Dan Human

 ABOUT ME

Whether I'm traversing the trails, climbing a mountain or paddling a wilderness river, you'll most likely find me outside. When I'm not out enjoying the outdoors, I'll be inside writing about it and trying to inspire others to head out and explore.

Though I'm a huge proponent of solo hiking, now my adventurous preschooler tags along and he makes a most excellent hiking partner. We do most of our hiking here in Western New York, where we live just a few miles from Niagara Falls. Though I love the vast network of parks at home, I've always been drawn a few hours away to the Adirondacks.

Over the years, I've climbed all 46 of the 4,000-foot High Peaks, and I'm currently working on climbing them during the winter months. From endurance hikes on the Cranberry Lake 50 to paddling to the headwaters of the Oswegatchie River, the 6-million acre Adirondack Park has been the source of many of my adventures.

Out of all my adventures, though, my most memorable was thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. You learn a lot about the outdoors and yourself while backpacking over 2,000 miles in a single journey, and I think I am still learning from it. Someday I hope to have the ability to take a few months and thru-hike a long trail again.

I've been a crew leader with my regional search and rescue team for several years now, and it gives me an opportunity to give back to the outdoor community. Though we respond to searches throughout New York State, our team also conducts some fantastic community outreach events. Currently, I serve as the training chairman where I put together lifelike scenarios to aid in our readiness to respond to any call out.

WHY I USE PURINIZE

I tend to take my son out on most of my jaunts and for that reason especially, I have to be careful with water. PURINIZE offers an easy way to ensure that our water is pure and safe to drink.