Welcome to Parks & Peaks

Hello and welcome to the Parks & Peaks with Peter blog!

Thank you for taking the time to visit me here and I look forward to sharing my National Park and State highpoint adventures with you.

A bit about me. I’m not a wilderness guide or a multi-day backpacker, but I do like to hike. I no longer focus my ski days on maximizing vertical feet but love the feel of soft powder and fluffy moguls. I’m not a tour de France cyclist but do enjoy soaring down mountain passes on a road bike.

While I do have some outdoor skills, I much prefer a fireplace to a campfire, a comfy bed to a sleeping bag, and a hot tub to a frigid lake!

I’m not a crazy thrill seeker, but I love trying something new that expands what I thought was possible for me.

I have spent virtually all my adult life pursuing career success: studying to become a CPA, getting a Wharton MBA, working 24/7 in an urban office tower to become a capital markets CFO at some of the largest banks.

But I want more…and in spite of dropping out of Boy Scouts, I am someone who loves to have fun outdoors. So, I’ve begun to make getting out into the Great Outdoors a priority and to make more room in my life for engaging with nature. Woods, lakes, streams, John Muir, Walden…you get the picture.

There are 63 U.S. National Parks, and it’s my goal to visit and blog about every single one of them.

Oh, and since I recently received dual citizenship in Canada, I plan to visit National Parks in the Great White North, too, although I don’t intend to cover all of them. I’m also hiking the highpoints of every state, although Alaska is probably beyond me.

You see, our National Parks are an incredible treasure, and I want to experience their beauty and share that with you and as many others as possible.

 I hope to highlight the importance of our National Parks – and the fun and release that comes from a visit – and I mean a real holiday, not a drive-by selfie at the roadside rim of the Grand Canyon. 

Something for everyone

You don’t have to be an extreme sports enthusiast or nature geek to engage in a more in-depth adventure within our National Parks. There’s something for everyone, from novice to mountaineer.

I officially started my quest to visit all the US National Parks at the beginning of 2019 and have visited 17 of 63 so far. 

With each visit, I hope to encourage people to get out and enjoy nature and also to raise awareness of the state of the broader environment, its fragility, and its critical need for our care and preservation.

I want to inspire us all to live more thoughtfully, become more aware of our surroundings, and focus our intentions and resources more in this direction.

Together, we can make a difference

I am incredibly excited about my Parks & Peaks with Peter initiative and I hope you will join in the fun and adventure with me in this community of eco-friendly adventurers.

 Get Out There and Carpe Diem!

 Peter

More about Peter

Next up

For more park adventures, check out my travel blogs and itineraries.