40 by 40

The outdoors and travel were my first passions, and photography became a natural extension of those pursuits. I love setting goals and making shit happen, so with my 40th birthday a little more than 4 years out, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to create a challenge that will get me doing more of the things I love.

So, my goal is simple:

Take 40 trips by my 40th birthday.  

An Air China 747-800 lands at SFO.

That’s just less than one trip per month, which doesn’t seem too burdensome, yet probably couldn’t happen without putting effort into it either.

The rules are similarly simple:

• It must be at least an overnight trip

• It must be planned (for instance, getting caught in weather and not getting home doesn’t count)

• And it must be more than an hour from home.

Each trip will typically only count as one trip towards the goal, but I will allow myself to bend that rule – if I’m taking a very big trip (i.e. multiple weeks) and visit distinct locations, such as different countries, I’ll allow it to be counted as multiple trips.

Camping counts. Visiting family counts. Weekend getaways count. Epic trips count. Even work trips count as long as I do something extra besides work.

Let the countdown to 40 begin!

I’ll update this post with my ongoing list as I progress.

1. Rocky Mountain National Park, CO
2. San Juan Mountains, CO
3. Pagosa Springs, CO
4. NYC, NY
5. Atlanta, GA and Raleigh, NC
6. Albuquerque, NM
7. St. Louis, MO
8. White Sands National Monument, NM
9. Silverplume, CO
10. Ouray, CO
11. Japan
12. Carbondale, CO (5 PT Film Festival)
13. NYC, NY
14. Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, NM
15. Volunteering on Mt Elbert (CO) with Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC)
16. Alaska
17. Crested Butte, CO
18. St. Louis, MO
19. Spanish Peaks, CO
20. Boston, MA
21. Paris, FR
22. Panama
23. NYC, NY
24. St. Louis, MO
25. Monarch Mountain, CO
26. Utah
27. NYC, NY
28. Tennessee Pass, CO
29. Cuba
30. Bisti Badlands, NM
31. San Francisco, CA
32. Leadville area, CO
33. Holy Cross Wilderness, CO
34. Grays Peak, CO
35. Florissant, CO
36. Salida, CO
37. Grays Peak, CO
38. Maui, HI
39. Doha, Qatar
40. Morocco