Gregg Treinish (born February 16, 1982) is an American conservationist and outdoor adventurer. He is the founder and executive director of Adventure Scientists, a nonprofit organization that equips scientific partners with data collected from the outdoors that are crucial to addressing environmental and human health challenges. [1]
Gregg was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He says he felt like an outsider as a child, unable to fit into friend groups and bristling in the confines of the classroom. [2] At age 16, after years of struggling with school suspensions and self-doubt, he joined a backpacking and sea kayaking trip in British Columbia. [2] That experience, and the empowerment he felt in the mountains, lifted him from despair.
In 2004, Treinish thru-hiked the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail. Several years later, he and filmmaker Deia Schlosberg spent 22 months trekking 7,800 miles along the spine of the Andes Mountains, for which National Geographic named them 2008 Adventurers of the Year. [3]
After returning from the Andes, Treinish worked as a wildlife biologist, studying species such as grizzly bears, lynx, owls and sturgeon. Combining his love of exploration and science, he led and participated in expeditions tracking wolverines in Mongolia, testing animal migration corridors in the northern Rockies, and documenting wildlife in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Treinish became increasingly cognizant that many outdoor adventurers like him benefited so much from nature that they felt compelled to give back. In 2011, he founded Adventure Scientists, which mobilizes outdoor enthusiasts to use their unique skills to collect scientific data from difficult-to-access locations and across vast areas of the globe. The nonprofit recruits, trains and manages these volunteer adventurers to collect high quality data that enable scientists to advance conservation and human health. [4]
He earned a bachelor's degree in sociology at University of Colorado Boulder in 2002, and a second bachelor's degree, in biology, from Montana State University in 2009. He continues to live in Bozeman, Montana, where he and his wife are raising their two children.
Five years after naming him an Adventurer of the Year, National Geographic inducted Treinish into their 2013 Emerging Explorer class for his work with Adventure Scientists. He has been listed as one of Christian Science Monitor's "30 under 30," [5] as a Backpacker Magazine "Hero", [6] as a Draper Richards Kaplan Entrepreneur, [7] as one of Men's Journal's "50 Most Adventurous Men," [8] and as a Grist 50 "Fixer." [9] Gregg was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2017 for his work on environmental conservation and stewardship. In 2020, he was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. [10]
Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain huts, widely found in Europe, are rare. In New Zealand, hiking is called tramping, and tents are used alongside a nationwide network of huts. Hill walking is equivalent in Britain, though backpackers make use of a variety of accommodation, in addition to camping. Backpackers use simple huts in South Africa. Trekking and bushwalking are other words used to describe such multi-day trips.
Adventure travel is a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk, and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has seen growth in late 20th and early 21st century as tourists seek out-of-the-ordinary or "roads less traveled" vacations, but lack of a clear operational definition has hampered measurement of market size and growth. According to the U.S.-based Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure travel may be any tourist activity that includes physical activity, a cultural exchange, and connection with outdoor activities and nature.
Adventure Cycling Association is a nonprofit member organization focused on travel by bicycle. Headquartered in Missoula, Montana, Adventure Cycling develops cycling routes, publishes maps, provides guided trips, and advocates for better and safer cycling in the U.S. The organization grew from a mass cross-country bicycle ride in 1976 to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial. Adventure Cycling also publishes a magazine, Adventure Cyclist.
Kenneth Kamler is an American orthopedic microsurgeon trained at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, who practices surgery of the hand in New York and extreme medicine in some of the most remote regions on Earth.
The Boone and Crockett Club is an American nonprofit organization that advocates fair chase hunting in support of habitat conservation. The club is North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation organization, founded in the United States in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt and George Bird Grinnell. The club was named in honor of hunter-heroes of the day, Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett, whom the club's founders viewed as pioneering men who hunted extensively while opening the American frontier, but realized the consequences of overharvesting game. In addition to authoring a famous "fair chase" statement of hunter ethics, the club worked for the expansion and protection of Yellowstone National Park and the establishment of American conservation in general. The club and its members were also responsible for the elimination of commercial market hunting, creation of the National Park and National Forest Services, National Wildlife Refuge system, wildlife reserves, and funding for conservation, all under the umbrella of what is known today as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation.
