Staff Members Archive - Incredible Adventures

Aiden Gallic

Jessica — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 23:36:31 +0000

Aiden grew up thinking that the term “vacation” required, by definition, a long drive, a tent, and lots of mosquito spray. Every summer, his family would pack up their minivan and travel to different National Parks all across the US. This upbringing instilled in Aiden a passion for exploration and helped foster a deep respect for the diversity and beauty of nature.
Aiden recently graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History and English from a small school in North Dakota. During his years there, Aiden helped start and run an outdoor club while also working as an sociology researcher and as an administrative intern to a local non-profit for immigrants to North Dakota.
In 2019, Aiden taught English in France before traveling solo across the Maghreb and heading down the Nile to see the Egyptian Temples he grew up reading about.
When Aiden is not working, you might find him in a coffee shop deep diving on some obscure research topic or trying to write the next New York Times bestseller.

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Annie Nobiling

Laura Skelton — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 14:54:08 +0000

Raised in upstate NY amidst the Adirondack Mountains, Annie grew to love hiking and exploring the outdoors. Growing up she found herself on travel adventures across the US, to Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Whether she had an opportunity to dog sled, try crocodile meat, go surfing or skydiving, you could bet that she was doing it all.

While Annie was earning her Psychology degree at a small liberal arts institution in western New York, she discovered her passion for Tour Guiding. She led campus tours for three years and loved every moment of it.

It wasn’t until her early 20’s though that she sparked an interest in backpacking. This spark carried her cross-country to hike over 2,000 miles from Mexico to Canada on the Pacific Crest Trail. She lived campsite to campsite across 1,700 miles in California and the state began to feel like home. So much so that she decided after completing the trail to make the move to San Francisco!

Blending her passion for guiding with her love for the outdoors and adventure is what makes her so excited to take you on an unforgettable trip!

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Brendan Goeke

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:38:57 +0000

Brendan grew up in a small town south of Chicago. As a child, his love for the outdoors started with many visits to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan! Along with that, he had visited family in Colorado, Arizona, and Washington where he became very interested in the beautiful National Parks. In 2019, he went to Australia on a Work Holiday Visa. He backpacked around the whole country of Australia and worked in a remote roadhouse on the west coast near Shark Bay. After working, he backpacked in New Zealand and visited more countries throughout Europe. He also lived in Germany for a year while he studied German at a language institution. Since being back in the USA, Brendan has continued hiking and enjoying the outdoors. Brendan learned he wanted to be a guide when he joined a few trips abroad and realized how his guides were the greatest representatives to their countries and now he would like to do the same here. In his free time, Brendan enjoys playing the guitar, studying German, and going on spontaneous adventures!

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Brian Baird

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:29:08 +0000

Brian is a big fan of the great outdoors and is happiest out soaking up the sun and getting dirty hiking and biking in the mountains. In the past, Brian has traveled much of the country and has called Maine and New York home for periods of time, but is a true California boy at heart and is content in the Bay Area hunting burritos and exploring the Golden State’s unique array of sceneries.

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Daniel Gail

Jessica — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 19:01:22 +0000

Daniel spent the majority of his childhood on the beautiful sunny beaches of Santa Barbara, California. Being raised in a Mexican household and even living in Mexico for a portion of his younger life, caused him to speak Spanish as his first language. Growing up he got bit by the traveling bug when he had the opportunity to travel the country with his club soccer team playing in tournaments from Seattle, Washington all the way to Germantown, Maryland with amazing cities in between. After High School he attended College for a year in Santa Barbara before realizing he wanted to explore a lot more of what the East Coast has to offer. So he packed his bags and moved to Philadelphia where he continued his education and embraced an entirely new adventure. During that time he has logged a lot of driving time! Driving from Philly all the way to Key West, Florida which is the lowest point in the continental U.S and back again. Then accomplished a cross country road trip from Philly to Santa Barbara then back to Philly. That trip influenced him to move out to San Francisco and start working as a guide!

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Eileen Vidales

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:36:21 +0000

Eileen is a native of the Bay Area, then as a child, her family relocated to the countryside in the Central Valley. At a young age, Eileen learned about hiking, setting up camp, shooting, and fishing too.

She has explored all national parks in California, with her favorite being Yosemite. In the fall of 2016, Eileen drastically changed her life by selling all her belongings and traveling solo, backpacking, and hiking with her 50-liter home, through 23 countries.

During the pandemic, she made Mexico her temporary home base, while still traveling to the Bay Area and Latin American countries.

Recently, she began writing her first book about having a mindset of traveling outward and inward. She’s excited about camper-van life in San Francisco, taking people on journeys as a guide, while still connecting with other fellow travelers!

