Taylor P.

Growing up in Wisconsin, Taylor’s love of the outdoors began camping in quiet woodlands and swimming through clear lakes. As a child she would pore over issues of National Geographic and Outside Magazine, dreaming of someday exploring and photographing the grander landscapes of the West.

In 2013 she earned a Bachelor’s in Cultural Anthropology from UW-Eau Claire, spending her junior year studying in (and falling in love with) the redwoods of Northern California. During college she went on her first backpacking trip in southern Utah where she was awakened to the desert’s beauty and the deeper connection that backpacking offered. After graduating she taught English in Thailand for a year, worked a summer in Yellowstone, and ultimately found the pull of the PNW’s moss, mountains, and bright blue waters too strong to ignore. While living in Portland she hiked and backpacked hundreds of miles, started volunteering with local trail crews, and got more involved in conservation projects.

For the last 4 years, however, she’s been living out her childhood dream, roaming the Western US in a travel trailer with her partner, and co-teaching photography workshops in some of the most remarkable locations in the country. She has since settled down in a place near and dear to her heart, the Desert Southwest. She loves the way the light plays across the red rock and verdant desert, and she’s never met a canyon she didn’t like.

When she’s not hiking she enjoys rock climbing, kayaking, reading, volunteering, embroidery, and photography. She loves learning about and sharing knowledge of local flora, fauna, and fungi, encouraging others to notice the smaller details within the grand landscape.

One of Taylor’s favorite things is helping others find connection with nature and sparking curiosity; she is thrilled to share her excitement and wonder for the natural world (as well as some laughs along the way).