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I think, as a young guy, I was always drawn to being in wild places. Climbing was a logical extension of that.

For about two years, I was a little wild. I was out partying, having adventures.

I was really, really wild in my early twenties and a bit self-destructive.

Traveling to swimming meets took me beyond my small-town existence, gave me a hint of the exciting world outside of my own home.

I spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid.

I was timid and frightened as a child. Yours truly did not shin up mountains or do any other kind of adventurous stuff.

I swam at school a lot. Long-distance swimming in pools, and diving, then when we moved to Hastings when I was 13 I used to swim in the sea all the time; I loved it out of season and when it was rough.

I was really active as a kid. I was outdoors constantly.

I was on the beach every summer. That was the pleasant part of my childhood because we were right by the sea. We'd take a picnic, and I'd spend hours in the water until I turned blue. You couldn't get me out of there.

Over the years, I found myself traveling parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail, putting my hands in the river where they set out from St. Louis, viewing the Great Falls of Montana, standing by the same Pacific Ocean they saw with such joy.