Cuisine, culture, history, adventure. Michael travels the globe seeking unique, personal stories that connect readers with people and places. He’s still in search of the perfect gin and tonic. Michael is a winner of numerous awards for travel writing and photography excellence — See his award-winning photography on his photography website here. To see all of his stories on HI Travel Tales, click here. 

View from the summit of Mount Rainier.

Born to British parents in Canada but spending most of my formative years in the United States, I schlepped back and forth across the Atlantic frequently with my mum and dad until heading off to college. While there, I had the opportunity to spend a few months in Kenya – and I found myself hooked on discovering cultures, new places, and taking on adventures. My biology major somehow led me into a writing career (hey, this makes sense to me).

That time I had to learn to ride a horse and then play cowboy.

As a writer, I specialized in outdoor endeavors, from camping, hiking and mountaineering, to adventure racing, paddling and gear testing. Of course, all that meant travel and adventure! While I consider myself more of a travel writer and artist these days, I remain drawn to wild spaces and places around the world. My travels have taken me to all seven continents.

I am willing to go to any length to get the story!

As an artist, I have always enjoyed sketching and painting in my journals, but recently started creating artwork exclusively on my iPad. My art is inspired by my travels around the world and, like drawings in my travel journal, provide snapshots of the world through my eyes. I am honored that some of my artwork has been sold exclusively to raise funds for philanthropic causes and non-profits, such as Big City Mountaineers. As writer/journalist, I have authored more than 16 books and penned many hundreds of feature articles over the years. Now, I am focused exclusively on travel writing for HITravelTales.com, a website/travel blog I launched in partnership with my wife, Therese Iknoian.

My articles have appeared in Outside, Backpacker, Men’s Journal, Men’s Health, Field and Stream, Outdoor Life, The Christian Science Monitor and others. My published books (some of which are actually still in print) include No Shit There I Was, Compass & Map Navigator, Facing The Extreme, and Camping For Dummies.

More years ago than I care to remember, I am on Mount Rainier with Lou Whittaker and Nawang Gambu.

I am a member of the North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA), the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), the International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) and the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA).

Now that you’ve learned a bit about me, I invite you to meet my business partner, Therese Iknoian, who happens to be my wife as well as my favorite traveling partner.

Adventure Options interview with Michael