Aron Johnston is a husband, a father, and an artist. After high school he fell into a construction job. It was the safe choice- comfy, secure, and gave him a steady paycheck. But it wasn’t his passion; it wasn’t what he saw himself doing the rest of his life. So he stepped off that path. Left the safety of his job of 15 years and began to pursue his passion- art.
Oh yeah…did I mention he had two young boys and a wife (who was also jumping off her career path to pursue her dream)? Did I also mention they had to leave their family and friends in Oregon to the unknown land of Iowa?
In this episode he shares his thoughts on taking the leap, pursuing his dreams, the challenges faced by him and his family, how he overcomes self doubt, the importance of a mentor, and much more!
Aron is seriously one of the best fathers I know and I have had the privilege of spending a couple vacations with his wonderful family….my wife and I with notepad in hand trying to figure out “how can we raise awesome kids like the Johnstons?”
He’s also the artist that designed the “Like a Bigfoot” logo. He made my dream of “Bigfoot hang snatching a Redwood tree” a reality. That’s literally all I emailed him…”hey dude I want Bigfoot hang snatching a Redwood…is that possible?” His email back “Of course! But I think he should have his feet bursting out of trail running shoes.”
Please check out the rest of his beautiful art at his website aronjohnston.org.
Aron painting my wife and daughter on our Shenandoah Weekend last November
Scavenger- this is one of my personal favorites
Celebrating Jesse’s 13th birthday the best way we could think of….jumping into the Shenandoah River
Sunday: Left Danville, VA with my cat. Drove to Charleston, West Virginia.
Monday: Drove 9 hours to my cousin’s house in Jefferson City, Missouri. 9 mile trail run around Binder Lake…saw the biggest rat snake I’ve ever seen. Terrifying.
Tuesday: Drove 11 hours across the wildly entertaining Kansas landscape to my new home in Arvada, Colorado. Received plenty of hugs from my two year old daughter and gave my one month old a bunch of kisses. Spent the afternoon carrying all of our heavy s*** up the stairs. Oh yeah, the cat made it without completely losing his mind.
Wednesday: Unpacked. Ugh.
Thursday: Ran around the town of Arvada to begin to familiarize myself. Took my daughter up to North Mountain. She hiked the whole one mile up to the Golden Cliffs with her stuffed deer before I carried her down.
Friday: 8.5 mile trail run around North Table Mountain. Holy crap this is only 15 minutes from my apartment!!! Awesome! Took my daughters and wife on a hike to Lair O’ the Bear park. It was Zoe’s first hike…proud dad!
Saturday: Ran on Ralston Creek paved trail through Arvada. Sadly spent the morning watching Iowa lose…bummer.
Calvin Johannsen is in the middle of an epic quest to summit the 100 tallest mountains in the continental United States in….100 DAYS. It is called the “14ers Project.” No doubt about it, he is on an ADVENTURE. One most people don’t have the strength to endure. He has faced adversity, self doubt, gained incredible physical strength, solidified his adventure mindset, demonstrated super human endurance as he has pushed himself beyond what he thought was possible.
Follow his progress from mild-mannered dude to kickass mountain goat at calvin.johannsen on Instagram or at www.14ersproject.com. The man is the most inspirational person I know! Keep pushing forward.
(NOTE: he was through 64 mountains when we recorded this but is now well past his original goal of 75. Go Calvin!!)
2013- Calvin and I at the summit of Mt. Bierstadt
2016- Joining Calvin for his 14ers project on Mt. Massive (the first mountain we climbed together in 2012)
Time is moving. That is the only thing that is certain in life- my life, your life, everybody’s life.
As I’m writing this I’m looking across the street at the house I’ve lived in for 3 years, rocking on a chair on my neighbors front porch (a skill I picked up in the south). I’m awaiting to checkout from Virginia, load the cat into the car, and take off down the road. Literally driving off into the sunset….with my cat. (So not entirely like a cowboy)
Next adventure, new season of life.
