FINALLY got to go screw off in the desert. Life’s been busy! The new rig is 👌🏽

By request, a permanent place on the feed. 🫶🏼

Air Ops ✅ That’s me getting on the hook. 👍🏼

As many of you know, I’ve had some big life changes lately. I’ve been keeping pretty quiet and making some moves in private. I’m going to start posting again and I’d like to introduce everyone to what I’ve been working on. I bought a large shop (6000 sqft), but it’s more than just a shop, it’s my new house too. It has a 1300 sqft 2 bedroom house built into it. I’m currently renovating the interior and plan to have a housewarming party in the spring. Additionally, if you know me, you know I love driving fast through the desert. My time racing with Tyler was absolutely amazing and I cherish the experience and the memories, but unfortunately that has come to an end, so it was time to get my own race jeep. So I did, with some expert help from Jesse Haines. He picked out a solid one. The McNamara brothers have built out this beast. It’s raced KOH and finished. It’s finished Vegas to Reno. All things I want to do. It was a perfect fit. Thanks, @jesse_haines_fabrication 🫶🏼 To buy the shop I had to start a business, so stay tuned for details on that, too. This last year has put me through the absolute wringer. Chewed me up and spit me out. It was the hardest year of my life. But I’m rising from the ashes like the phoenix I am and coming out better on the other side. And with that, I’d like to introduce my latest shirt: a phoenix rising from the ashes of a dumpster fire. 🔥

This year has been a rollercoaster to say the least. At times it felt like I was cut into a million pieces and scattered out of a slingshot, and somehow had to pull myself back together. This year has also acted like a forge - some relationships were hardened, some burned, and I was wrought and formed into something new. Change is hard, but I came out stronger on the other side. I’m looking forward to the promises of 2025. Happy New Year’s, everyone.

Summited Half Dome 1.5 weeks ago. It’s been a busy time for everyone this summer and I’m stoked we were all able to come together to make this trip happen. It’s incredibly important to have friends in this life that push us to be better and do better, who push us beyond our normal limits to do things we never really thought were possible. We have a great group of friends here and I could not be more thankful.

Mt. Whitney Summit Post two of two. Some pro tips so I can post more pictures 😂 because it was just GORGEOUS at every turn. Stay at Consultation Lake instead of at Trail Camp. We initially planned on Trail Camp but some nice folks we met on the trail convinced us otherwise. We found a lovely spot with a great view just off the trail. The pro tip: don’t try to get down to the lake. It’s sketchy terrain and not worth the risk. There’s a great source of drinking water just across from Consultation down in the ravine. In the Whitney Zone, if you have to poop, you have to poop in a Wag Bag and pack it out with you. People are gross and leave their bags behind, more so in the densely populated camps like Trail Camp. There’s a small brown lake at Trail Camp, and only a small stream just past it. That’s the only water after the aforementioned ravine. There’s none on the way to the summit. The pro tip: Fill up with at least 3L or more if your pace is less than 1mph. The trail is exposed the entire way and the air is dry. You will blast through your water. There’s cell service at the edge of the summit. If there is storm activity in the area, DO NOT GO. You are a human lightning rod walking around on the top of the mountain. The lighting will find you.

Mt. Whitney Summit, 14505ft Post one of two. Tallest mountain in the contiguous U.S. Summited with Bo and Dave. It was a culmination of a lot of research and prior knowledge, plus massive amounts of determination. We stayed 2 nights at Whitney Portal, then donned our packs and headed out into the wilderness. It was a warm day, and a grueling hike to ascend 4000ft in elevation. It took us roughly 9 hours (with a nice lunch/rest stop at a lake) to make it where we’d set up our base camp. We did go at a leisurely pace so we could enjoy the insane beauty that was around us at every turn. The pictures don’t show the grandeur and don’t portray just how small the landscape makes you feel. We set up camp at a lake at around 12,000ft and got a good nights rest. We started our ascent at 8:30am after coffee and breakfast. The 99 switchbacks actually weren’t as bad as everyone says they are. There are different strategies to make it to the top, and we opted for slow and steady instead of in the style of interval training. We tractored up the mountain slowly and surely and even passed some people. We made it to the summit in 4.5 hours. We stayed for an hour to eat lunch, take pictures, and get some “we made it!” messages out from the cell service that’s at the edge of the cliff facing Lone Pine. The weather was perfect. We headed back to base camp, arrived at 6, and were in bed by around 8. Other people didn’t fare as well but I slept like a champ. My pack weight is absurdly heavy (40% of my body weight) because I bring creature comforts like a full pillow. It’s worth it for me. In the end - it’s just fitness for my body and better recovery through proper sleep. This morning, we packed up and headed back down to the Whitney Portal. Going down is much easier, let me tell you! And the portal sells big juicy bacon cheeseburgers that keep the motivation going. I couldn’t be happier with this trip. I would do nothing differently. Bo and Dave are truly great people that I’d undertake any adventure with. Together we have great mountain karma.

EPIC EPIC EPIC trip. 25 miles with 6800ft elevation gain. Hiked over multiple mountains with views for days, and leave it to me to be backpacking out in the woods and come across a KARAOKE PARTY and then join in with singing like 10+ songs (plus a couple tequila shots). There were epic views at every turn. Our highest peaks were 10,673 and 10,866ft. Like anything worth doing, it took a lot of effort. There were challenges and highlights along the way… Great company, great views, and ending with a gigantic ranch raised prime rib from Kennedy Meadows makes this trip absolutely one of my favorites. And this was just a training hike for the real deal - summiting Mt. Whitney! (Coming soon – September!) THE ROUTE Kennedy Meadows to Kennedy Lake, out the back and up and over the ridge to join the PCT for a hot second then off to Leavitt Lake. From Leavitt, to Koenig Lake and up and over the back to rejoin the PCT yet again for the long trek back down to Sonora Pass. THE CHALLENGES 60+mph winds trying to blow us off the mountain High elevation tequila hangovers Steep climbs Breaking a nail while sliding down a snowbank THE HIGHLIGHTS Sliding down a snowbank Unexpected Karaoke party in the woods Views for days Hiking up a ravine packed with wildflowers and small waterfalls and thinking it couldn’t get any prettier and then finding a bright blue lake at the top The freshest air I’ve ever had in my life Great company Smiles for days THE SONGS (some I picked, some were requested, some were forced upon me, all were fun 🤣) Eric Clapton Wonderful Tonight Allman Brothers Rambling Man Eminem My Dads Gone Crazy 2Pac Thugs Mansion John Mayer All Of Me Rihanna Stay Xtreme More Than Words Billy Joel Piano Man Billy Joel It’s Still Rock & Roll A Tribe Called Quest Bugging Out Beastie Boys Sure Shot