meet treeline’s team
Founders Liz “Snorkel” Thomas (left) and Naomi Hudetz are two hiking partners who believed better gear reviews were possible. Before starting Treeline Review, they thru-hiked the Great Divide Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail (seen here), Timberline Trail, and Low to High Route together.
We’re outdoor adventurers from across the country who believe that less time researching means more time spent outdoors.
Using our own experience, field-testing, and a meta-review process that takes into account expert opinions and everyday users, we seek to bring you gear review with perspective.
Our goal is to give you recommendations for gear you will love.
Our mission is to reduce the impact on the planet by helping you buy right the first time.
To jump ahead to any given writer’s work:
Archive
- Amanda Jameson
- Becca Downs
- Bri Dostie
- Bri Dostie and Cade Kloberdanz
- Chris Meehan
- Dani Reyes-Acosta
- Dean Krakel
- Ebony Roberts
- Elliot Koeppel
- Erica Zazo
- Gabaccia Moreno
- Gabi Reyes-Acosta
- Grace Anderson
- Graham Hodge
- Jill C. Sanford
- Jocelyn Crawford
- Josette Deschambeault
- Josette Deschambeault
- Kate Butler
- Kate Butler
- Kate Hoch
- Katie Hawkes
- Katie Brown
- Katie Brown and Becca Downs
- Katie Gerber
- Katie Hearsum
- Kevin Tatsugawa
- Liam Purtle
- Liz Thomas
- Liz Thomas
- Matt McDonald
- Meg Carney
- Melissa Spencer
- Micah Leinbach
- Michelle Jackson
- Mike Unger
- Mike Unger
- Mike Unger & Liz Thomas & Naomi Hudetz
- Naomi Hudetz
- Nicole Snell
- Nina Pileggi
- Sam Schild
- Sara Kruglinski
- Sarah Longley & Brandon Lampley
- Shawnté Salabert
- Sonja Lind
- Stasia Stockwell
- Tiffany Searsdodd
- Tony Richardson
- Treeline Review Staff
- Trey French
Chief Operating Officer
Editor-in-Chief
Senior Technical Editor
Senior Developmental Editor
Sarah ceja
Lead Editor
Contributing Editor
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Gabi REyes-Acosta
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Katie
Brown
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Dani reyes-acosta
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Felicia Hermosillo
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Contributing writer -Yoga
micah leinbach
Contributing Writer
Graham
Hodge
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bri dorstie
Contributing Writer - Fishing
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kate butler
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michelle jackson
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about our team
Naomi Hudetz is director of analytics and digital innovation and leads business strategy and revenue operations for Treeline Review. She brings decades of private sector experience in project management, budget and pricing projection, and long-term business vision, strategy, and goals.
Naomi left her corporate career to pursue her passion for the outdoors. She received the Triple Crown award for hiking for completing the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trail and has hiked numerous other distance routes including the Great Divide Trail across the Canadian Rockies (twice), Grand Enchantment Trail, Pacific Northwest Trail, the Arizona Trail, (most of) the Idaho Centennial Trail, the first known thru-hike of the Blue Mountains Trail, and the Oregon Desert Trail. She served as an executive board member of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West and is based in White Salmon, Washington.
Liz Thomas is an award-winning writer and Editor-in-Chief of Treeline Review. A former Fastest Known Time (FKT) record holder on the Appalachian Trail, Liz came to Treeline Review from New York Times/Wirecutter, the New York Times’ product review site, where she was a staff writer on the outdoor team. She is a contributing editor at Backpacker Magazine, where she is columnist of “Ask a Thru-hiker” and instructor of their online class, Thru-hiking 101. Her first book, Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike, was the recipient of the National Outdoor Book Award for Best Instructional Book called by judges “destined to become the Bible of the Sport.”
Liz has talked gear on Good Morning America (TV), in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Buzzfeed, The Washington Post, Men’s Journal, Women’s Health, Gizmodo, and Outside Magazine. She represented the sport of hiking at President Obama’s Great American Outdoors Initiative. Liz’s keynote speaking engagements have included colleges and universities including Yale and MIT and on Capitol Hill, the Trust for Public Land, American Hiking Society, and BikeTexas. Liz is based in Los Angeles, California.
Brandon Lampley is an all-around outdoor enthusiast who comes to Treeline Review from Outdoor Gear Lab, where he was Senior Editor. Brandon has summited Denali and Ama Dablam and pioneered first ascents in the Indian and Chinese Himalaya. His bigwall climbs include several El Cap routes in Yosemite. He’s spent a month kayaking the Sea of Cortes, bike toured across the U.S. several times, and thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail. For three years, Brandon lived and worked in Phortse, Nepal as the project director of the Khumbu Climbing Center where he worked alongside Nepali climbers to increase safety for high-altitude climbers and workers. When he’s not on a long trip or traveling, Brandon lives in his van exploring the U.S. and has biked and climbed in 48 states and 20+ countries. Most recently, he can be found gold-panning in the mountains of North Carolina. He holds degrees in Environmental Science, Geology, and Psychology from Duke University.