Sitting here has me reflecting back on my life in Virginia, thinking about how my life has changed in what seems like such a short amount of time.
Time passing can be overwhelmingly sad. It happens so gradually that, for the most part, it goes by unnoticed, unobserved. You wake up one day and all of a sudden your teeny tiny baby is a two year old or you look in the mirror and wonder “where the heck did these grey hairs come from?” (Two things that are not mutually exclusive by the way)
Time is always moving. Every second, every day.
Big events force you to take notice.
“Holy crap! Wasn’t it just yesterday that we were moving into this house?” You think as you pack the last box into the Uhaul and slam the door shut.
Then ALL the memories come rushing back. Kissing your wife goodbye on her first day of work, bringing your daughters home from the hospital for the first time, seeing the look on your two year olds face when you discover tadpoles by your favorite running trail. So many, many more.
The big moments are BIG but they aren’t the only ones that hit hard. You are especially affected by the everyday moments- the things you got used to Watching the seasons change as you do the same weekly walk around the neighborhood, the front door hugs you are greeted by after a long day of work, cooking a delicious meal with loved ones in the kitchen, playing dinosaur in the living room with your little one. These are the times you took for granted in the moment but now can’t help but look back on with a weird happy-sad nostalgia.They may not have seemed like significant moments as they happened, but you realize that they are the MOST significant. It may be cliche but they are truly what make life worth living.
Sometimes you look back on a season of life in sadness, because that time is gone. Time moved too damn fast, it seems. Other times you just have to smile. You are grateful for the time you had. Great experiences, beautiful life lived.
And you understand that you will have many, MANY more of these moments, of course. In fact, the next season of life will probably be the best one yet!
Most times you are not in control of when your season will change. You don’t know when your eyes will be opened and you will think to yourself “Oh crap…that went quick.” It really does sneak up on you.
So let this serve as an important reminder!
A reminder to stay present and aware of all the beauty that is happening to you right now, in this season of life.
Appreciate the day by day. The little things ARE important! Live your routine, of course, but live it with awareness and purpose. Treat each moment with the respect that it truly deserves. Fully love what you are doing right here, right now. Live each day with passion and you will have no regrets. Do not let self doubt hold you back from becoming the person you are meant to be. Express your gratitude daily. Treat people better than the day before. Love more. Smile more. Laugh more. Give a ridiculous number of hugs.
Time will be moving. That is a fact of life. Make the most of it!
Check out North Face’s new video about Montana’s ultra running “Mikes”- Mike Wolfe and Mike Foote as they race along deadly ridges, through thick wilderness, past giant moose, and over glaciers as they traveled the 600 mile “Crown Traverse” from Missoula Montana to Banff National Park.
Wow! Try to watch this and not start planning your next big crazy challenge…..come on! I dare you!
Episode #1: Rediscovering health and the art of sustainability.
For the last 9 months, one of my best friends, Brady Manriquez has been on a quest to become a healthier, more active version of himself. By using a focus on SUSTAINABILITY he has been able to drop 60 pounds, find a passion for running, and benefit in all areas of life from his new found self confidence. Listen in for advice about how taking it day by day and celebrating the little victories can help you in the pursuit of your own goals!
Also, how did Whoopi Goldberg guide him down the path of self improvement? (My favorite inside joke is attempted to be explained at the end)
So I’m starting to embrace some of my life philosophies in ALL areas of my life. For example, being comfortable with discomfort. I’ve wanted to start a podcast for YEARS now. It has always been a goal of mine to become comfortable talking to people who inspire me (whether I personally know them or not) In fact I had previously started one and made it two whole episodes before being overcome with self doubt… Thinking I wasn’t good enough literally stopped me from simply pursuing a goal.
Instead of waiting for the perfect moment or “once I this finally happens, then I can….” I decided just to jump in feet first.
Is this perfect? Heck no!
Am I great interviewer? Not yet.