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Jay Burleson

Jessica — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 23:11:36 +0000

This Florida boy heard the call of the mountains at an early age when his mother took him and his
brother on a 2-week horseback riding trip in Grand Teton National Park. After receiving his degree in Communications, he moved to Colorado from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina to pursue his love for the outdoors. His passion for teaching and the outdoors has turned into a 17 year love affair with guiding. In addition to leading trips across North America, he also worked for 5 winters as a R-12 Bombardier driver in Yellowstone National Park and most recently worked as a wildlife guide and naturalist there. In addition to being a professional photographer and a member of the National Association for Interpretation, he was also selected as a finalist for Wanderlust Magazine’s Guide of the Year Awards in 2019. When he’s not guiding Jay enjoys backpacking, mountain biking, snowboarding, climbing, fly fishing, craft beer from Flyway Brewing and taking his Golden Retriever, Koda, on adventures.

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Johnny Alcantara

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:43:04 +0000

At the age of 19, Johnny made the bold decision to quit their 9-to-5 job and pursue their dream of traveling. They started with a trip to Peru, where they fell in love with the vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and the feeling of freedom that came with exploring new places. That trip was a turning point for Johnny, who realized that they wanted to prioritize experiences over material possessions and break free from the traditional corporate lifestyle. Upon returning from Peru, they began saving up money, and within a year, they had enough funds to take a month-long sabbatical and travel to various destinations around the world. During their travels, Johnny has had countless adventures, from hiking the Real de Catorce to Machu Picchu to learning how to start a fire with a Stick and bow in Utah. They have met people from all walks of life, tasted new foods, and embraced different cultures. Through these experiences, Johnny has gained a new perspective on life and developed skills in adaptability, resilience, and problem-solving. Now, Johnny is a seasoned traveler, sharing their experiences and insights with others who share their love of adventure and exploration. They continue to be inspired by the world around them and are always planning their next journey.

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Justin Levin

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:40:52 +0000

Justin Levin is an adventurer and outdoor enthusiast, raised in Encinitas, California. He graduated from UCLA with a degree in Business Economics and Geography/Environmental Studies before beginning his career as an outdoor educator and guide.
Justin has a love for skiing, rock climbing, backpacking, surfing, water skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, and anything outdoors. He spends much of his time exploring the Eastern Sierras and has a special affinity for Mammoth Mountain, where he can be found skiing during the winter months.
In addition to his California adventures, Justin has traveled extensively to a variety of international destinations, including Thailand, Norway, Spain, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, and Israel. His passion for exploring new cultures and experiences has brought him to some of the most beautiful and remote corners of the world.
Justin is also a die-hard sports fan and loves cheering on his teams, including UCLA, Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, and Kings.
When he’s not scaling mountains or shredding slopes, Justin works as an outdoor educator and guide, sharing his passion for adventure and the outdoors with others. He believes that spending time in nature is one of the best ways to connect with oneself and the world around us.

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Kate Downie

Jessica — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 23:24:00 +0000

A southeastern CT native, Kate was born an outdoor and travel enthusiast. She has traveled all over the U.S., camping in the National Parks; dancing, tasting, and exploring the cities. Along with her love of adventure and nature, she has had many other loves. Since childhood her vocation was the theater.
(This also imparted her with an eclectic taste for fine wines from years for waiting tables in New York
City). Like many of New York’s talented, yet failed actors, she traveled for months in India and became
a yoga teacher. Back in NYC she taught not only in studios, but in the public schools, teaching
academics through art, yoga, and meditation to students, teachers, and parents. In 2018 she decided
she really rather just travel, climb, and backpack full time. Tour guiding was her way to combine all her great loves into one big love fest of life. During the pandemic she social distanced by living the van life and has not looked back.

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Lana Haugberg

Jessica — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 23:27:50 +0000

Lana grew up in Minnesota hiking and camping in the land of 10,000 lakes from a young age. Her parents put her on cross-country skis the moment she could walk and she also traversed those Minnesota lakes developing a love for swimming. She attended Beloit College in Wisconsin majoring in Psychology and also studying a year abroad in Australia. After graduating she took off to see the world and has never looked back. She initially funded her travels through jobs such as teaching where she could travel seasonally but then discovered tour guiding where she can always do what she loves. She has guided for seven seasons in all 50 states and Canada and has used her winters to explore somewhere abroad that is new each year. Long distance running is her passion in her free time, which allows her to explore wherever she may be camping. Ultra marathons may not sound like fun to everyone, but Lana loves them. She has lived the van life the past year adventuring to the remote places in the states but is now ready to call San Francisco home. She loves the Bay area and has been
based here for years. She is excited to continue doing what she loves again.

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Mike Harding

Jessica — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:47:51 +0000

Mike grew up in a red house just 5 miles from the White House in Washington D.C. His love of the outdoors got him out of the city most weekends when he was growing up and he went on to get a degree in Wildlife and Fishery Science from Penn State University. Mike guided his first multi-week adventure camping tour at 24 and was instantly hooked. Since then he has guided tours all over the U.S. and Canada for some of the world’s most beloved travel companies. Mike spends his off-seasons living the vanlife and traveling to off-the-beaten-path destinations all over the country and the world. Mike is a professional photographer, produces his own history podcast, is a certified divemaster, plays the violin and runs competitive orienteering courses. Mike has visited all of the National Parks in the continental Unites States and is one of the foremost collectors of National Park Passport stamps in the world. He is an avid history buff and loves visiting historic sites and expanding his understanding of our collective past. He also has a love of tiki bars so when he has some down-time you might find him in a Hawaiian shirt sipping a Zombie surrounded by palm trees.

