My hero - Scott Patterson

[Brewhaha]

I've got to ask: do you have a job?

You seem to have been everywhere and have wise advice about everything. What do you do for a living? Tell me that you work for Backpacker or are independently wealthy and have all the time in the world. Don't tell me that you juggle a real job and still find a way to visit everywhere.

We are really lucky to have your expertise. You are truly my hero.

:hail2thechief:

[accadacca]

The guy IS amazing and he is certainly a real asset to uutah.com. :2thumbs:

He also likes Japanese vehicals... :five:

[marc olivares]

oh great...that's all his ego needs, a thread dedicated to his greatness


i thought he worked for the consumer report...:haha:

[stefan]

well, although he can better tell his own story ...

in short, if i understood correctly, he's a civil engineer working for the government, designing and developing highways. when he works it's for long hours for sustained periods of time. since it's so concentrated, he then consequently has large blocks of time off. his family saves money, and they (or he) spend(s) this time traveling locally as well as abroad. [though i think things have recently changed somewhat.]

but scott has been heading into the wilderness since very young and continually has spent a lot of time exploring it. i think also while working on the job site, during periods of inactivity, in the past, he has spent much time poring over maps and satellite images. now he additionally is passing his experience and passion for the wilds to his son.

ASIDE: not to steal scott's thunder, but at some point you may want to check out michael kelsey's Climber's and Hiker's Guide to the World's Mountains, which is quite an impressive piece of work (1248 pages, kelsey style)

[Iceaxe]

Here is a picture of Scott in action.

http://climb-utah.com/Powell/Files/bosshog1.jpg

[Scott P]

in short, if i understood correctly, he's a civil engineer working for the government, designing and developing highways. when he works it's for long hours for sustained periods of time. since it's so concentrated, he then consequently has large blocks of time off.

I just started working for the goverment two years ago, and unfortunately that has put an end to my long trips.

It was before I worked for the government that I got to travel so much. My wife and I used to work for an engineering firm on remote projects in Colorado. We would work many, many hours in summer, sometimes even over 100, but the pay off was that in winter everything was buried in snow and we would get the whole winter off and part of the Spring. We would then travel, hike, and climb basically the entire time.

Unfortunately, my old employer ran out of work at the end of 2004. Now I work for the state guv and only get 12 days off a year. :cry1: . The only good thing about it is that I can work any 40 hours a week I want (within reason) and get to set my own scedule.


Tell me that you work for Backpacker or are independently wealthy and have all the time in the world.

Money is not needed for travel, so you don't have to be wealthy. Most of our trips are cheaper than a trip to Disney land or something. I encourage anyone to get out there and do it. :2thumbs: After you pay for a plane ticket (and if your scedule is flexible, you can buy these for cheap), there are many places in the world you can get by on $50 a week, or not much more. Several of our trips have cost us less than $1000 including airfare. Just don't go with some guided tour or something and you can travel on the cheap. Around the world, we've stayed in many hotels for $1-$5 a night and food is cheap in most of the world. The only expensive places we've been are Australia, New Zealand, and French Polynesia. Don't be scared to travel, and it's not as expensive as people think. Just get out there and do it! :2thumbs:


Don't tell me that you juggle a real job and still find a way to visit everywhere.

Unfortunately yes, I've always had a job.

We used to spend a lot of time out as children as well, and since age 10 or 11 we were going out on our own. I also used to work as a backpacking guide for the scouts for two seasons in the Uintas.
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Oh and by the way, don't be too impressed. I'm actually really slow while climbing or hiking (no joke) and very few of the mountains and such I climbed are considered very hard. Most were just hikes, with only a few techical ones. Almost every time I go on a trip, I'm usually the fattest and often slowest member of the group.
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oh great...that's all his ego needs

The only thing I get worked up about is wilderness issues and maybe Dodges. Nothing wrong with that, and it has nothing to do with ego.

[stefan]

It was before I worked for the government that I got to travel so much.
:
Now I work for the state guv and only get 12 days off a year. :cry1: . The only good thing about it is that I can work any 40 hours a week I want (within reason) and get to set my own scedule.


gotcha, that does change things. it's great you have a lot of control over your schedule!