Do I know what I’m doing all the time? Nope.
But you can’t wait around expecting those things to happen to you when you are not willing to put in the work! Your goals don’t just magically get accomplished without you consistently putting in the effort.
So here I am, putting in the work. Being comfortable with releasing something that is finished not perfect.
I listen to a lot of professionally produced podcasts which is probably one of the reasons why I held off on this project for so long. I hold myself to a high standard. I can be extremely self critical. It’s as if I believe “if my podcast isn’t as good as a professional one, there’s no point of releasing it.” This belief can, has, and will hold me back. So this podcast is helping me work on letting go of this disruptive thinking.
You won’t be an expert at anything on your first attempt. Instead its the magic of repetition- the act of showing up consistently- that will propel you towards a higher level.
If you don’t understand this at the start of pursuing your dreams, then you will never take that terrifying first step. So today’s episode represents my terrifying first step.
And then here’s the second principle to goal achievement: BEING CONSISTENT.
My lofty goal is to release one episode a week for the entire year. Putting in the work and shipping a new episode every Monday.
So here we have arrived at step one. It might not be pretty (although I think it went pretty well and Brady, as always, is fascinating, inspirational, funny, and FANTASTIC), it might not be perfect, but it’s finished and it’s shipped. I’ll evaluate what worked this week and apply it to next week. I’ll do that over and over and over again and see where I end up.
That hard, painful, embarrassing work, my friends, is the ONLY path to true success.
Hope you enjoy and that you start down the scary path of pursuing your goals!
Ok…enough with the sentimental “I’ll miss Virginia boo hoo boo hoo” posts.
My wife and I were on a walk discussing where we would visit on a future return to the east coast. This post is what we imagined would be the PERFECT 11 day roadtrip.
Seriously…I want people to actually do this trip and tell me how it goes! I will be so envious.
After 3 years of exploration you can trust me that this trip would absolutely be one of your favorites of ALL TIME!
I’m calling it the Like a Bigfoot Ultimate North Carolina and Virginia Roadtrip.
DAY 1: ASHEVILLE, NC
Our favorite town in North Carolina (and quite possibly the country). Good food, good beer, any outdoor activity you could possibly want, there’s always something going on but it still feels like a small town.
Drive south on the Blue Ridge Parkway (particularly as the leaves are changing color in October), hike up some high bluffs around Black Balsam Knob, cool off by jumping into your choice of waterfalls (Skinny Dip Falls is our favorite), grab a late morning breakfast at Sunny Point Cafe, tour one of the thirty craft breweries in town, pick up some tacos from White Duck Taco and drive north on the Blue Ridge Parkway to experience the highest mountain east of the Mississippi, Mt. Mitchell, for a gorgeous sunset picnic. COME ON SON! PERFECT DAY! (Huge smile on my face writing this! Seriously this would be the absolute perfect day)
Black Balsam Knob
Sunrise off the Blue Ridge Parkway south of Asheville
DAYS 2-4: LINVILLE GORGE
Spend the next few days backpacking around the Linville Gorge. You will find solitude and adventure as you hike around the “Grand Canyon of the East”. I ran Shortoff Mountain to Table Rock one day this summer and would highly suggest making a nice long 22 mile loop by traversing form there down into the gorge and hiking back along the Linville Gorge Trail next to the river! You could probably do this in two days, but should extend it into three so you can take in the views, cool off in the river, boulder up a few of the rocks, and really experience all the Gorge has to offer.
Standing on top of Shortoff Mountain with Table Rock in the distance
Linville Gorge
DAY 5: GRAYSON HIGHLANDS STATE PARK
Next I would drive north past Boone into Southern Virginia and spend a day and night backcountry camping in Grayson Highlands State Park. Hang out with wild ponies (who doesn’t want to do this!), check out the Rhododendron blooms and take in some of the best views in all of the Appalachian Mountains. The park is almost exclusively on balds (what Easterners call mountain tops without trees) so the views are jaw dropping. This would be a great place to spend a night just chilling out by the campfire, eating snacks made with a mountain pie iron!
