ABOUT ME

​I'm Adam Salinger.  Or Dreamer.  Or Ads.  I've loved the outdoors since I was 8 years old and lucky enough to get to experience going to summer camp.  Growing up in the concrete jungle of Los Angeles, getting to go away all summer every summer to camp in the mountains was magical.  It introduced me to the outdoors.  It instilled a sense of awe that I'd never felt before.  I've been striving to keep experiencing awe my entire life.  Awe is what leads me into the back-country time and time again.  Awe is what has always led me to weave outdoor education into every classroom I've taught in.

A Selection of Adam’s Long Distance Backpacking Accomplishments:

• 2000 - Thru-Hike of the Appalachian Trail - 2167 miles
• 2001 - Thru-Hike of the John Muir Trail - 225 miles
• 2002 - Thru-Hike of the Tahoe Rim Trail - 165 miles
• 2005 - Thru-Hike of the Wonderland Trail - 93 miles
• 2008 - Eastern Sierra On/Off Trail Horseshoe ending on Mt. Whitney - 89.7 miles and a total elevation gain/loss of over 35,000 feet
• 2013 - Thru-Hike of the John Muir Trail - 225 miles (over 7 days)
• 2013 - 2023 Fifteen 60 to 100-Mile personally-created routes in the Eastern Sierra
• 2015 - Circumnavigated the Entire Rim of the Yosemite Valley in 3 days - ~60 miles
• 2017-2023 - Multiple fastpack trips of a 60-mile Pacific Crest Trail Section from Highway 50 to Highway 80
• 2015-2022 - Multiple Thru-Hikes of the 25-mile Lost Coast Trail and one YoYo (out and back)
• 2020 - Thru-Hike of the Ruby Crest Trail - 43 miles
• 2020 - Three weeks in the Brooks Range of Gates, Arctic National Park, Alaska; paddled 95 miles of the Noatak River; 133 miles of day hikes and backpacking in tributaries
• 2021 - Incomplete Thru-Hike of the Sierra High Route. Completed 60 of the approximately 225-mile route; exited due to injury.
• 2022 - Thru-Hike of the Teton Crest Trail - 39.5 Miles
• 2023 - South San Diego Grand Tour - Custom 90-mile loop created by a friend
• 2023 - Thru-hike of The Colorado Trail - ~500 miles in 19 days - Denver to Durango
• 2024 -Thru-Hike of the Long Trail - 273 miles in 17 days from border to border of Vermont (with a stop in Stowe to run the Catamount 50K)
• 2024- Thru-hike of the Wonderland Trail -97 miles around Mt. Rainer in Washington
• 2024 - Thru-hike of the Timberline Trail - 42 miles around Mt. Hood in Oregon
• 2025 - Henry Coe State Park Circumnavigation - 67 Miles
• 2025 - Summer in the Sierras #1, #2, #3 - 200ish off-trail miles

"I strive to put myself in places that create a true sense of awe.  We just don't feel awe nearly as often as we should.  We need nature to provide that true and deep feeling.  Awe invigorates us. Awe reminds us what a small part of the universe we are.  Awe redefines time.  Awe provides as many questions as it does answers.  These aren't questions to be Googled.  They are questions to ponder deeply and in the moment."