Hello good friends, my name is James.

The loves of my life include rock climbing, slacklining/highlining, whitewater rafting, music, the natural world outside, and my friends and family.

I work as a field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School, working on extended backcountry expeditions teaching outdoor living skills, leadership theory, and community building.

I have a degree in Parks and Recreation Management at NAU.

I love being around people, and having been blessed with a life filled with travel (more than a dozen countries, no idea how many USA states), I appreciate the world and the people that are in it, but I wish to meet as many people and see as much of the Earth as I can with the time that was given to me.

I've hosted many couchsurfers with close friends, who also happen to be my housemates! I've actually hosted a lot more people than the number of references I have because of that so use them as extra references :)

https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/joshua.tokioka (hosted with him a lot)
https://www.couchsurfing.com/people/lindsey-western (inactive)

An article was actually written about our couchsurfing experience that you should check out!
http://www.naustudentmedia.com/student_projects/sink-right-in/article_84ce6f9e-d8cb-11e4-9887-2735d0bcf71f.html

I also interviewed one of my guests (who I got to play in a gig downtown with!) about his life and couchsurfing in general:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWPANf45cpg

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

To make friends, connections, and memories.

“Travel is like love, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.”

Interests

Rock climbing!! Also slacklining, highlining, whitewater rafting, playing music (bring instruments if you got em!), hiking, fishing, literally anything outside.

I also love reading, art, and beautiful people :)

• arts
• reading
• traveling
• music
• fishing
• hiking
• whitewater rafting
• rock climbing
• tourism
• parks

Music, Movies, and Books

Desert Solitude, Siddhartha, Dune, LOTR, Monkey Wrench Gang, Astronaut's Guide to Earth, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Walden, The Alchemist, The Freedom of the Hills, The Phantom Tollbooth, The Little Prince, too many!

Anything by Ray Bradbury, Edward Abbey, Chuck Palahniuk, Mary Roach, Jon Krakauer, or anything climbing related haha.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbed up a climbing route in a waterfall butt naked.
I've also climbed the full length of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in 15.5 hours.

Teach, Learn, Share

Let's go climbing or rafting!

I'll be rafting with Zephyr River Expeditions (www.zrafting.com) at Yosemite National Park this summer, and at the Salt River (http://www.raftingsaltriver.com/) in Arizona during the spring. Come request me as a guide and I'll take you on a trip!

What I Can Share with Hosts

A warm home for the night, some good laughs, and a part of my life :)

Countries I’ve Visited

Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, North Korea, Peru, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, United States