Robert A. Citron, often called Bob Citron was an American entrepreneur and aerospace engineer who was born in Brooklyn, New York, and educated at the University of the Philippines and aeronautical engineering from Northrop University (1953–1959). Citron helped establish and manage the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory's Operation Moonwatch and Precision Optical Satellite Tracking Programs (STP) after the launch of Sputnik I in 1957. He founded or co-founded five companies dealing with documentary film production, publishing, space research and space logistics support, reusable satellite launch systems, and Lunar transportation and logistics. Citron also started three nonprofit foundations dealing with scientific field research. He died on January 31, 2012, at his home in Bellevue, Washington, at the age of 79, due to complications from prostate cancer.
Granite Gear is an American outdoor company that sells backpacks, along with hiking and portage accessories. The company was founded in 1986 by outdoorsmen Jeff Knight and Dan Cruikshank, based in Two Harbors, MN.
Andrew Skurka is an American professional backpacker who is best known for his two long-distance hiking firsts—the 6,875-mile Great Western Loop and the 7,778-mile Sea-to-Sea Route. He was named the 2007 "Adventurer of the Year" by National Geographic Adventure and the 2005 "Person of the Year" by Backpacker magazine.
James Lippitt Clark was a distinguished American explorer, sculptor and scientist.
Tim Cope is an Australian adventurer, author, filmmaker, trekking guide, and public speaker who grew up in Gippsland, Victoria. He has learned to speak fluent Russian and specializes in countries of the former Soviet Union.
Rick Ridgeway is an American mountaineer and adventurer, who during his career has also been an environmentalist, writer, filmmaker and businessman. Ridgeway has climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six continents. He was part of the 1978 team that were the first Americans to summit K2, the world's second-highest mountain. From 2005 until he retired in 2020 he oversaw environmental affairs and public engagement at the outdoor clothing company Patagonia. He has authored seven books and dozens of magazine articles, and produced or directed many documentary films.
Outdoor Research is a Seattle-based manufacturer of technical apparel and gear for outdoor sports, including alpinism, rock and ice climbing, backpacking, paddling, and backcountry skiing and snowboarding.
James Currie is a birding expert, conservation advocate, and host of Nikon’s Birding Adventures TV and Nat Geo Wild’s Aerial Assassins.
Ian Adamson is a former competitive adventure racer, television professional and president of World Obstacle, the Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO).
Deia Schlosberg is an American documentary filmmaker and producer. She is the recipient of one Emmy and two Student Emmys. Her October 2016 arrest while filming an anti-fossil fuel protest in North Dakota led to a viral #freedeia social media campaign and an open letter to President Barack Obama co-signed by 30 celebrities. The arrest and subsequent charges put Deia at risk of 45 years in prison and contributed to a worrying pattern of attacks on journalistic freedom.
Rebecca Rusch is an American endurance professional athlete, seven-time World Champion, author, entrepreneur, Emmy Award winner, and motivational speaker. Rusch's career has spanned adventure sports including rock climbing, adventure racing, whitewater rafting, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.
Corina Newsome is an American ornithologist, birder, science communicator, and graduate student at Georgia Southern University. In response to the racism faced by Black birder Christian Cooper in Central Park, Newsome co-organized Black Birders Week to celebrate Black birders.
Elizabeth Thomas is a thru-hiking champion and former women's unassisted speed record holder for the 2,181-mile (3,510 km) Appalachian Trail. She holds the hiking "Triple Crown," having completed the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. She is the pioneer of the Chinook Trail in Washington and the Wasatch Range in Utah. She is Vice President of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West, an ambassador for the American Hiking Society, and an outdoors writer for Wirecutter, a New York Times publication. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Treeline Review, a hiking gear publication. As of 2018, she completed 20 long-distance wilderness hikes.
Hilaree Nelson was an American ski mountaineer. She became the first woman to summit two 8000-meter peaks in one 24-hour push on May 25, 2012. On September 30, 2018, Nelson and partner Jim Morrison made the first ski descent of the "Dream Line", the Lhotse Couloir from the summit. Lhotse is the 4th-highest mountain in the world and shares a saddle with Mount Everest.
Bart Smith is an outdoor photographer who concentrates on documenting America's National Trails System. Over the course of more than 25 years, he became the first person to hike and photograph all of the 11 national scenic trails and to traverse all of the 19 national historic trails. The 30 national trails go through all 50 states, with a total mileage of more than 50,000 miles.
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