I was slumped over in a chair at O’Hare Airport in August of 2022 after a red eye flight from Anchorage, AK when I got a text from a familiar number. I was flanked by a couple of, also slumped, adventure buddies as we were partially home from a mind blowing 100+ mile packrafting trip from Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve to Kobuk Valley National Park (another journal for another time).
The text, from a former co-worker, previous HPM Guest Contributor (See: “The Joys of Being A Beginner”), and flat out incredible human being, was from Megan Somloi, the Ecomm & Marketing Manager of Bend, OR based Aquaglide. They were planning the release of a brand new ultra-light inflatable kayak and wanted to showcase the versatility of the boat for its spring 2023 launch. I was still stoked from the Alaskan expedition, was familiar with the Aquaglide brand, and knew that this aligned perfectly with what we are doing with Human Powered Movement. I sat straight up and felt another wave of adventure energy guiding me downriver.

Anyone who has participated in an Adventure Race knows that adjusting on the fly throughout the event is common practice. Same thing for anyone who has been an RD (Race Director) for that matter. As fate would have it, adjusting on the fly is exactly what everyone had to do at Human Powered Movement’s South Fork Sampler Adventure Race this past weekend, and it was amazing!

On the 9-hour drive back from a self-supported 650+ mile bikepacking trip from Charlotte, NC to my hometown of Montoursville, PA this past October, I couldn’t help but daydream about the next “relatively random, but also meaningful to me” journey. Over the next few months, my wandering mind was running rampant, and locations all over the East Coast were under consideration. It took another few months until the light bulb clicked, and it was all my wife’s fault!

Guest Q&A: Christi Moot
​Read Time: 5 mins