There are so many nice bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, and photographers on the market creating wonderful out of doors content material every day.
Not solely did I need to personally get to know them higher, however I additionally needed to discover their out of doors influences and keenness for nature.
Thus, we’ve launched the I Love The Outdoors Interview Series.
If you have an interest in collaborating within the collection, please contact us and tell us!
Vincent Ledvina
1. Tell us somewhat about your self.
My identify is Vincent Ledvina, I’m at the moment a first-year Ph.D. pupil on the University of Alaska-Fairbanks finding out Space Physics.
My analysis focus is on the physics of the aurora, though up to now I’ve centered on matters in photo voltaic physics and house climate.
I’m 23 years outdated, I’m from Maplewood, Minnesota, and I at the moment reside in Fairbanks, Alaska! I’m at the moment not married or have any children.
I like the outside, pictures, and educating folks on how house climate impacts our planet and technological society.
My mission via social media and content material creation is to encourage others to go exterior and luxuriate in nature, particularly the northern lights!
2. What is your favourite out of doors exercise?
I actually like mountain climbing and biking!
I additionally love pictures, and since I primarily take images of the aurora, I’m normally outside with my digicam.
3. Where is your favourite path?
One of my favourite trails is correct on the town right here in Fairbanks!
I’m undecided if it’s a chosen path, however within the winter, snowmachines pack down the snow so you may stroll with out sinking all the way down to your waist.
The spot is correct off of Nordale Rd and you’ll hike proper into some pristine boreal forests.
Otherwise, I actually just like the hike at Twelve Mile Summit in Alaska, it’s one of many closest locations to Fairbanks the place you may expertise tundra.
4. Where is your favourite tenting spot?
My favourite tenting spot and one of many solely occasions I’ve really gone wilderness tenting was on Third Beach in Olympic National Park.
Something about pitching a tent on the sand and constructing a campfire utilizing driftwood you discover on the seaside is so uncooked and pure – you’re actually out in nature.
5. What was your first out of doors reminiscence as a child?
I’ve many reminiscences of tenting as a child.
My dad and mom used to take my sister and I tenting in our pop-up camper, however I wouldn’t name that actually tenting.
My first tent tenting expertise I can bear in mind was in Cub Scouts, I believe it was a fast journey to Afton State Park in Minnesota.
I used to be in all probability round ten years outdated.
6. Who was your greatest out of doors affect?
I didn’t like tenting as a lot as a child – I loved being in nature, however I used to be actually delicate to the warmth and hated bugs.
My dad inspired me to push myself and embrace the outside. He inspired me to hitch Scouts which I did once I was simply ten years outdated.
Through Scouts, I used to be required to go tenting, and I believe this helped work out among the quirks I had as a child, as a result of earlier than lengthy I liked tenting and being exterior!
My dad and I are fairly shut and suppose the identical means – he’s an environmental engineer and taught me primary ideas of environmentalism like Leave No Trace.
I owe lots of my out of doors information and respect for nature to him and his assist.
7. What was your all-time finest tenting or mountain climbing expertise?
One of my favourite tenting journeys was in 2019 at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
At the time, I used to be residing in Colorado whereas finishing an internship on the National Solar Observatory.
We determined to drive all the way down to Black Canyon one weekend with out a campsite reservation.
Arriving at round 8 pm proper earlier than sundown, we thought we have been out of luck since all of the campsites seemed to be taken till we went near the canyon and noticed one campsite proper on the fringe of the cliff that hadn’t been claimed!
Either nobody needed to camp there because of the hazard or they didn’t see the campsite quantity, however both means, it was simply what we wanted.
For the subsequent couple nights, I had about as thrilling of a time as you may have sleeping in a tent understanding a 2,000 vertical cliff was simply ten toes away from me!
Those varieties of experiences that make you are feeling really alive are what I crave.
8. What is your favourite piece of drugs and why?
Long underwear if we’re simply speaking about being outside because it’s essential to staying heat within the chilly Alaskan winters.
But for tenting particularly, I like my Kelty Mesa 2 Tent.
It’s not the lightest or the fanciest tent on the market, but it surely’s lasted me eternally and I’ve by no means had any leaks in it regardless of tenting in all types of situations!
9. What do you’re keen on in regards to the outside?
I like the sensation of being fully surrounded by nature away from civilization.
Up right here in Alaska, you may rapidly end up in among the most distant areas within the United States, and it feels wonderful.
Of course, I at all times convey a satellite tv for pc cellphone with me in case something goes terribly incorrect, however being in the midst of nowhere kicks within the survival intuition and makes you are feeling such as you’re really alive.
Also, this goes with out query, however being exterior is a fantastic expertise.
Graduate college, analysis, and social media create a busy and generally demanding way of life.
Nature is a means for me to flee all this, decelerate, and luxuriate in the great thing about our pure world.
It’s a good way to heart my psychological state and I discover that after tenting or being exterior, I strategy issues with new and sometimes distinctive views.
10. What out of doors locations are in your bucket checklist?
I like distant Arctic areas. One of my prime locations proper now’s Greenland – I need to seize aurora borealis with icebergs and sea ice and journey someplace seldom visited.
Specifically, I need to go to the acute northwestern aspect of Greenland which is extraordinarily distant.
Another prime vacation spot, maybe the one I consider essentially the most, is Nááts’įhch’oh National Park Reserve within the Northwest Territories, Canada.
It is without doubt one of the most distant mountain ranges on the planet with zero roads or cities within the nationwide park. It’s additionally one of many least visited parks in all of Canada.
My dream could be to both hike into the park and camp atop one of many jagged mountain peaks or take a helicopter and mountain hop, tenting in distinctive areas each day.
The excessive latitude additionally means I might see auroras from these mountains, and as a photographer, I dream of dramatic mountain peaks backdropped by attractive auroral shows.
11. What is your purpose as an outside content material creator? How can we assist you and the place can we discover your content material?
My purpose is to encourage others to get exterior and luxuriate in nature.
My area of interest is aurora chasing and going to excessive Arctic areas to view the northern lights.
I take pleasure in educating others about methods to see auroras and serving to them {photograph} the lights to allow them to protect the reminiscence and share it with others, inspiring much more folks to see considered one of nature’s most spectacular wonders.
Currently, I’m sharing my travels, out of doors adventures, and pictures on, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok, creating content material to assist share the great thing about the aurora, which has impressed my complete life’s journey.
Of course, my purpose is to indicate these views and share my life story with as many individuals as attainable in order that my message might be shared and used as encouragement for others to step exterior their consolation zones and see what distinctive experiences life provides.
What’s most essential to me is for folks to understand that the outside is accessible to everybody – you don’t should be a mountain climber or a world-class athlete to have an unforgettable expertise exterior.
In reality, virtually all my tenting and out of doors experiences have been comparatively easy and easy, reserving campsites on-line or discovering fashionable trails.
Of course, among the extra memorable experiences have come from extra daring adventures, however simply taking a stroll down my road is sufficient to make me really feel linked to nature.
I encourage anybody trying so as to add extra nature into their life to take small steps and see how huge of an influence that may have.
Vincent, thanks for the nice interview and for collaborating within the I Love The Outdoors Interview Series!
If you have an interest in collaborating and sharing your story, please contact us and tell us!