folk and several other friends at Outdoor Research have supported Semi-Rad.com and my adventures since 2011, through several periods of time when the blog might have ceased to exist if not for OR’s support keeping the creative lights on, so to speak.
Ian Anderson at Backbone Media, way back in 2012, was the first person to encourage me to pursue outdoor industry sponsorship and then connect me to people who made that possible—for what was then a very fledgling outdoor media website.
Out of all the people who read and share my stories and art, I am most thankful for the few hundred people who support my work financially via Patreon. At the end of the day, I make things because of that inner circle, who come from all over the United States and the world.
I’ve had a few dozen wonderful friends who have invited me on adventures, joined me on adventures, and inspired some adventures, and have either become subjects of stories on Semi-Rad.com, or seen our conversations end up in stories on Semi-Rad.com. Thanks to all of you who have given me a belay, shared a tent, broken trail, sat across a campfire, or hung on during one of those days that seemed like it was never going to end—I am sure you all know who you are.
My old friend Josh Barker gave me a couple pieces of great advice before I started Semi-Rad.com, and in its first couple years that advice became a big part of the blog’s foundation.
And finally, thanks to Kate, Laura, Emily, Darryl, Helen, and the staff at Mountaineers Books who made this book a reality.