I have spent a large part of my life outdoors. When I was young, that meant taking my shoes off and running through the woods of New Hampshire pretending that every moss-covered rock was a defensive location against imaginary invading armies. In my adult life, I have channeled my love of nature into planning and guiding outdoor adventure trips for friends and family.

We all inherently feel a natural pull but not everyone feels comfortable spending long periods of time outdoors. Hackman Guided Adventures is intended to help people increase their comfort and give them the tools to continue exploring on their own.

In 2020, I intended to launch a part-time outdoor guiding service that would impart my knowledge of how to spend more time outdoors (beyond just my friends and family) to small groups of paying clients. I still did this, but I put the business model aside and instead launched a Medium blog where I posted free how-to guides for adventuring to some of my favorite places across the mid-Atlantic region.

I published over a dozen blogs with detailed stories, photos, maps, gear lists, and links for additional information. I categorized them into: day hiking, car camping, wilderness backpacking, paddling, and nature photography. The hope was that anyone could follow these details safely on their own and find some comfort and peace in nature, despite the grueling challenges of the pandemic.

It’s hard to know just how much I’ve succeeded in my intent. But I know over 1,000 people have read these posts so far and a few have reached out over email and social media to let me know they successfully used my blogs to take trips.

These guides will teach you and your family where to (and where not to) fish, rock climb, camp, off road, mountain bike, see wild ponies, find solitude, take mountaintop sunrise photos, eat, explore the highest peaks and waterfalls on the East Coast, white-water kayak, leave no trace, learn the history of the first peoples of this region, and much more.

In addition, another equally important piece I infuse in every trip guide is my professional knowledge of environmental protections and land conservation.

For nearly a decade, I’ve worked to protect our nation’s public lands and waters. I’ve learned the differences between National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management lands and what’s allowed in each. I talk about National Recreation Areas and Wilderness Areas — why they were created and the critical resources they protect. I educate readers on the importance of old-growth forests and where they can still be found. Read these guides and you won’t just gain the tools to thrive outdoors, you’ll also learn how to comfortably navigate our incredible estate of public lands — as well as some of the threats they face.

Check out all my adventure blogs here for a menu of options of what you, or a small group of friends or family, could do