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Mitch Brown

Jessica — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 22:16:55 +0000

Mitch Brown was born in Duluth, MN and lived in Two Harbors along the shores of Lake Superior (a.k.a. the Norwegian Riviera). At age eight he moved with his family to Ontario, Canada, living in Haliburton and Newmarket for seven years before moving back to the US. Subsequent moves to Michigan & Massachusetts followed. Extended road trips to visit his far-flung family members only sparked his love for travel. In 1991, he began to work for an adventure tour company and stayed until 2002. Mitch has met some incredible people from all over the world and has visited the most famous (and some not so famous) national parks in both the US and Canada. Hiking, rafting, biking, horseback riding and wine tasting are some of his favorite activities.

Mitch moved to San Francisco in 2004 to escape winter in Minnesota and can now be found leading groups to the wine country of Sonoma & Napa and to Yosemite National Park all year long. He loves living and walking in San Francisco and sharing his favorite restaurants, pubs & bars with others.

He recently visited Australia (only eight years behind schedule) and is eagerly looking forward to visiting Perth, Western Australia and Tasmania. Mitch loves getting to know his passengers and making sure that they have an “incredible adventure” that they will long remember as the highlight of their visit to San Francisco!!!

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Phil Novak

Jessica — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 23:34:43 +0000

Growing up in the greater Seattle area, Phil has always had a love of the travel and the outdoors. From a young age, you could find him hiking and camping amongst the towering evergreens of the Cascade Mountains, cycling the hills of Seattle or simply strolling the shores of the Puget Sound. He completed a history and politics degree at the University of Washington and then decided to see the world. After backpacking for a year around the world, doing everything from skydiving in New Zealand, rafting in Thailand to the hiking the Camino de Santiago in Spain, he decided to make travel his life. He has guided for six seasons, exploring the various deserts, mountains, shores and cities throughout all fifty
States and Canada. After each season of guiding, he enjoys taking his adventures aboard, often to new and warm destinations every winter. In his spare time you’ll find him continuing to cycle, camp and hike all over the his favorite places or just enjoying a craft beer watching his beloved Seattle Mariners and Seahawks to etch out a win.

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Ron Prince

Jessica — Tue, 23 Jul 2019 18:54:04 +0000

Ron Prince took his first trip to Europe when he was 23 years old and has been traveling ever since. After graduating college, he took his second trip to Europe for a year and was hooked. The next 30 years has been spent between working and going on trips to Asia, Europe, South America, island countries and Africa. There are still many countries, places and people he wants to visit. Some of his favorite things to do on these trips include seeing different cultures and meeting interesting people. Some of his favorite activities have been scuba diving, photography and sampling all the diverse cuisine around the world.
Since 1995, besides experiencing all the things above, Ron has been working and traveling throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico as a guide.

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Stephen Bendit

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:33:48 +0000

Raised in the Midwestern USA, Stephen’s parents took long vacations to show their kids that there were other landscapes besides endless flat soybean fields and cornfields. Eventually, he moved to Colorado, got a degree in art/science education, became a hiking naturalist for the world’s largest YMCA, and has worked in different forms of outdoor guiding ever since. Many seasons were spent in the USA, Alaska, and Canada in a small green tent, immersed in amazing scenery. He also was a National Park Ranger in Rocky, Sequoia, Yellowstone, and Glacier, and loves his Yogi Bear hat. Besides sharing “the backyard” with people, he also enjoys outdoor abstract photography, and growing his own vegetables when there is time. He has become a bit of a collector recently, compiling high points from each State, as well as National Parks and Monuments. (Mike collects the National Park passport stamps, and Stephen collects the Park brochures). During the off-season in Boulder Colorado, he works for a company that transports people with disabilities and loves to share his photos and tales with his passengers. Between gigs, there is lots of time for international travel, relaxing with housemates and friends, and keeping two felines entertained with catnip.

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Thomas Nave

Christian Tong — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 15:45:18 +0000

Raised in the Northbay, Thom grew up frequenting the woods and trails of MT. Tamalpais, the Marin Headlands, and Point Reyes National Seashore. This helped instill a deep love in Thom for outdoor adventure. Vacations revolved around the National Parks and always included an annual trip to Yosemite. Thom has enjoyed many years of hiking and summiting mountains throughout Yosemite National Park with his favorites being Half-Dome, Mount Dana, the Mist Trail, and Upper Yosemite Falls.
Since graduating from California State University, Chico with a degree in Business Administration, Thom has traveled intensively–hiking and fishing the many famous trout streams in the Western USA and enjoying the history and culture of Italy and Mexico.
When not guiding, he can be found following the hatch in his drift boat, snowboarding, or sampling the fine wines of Napa and Sonoma Valley.

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