Meet Me
My name is Nathan Foust, and I am a teacher from 9 to 5, and an adventurer on my off days. I’m originally from La Crosse Wisconsin, and I currently live in San Jose California. I love my job, and besides work, I enjoy coaching basketball, watching sports, drinking beer, and arguing about anything and everything.
My Travel History
Ever since I was a kid, I had the privilege to be able to travel. We didn’t travel all the time, but at least every other year my family would go on a week long trip. These trips usually involved Florida, and I spent the vast majority of my time sunburnt!
Besides the big trips every couple years, we spent a lot of time boating on the Mississippi, and camping in Northern Wisconsin. I grew up on the water, and I still take advantage of any chance I can find to get on the water.
To be honest, camping wasn’t my favorite thing, and I definitely wasn’t a fan of tents! Looking at me now, you’d never I guess I didn’t love camping as a kid, but its certainly grown on me, and now I spend months each summer living out of a tent.
The trip that really set the hook and got me started on travel was a family trip to Yosemite the summer after I graduated high school. Rather than go to another beach town in Florida, my parents let me choose a destination.
I decided I wanted to do something different, and since I had never been to big mountains, Yosemite was an intriguing idea (plus California seemed cool at the time, the idea was in my head early!). Yosemite took my breath away.
The first time driving through the tunnel with the valley laid out before you like a painting is something that never leaves you. Looking up at El Cap, seeing Half Dome in the distance, Yosemite Falls plummeting down the walls of the valley. Till this day Yosemite is my favorite national park.
On that first trip, I dove headfirst into hiking, something I had almost no experience in, and I made lots of rookie mistakes.
Hiking the 4 Mile Trail with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain taught me the meaning of high elevation. Climbing Half Dome took me far beyond my comfort zone, and was my first summit. Figuring out how to hike, and developing a passion for it was the true take away of the trip.
The next summer, with me interest piqued, I had to get back to the mountains somehow. For some reason that I still cant figure out, my parents let me take my moms recently purchased car on a road trip to California and back.
I would eventually put over 8,000 miles on it, which they weren’t thrilled about (my initial estimate was around 5,000 miles, even still don’t know why they let me!). The trip was undertaken solo, and it was my first real experience traveling on my own.
I learned to enjoy being on my own. I learned to plan a road trip. I learned how to drive long days. And I saw incredible sights across the American West. If Yosemite set the hook, this trip pulled me into the boat.
The next year, rather than hiking in the mountains, I decided to study abroad. Studying abroad was something I had always dreamed of, and it was a dream come true to actually be able to do it.
I spent a semester in the UK at the University of Leeds, and it was a totally different travel experience, but equally educational. Meeting new people, experiencing a new culture, and learning to travel in totally different conditions were all major lessons.
I still managed to do some hiking, England has beautiful countryside, and Wales is amazing, but most of my traveling was experiencing the culture of foreign countries, and visiting thousand year old historical sights.
From there, my maxims of travel developed:
- Experience nature: through hiking, or other adventures
- Road Trips are the best way to travel.
- Mountains > Beach.
- International travel is amazing, but don’t forget about home.
My Top Destinations:
- Yosemite National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Washington DC
- Rome, Italy
- Morocco
Favorite Experiences:
- Riding camels in the Sahara Desert
- Climbing Half Dome
- Hiking Angels Landing
- Traversing the Sawtooth
- Visiting Roman ruins in Rome
- Going out in Prague
- Experiencing modern history in Berlin
10 Fun Facts About Me
- I watch The Office way too much
- I have been playing guitar since 7th grade
- My first two jobs were as a valet
- I am undefeated in Madden 09
- I am a middle school basketball coach
- I once drove 23 hours non-stop by myself
- I used to have basically a red afro
- I tore my knee falling off a segway
- I buy way more books than I’m capable of reading
- My favorite beer is Spotted Cow
My Travel Dreams:
- Climb the 7 Summits
- Kayak the length of the Mississippi
- Spend a year traveling South America
- Complete the Pan American Highway