Wandering around Grayson Highlands
You can see for miles and miles
DAY 6: HIGHWAY 58
Next, you HAVE to drive the Crooked Road (Highway 58) through southwestern Virginia. This is known as Virginia’s Musical Heritage and was significant in the history of Bluegrass music. Here’s an awesome New York Times article about this drive. Trust me though…gorgeous. This is what the south is all about- Maple tree-covered mountains, hills dotted with grazing cattle next to tiny red barns, winding rivers, quaint churches…the drive is absolutely perfect, so take your time and take it all in.
Lovers Leap off of Highway 58
DAY 7: APPALACHIAN TRAIL (MCAFEE KNOB AND DRAGONS TOOTH)
Eventually you will veer north to Roanoke where you are within hiking distance of two of the prettiest spots on the Appalachian trail. Mcafee Knob is the most photographed spot on the 2,000 mile trail for a reason and, if you happen to get up there for a sunrise, get ready to experience nature at its best! Strap those hiking shoes on for a long day though…as a hike up and back Mcafee is 8 miles and Dragons tooth is at least 6 (Dragons Tooth is shorter but a lot more challenging as it is definitely a steeper and more rocky). If you get down in time then head into Roanoke and get dinner at the River and Rail restaurant. I’m adamant that it’s the best fried chicken in Virginia and I will arm wrestle anyone who disagrees!
Mcafee Knob
DAY 8-9: SHENANDOAH VALLEY
You can’t go to Virginia and not visit the most popular national park in the nation. You can do more hiking along the Appalachian Trail and summiting Old Rag Mountain or you can choose to do what my family and I did every year….get a cabin and chill. Hang out in the forest next to the twisty and turny Shenandoah River and simply relax with a cup of coffee for the perfect morning.
Cabin in Shenandoah = Perfect Day
Canoeing on the Shenandoah River
DAYS 11-12: FALSE CAPE STATE PARK
Ok this is pushing it and a trip here will easily be the longest drive on the trip, but, as an Iowa boy, I feel like traveling to a coastal state necessitates a visit the ocean. So wake up early, drive 4-5 hours to the coast, and…this is super important…speed past the tourist trap that is Virginia Beach…as fast as possible! In my estimation, if you want a beach then you gotta earn the beach! People are not allowed to drive into False Cape State Park so you must earn it by backpacking in the 4 miles or by taking a boat. This park is a rare place of isolation on the east coast, which means you will have about 6 miles of pristine beach to YOURSELF! This has to be one of the only spots in the country where you can experience this, so a visit here is a MUST. Relaxing by a campfire with a bottle of wine on an empty beach sounds like the perfect way to end a vacation to me!
A secluded beach is the best way to end a vacation
Hope you enjoyed this! If you want more specifics about trails, campsites, restaurants, directions etc, you can always comment below or email me at chrisaward51@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to help you plan a trip!
As you can tell, my family and I have really enjoyed exploring this beautiful area of the country and writing this post has made me SUPER EXCITED to vacation here someday in the future(when my girls are a little older). Can’t wait to come back!
I began trail running about a month into our move from Iowa to Virginia. Previously I never even considered the idea of running on a trail meant for hiking or mountain biking. You mean you can run on these rather than walk??? The idea blew my mind!
My absolute favorite place in Danville is the 35 miles of pristine mountain bike trails at Anglers Park and Dan Daniel Park. I’ve spent DAYS on these trails, running in all sorts of various conditions: the brutal heat and humidity of summer, stomping through the snow, slipping over freshly fallen leaves, running in the morning, after school, before the sunrise.
Here I’ve jumped over copperheads, wiped off more spider webs than I can count, chased hundreds of deer, ran with friends both new and old.
