Meet an AO: Erik

In November and December, we’re featuring our assistant organizers on Instagram and the blog.

Our AOs are the people thinking of trips, writing and posting the trip descriptions on Meetup, planning the route and carpool logistics, and then carrying out the journey, making sure that everyone is prepared and safe. When the hike is over, they’ve probably scoped out a place to grab some grub with friends, new and old.

In this season of gratefulness, we acknowledge our dedicated team of assistant organizers. We’ve asked them a couple of questions, so you can get to know them a little better.

Assistant Organizers, we see what you’re doing out there, and everything that goes on behind the scenes. We appreciate you!

Meet Erik, aka “Boomerang,” veteran of some 30 trips, including the Triple Crown, Ramsey’s Draft, Massanutten, and more.

My favorite trail food: My favorite trail food is probably a jar of peanut butter, preferably filled with half peanut butter, half honey. A spoonful is the perfect on-the-go snack and it is great on tortillas and bagels as well.

My favorite trail socks: I used to be partial to Smartwool socks, but the Darn Tough lifetime guarantee is invaluable. I must have exchanged five or six pairs of socks on the PCT this past summer, no questions asked.

My favorite gear: My favorite piece of gear in sheer terms of use is probably my Melanzana Microgrid Hoodie. It has been on about every hiking outing of mine for the past two years. It’s a great mid layer for backpacking and I find myself wearing it around town casually often.

My favorite trip: My favorite hiking trip was probably the Lowest to Highest (L2H) route I did back in 2017 with some close friends. My favorite DC UL trip was the Wind River High Route/Uintas trip we did this past September. Both were incredible adventures that challenged me and led us far off the beaten path while yielding a ton of memorable experiences with great people.

My trail name: I got my trail name, Boomerang, while on my Appalachian Trail thru hike. After a long day of hiking through snow, I hung my wet socks over a nail in a shelter. Waking up the following morning, I discovered the socks had frozen in a V-shape over the nail! In frustration, I tossed the socks across the shelter towards my bag. A couple of fellow thru hikers in the shelter, who found the situation hysterical, thought it looked like I was throwing a boomerang and the name stuck.

Thanks for chatting, Erik! See you on the trail.

Are you interested in becoming an assistant organizer? Read more on our site.