I was born in northeast Arkansas in 1951, and then raised in Western Montana’s Bitterroot Valley. I am the third of eight children. As I grew up, and in spite of my numerous siblings, I spent a substantial amount of time traveling alone in the valley’s western mountains and their canyons. My first backcountry trip, which encompassed more than a weekend, was in 1965. I spent one week in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness with a Boy Scout troop. Except for a few hiatus’s the backcountry has been a part of my life ever since.

I discovered photography shortly after entering Vietnam in 1969. However, it wasn’t until 1998 that I decided to try to sell my work. My first published writing, which included my photography, was in 2007.

Because I live in Western Montana, I am within an hour’s drive of the nearest designated wilderness area, with several others no more than a few hours distance. The driving time to Glacier National Park is approximately four hours.

Through the years, I have come to favor backcountry travel during the winter. I have long thought that during this season Montana's wilderness areas (and national parks) temporarily revert to their state of 10,000 years ago, forbidding and dangerous. The lack of insects and heat is also attractive. However, the lack of people comes with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there is the loneliness. The other is the experience of virgin mountains with the only trail being the one I create with my snowshoes or crampons, coupled with absolute reliance on myself.

Because of the peril of the trips I have undertaken, my name has been in the media (newspaper, radio and television) on four occasions since 1998. The most recent concerned the Glacier National Park trips from February to May of 2011.

To date I have published three stories with photos in three regional magazines.

My wife also loves the backcountry, although she does not go on the more extreme winter trips. I have lived in Helena, Montana for most of my adult life.