I’d use Angler’s Park as an after school therapist on the most challenging of work days and a playground where I was free to challenge myself on the other days. It was my home outside of my home here in Danville. A place of comfort.
But before it was comforting it was mysterious and terrifying. During my first trail run (and really first few weeks of trail running) I truly believed I was going to run into a bear around ever twist and turn of the trail. (I even wrote about this silly imagined fear here)
The first time I laced up my shoes and took off down the trails at Angler’s was exhilarating. There is nothing like getting lost in unknown wilderness, bounding over rocks and fallen trees; new discoveries during each step of the adventure. Seriously, if you haven’t tried this…quit reading and get to a trail immediately.
Instantly I discovered two things:
Trails are WAY more interesting than roads- Your brain can’t zone out…instead you have to be IN the zone. You work so many more muscles than road running because your feet are landing on uneven ground and you are constantly turning around tight corners or going up and down hills.
Virginia has WAY more hills than roads- and my body was NOT used to this. After about a month of training on these trails I was able to adjust, but the first few runs were fraught with heart pounding, lung aching, mental toughness “get me the hell through the run” training.
In other words I loved both the “adventure” feeling of trail running and the complete physical challenge of the sport.
I was hooked.
A few months later I was exploring trails all over Virginia and North Carolina.
It doesn’t have the prettiest views or the hardest trails, but Angler’s meant so much to me over the last three years.
It will always be my trail running grounds/ nature exploration/ outdoor gym/ hiking spot with my daughter Harper/ place where I hopped over copperheads and chased owls/ forest where I sweated more than previously thought possible.
For the past three years I’ve lived in southern Virginia. This is where my two daughters were born, where I learned how to trail run and where I’ve embraced my love of the outdoors. Virginia is where I have began to pass along my love of hiking and wandering into nature to my family (my two year old daughter calls hiking “daddy daughter trips”…my greatest accomplishment!) I’ve also made friends, realized the compassion teaching middle school requires and, of course, learned some thangs about southern culture….bless my heart.
In two weeks my family and I are moving to Colorado to begin the next phase of our journey. I’m all at once excited, nervous, ecstatic, and sad. You know, all the emotions you experience as you face our good ole friend… CHANGE.
Over the next couple weeks I want to reminisce over lessons learned, adventures had, opportunities missed, and skills built during my time in the southeast.
I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to explore this wonderful area of the country. I honestly may have skipped over Virginia and North Carolina in order to explore nothing but the western states. That truly would have been a mistake. The southeast has areas of pure beauty that will make your jaw drop, bring a tear to your eye, or whatever overused phrase you want to use when trying to describe the indescribable allure of nature .
I count myself a lucky man to have experienced foggy Appalachian sunrises, crisp mountain waterfalls on hot and humid sunny days, the golden trees of the Blue Ridge Parkway in October, amongst so much more.
Some experiences I can attempt to put to words but most are of the “you-had-to-be-there” types that you have in the solitude of nature. Three years of exploring the Appalachian Mountains, the forests, the swamps, and the coast has transformed me. Each experience has helped build me into the person I am. It’s only something you realize self reflecting before a big life shift.
I didn’t know how I’d feel at the end of this three year adventure (we always knew there would be a three year time limit). I sure didn’t think I would feel this attached to Virginia. But I do feel attached. I will probably always feel attached.
That’s how you know you experienced something worthwhile.
I keep hammering the idea of “having something to train for.” Signing up for some event that gives your workouts purpose.
My last race was in April and all summer I’ve felt as if I was simply treading water. Aimlessly wandering from workout to workout.
Hopefully that’s over!
Along with a couple buddies who I’ve convinced to race with me, I’ve signed up for my next Ultra. Next March we will travel to Monument Valley for the Monument Valley Ultra.
It has been two days since I signed up and I am already feeling more purposeful and, although I won’t start seriously training until November or December, my workouts have already felt better.
Can’t wait!
Also, I am recommitting myself to blogging and training for this race will give me something to write about.
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