Amanda Jameson is a Colorado-based outdoor writer and advocate. She maintains the blog, Brown Girl on the NST, which documents her experiences as a black woman in the outdoors. In 2017-2018, Amanda traveled the country speaking/presenting at festivals and outdoor events as a Subaru Leave No Trace Traveling Master Trainer. Her work has been published in Griots Republic and Backpacker Magazine, where she was the 2016 Pacific Crest Trail traveling correspondent. She currently is the Vice President of the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West and works for a non-profit that seeks to diversify the outdoor industry. As an outdoor athlete, she has been profiled in Modern Hiker, and on The Trail Show and Sounds of the Trail podcasts. She was also a speaker on the panel “Where would we be without trails?” at the Outdoor Retailer Summer 2018 Trade Show. She holds a MA from Oxford University and lives in Boulder, Colorado.
sarah ceja
lead editor
Sarah Ceja is a Los Angeles-Based writer and editor. She holds a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College in Literature and Spanish, and has over 5 years of experience in leading teams of editors and writers. She has a passion for helping writers find their voice and clarity in their own words. She believes firmly in empowering especially first-generation, low-income, and/or BIPOC in any way that she can. Sarah has also been fortunate enough to be a part of Fulbright’s English Teaching Assistant Fellowship in Tlaxcala, Mexico, working with students at the university level to improve their English skills and knowledge of United States cultures. In her spare time, she enjoys learning new recipes, playing guitar, and spending time with her family and friends.
Dean Krakel is a three-time Pulitzer-prize winning photojournalist, photographer, and photo editor whose work has appeared in National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Cowboys & Indians, High Country News, National Wildlife, Outside, Time, Yoga Journal, Newsweek, and Life magazines. With over four decades of experience, his early dramatic documentary-style photographs of the Marlboro Man shot for the Leo Burnett Agency were seen worldwide. Krakel is the author of three books: Season of the Elk, Downriver, and Krakel’s West. In 2015, Krakel left his newspaper career at the Denver Post to hike the 500-mile long Colorado Trail; a film about that hike—The Long Haul—won a Heartland Emmy Award. Dean’s fine art prints are valued by collectors and have been exhibited in galleries in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Large exhibition prints of his photographs are on permanent display in the Denver Justice Center. Dean is based in Crested Butte, Colorado.
Grace Anderson is a climber, outdoor instructor, community organizer, and environmental advocate. She’s been a field instructor for the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and for GirlVentures, a non-profit whose mission is to empower girls through outdoor adventures. She previously was program manager for the Sierra Club Inspiring Connections Outdoors Program to connect communities with limited access to the outdoors. She’s been featured as a climber and instructor in the Alpinist, Melanin Basecamp, Sierra, Elevation Outdoors, and was chosen by Gear Junkie as a 30 under 30. She holds a Top Rope Instructor Certification with the Professional Climbing Instructors Association and a Single Pitch Instructor Certification with the American Mountain Guides Association as part of a Women’s Single Pitch Instructor program led by the American Alpine Club, Flash Foxy (a women’s climbing community), Brown Girls Climb, Camber Outdoors, and Jackson Hole Mountain Guides. She’s worked with organizations such as PGM ONE, Sierra Club, Patagonia, NOLS, and Doris Duke Charitable FundShe’s currently based in Lander, Wyoming.
Shawnté Salabert is a California-based freelance writer interested in the connections between humans and the natural world. Her work has appeared in Adventure Journal, AFAR, Alpinist, Backpacker, The California Sunday Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Land+People, Outside, and SIERRA, among other outlets. She is the author of Hiking The Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California. For more information, visit shawntesalabert.com.
Melissa Spencer is full time vanlifer, a veteran long distance backpacker, and has 20 years of outdoor retail experience. She is also co-owner of SimBLISSity Ultralight Designs, which creates long distance hiking routes, guides, and maps.
Melissa has given talks on backcountry topics for REI, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, and the American Long Distance Hiking Association. She has also been highlighted in Dogster Magazine.
Melissa maintains a blog that covers long distance hiking topics—specifically: women-specific issues, hiking with a dog, and backcountry cuisine.
Nina Pileggi is a Certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, ranked the second highest in the state of Oregon. For 18 years, she was the director of Sunset Yoga Center in Portland, Oregon (previously in Cedar Mill, Oregon) overseeing and mentoring nine instructors. Now, she teaches a quarterly Iyengar Yoga Teacher Education program. She holds a three-year therapeutic yoga teacher certification sponsored by Iyengar Yoga Therapeutics and is a Certified Yoga Therapist. She has made four trips to Pune, India to study with the Iyengar family. She serves on the Iyengar Yoga National Association of the United States certification committee.
Katie Gerber is a holistic nutrition coach who is inspired to help people optimize their health, so they can feel great doing what they love. She believes that when people feel their best, they tap into their true selves and access their fullest potential. She has thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, the Oregon Desert Trail, and the Colorado Trail in addition to several shorter routes. She's passionate about using her own struggles with autoimmunity and fatigue to share what she's learned and to help others experience vibrant health. Katie aims to create strength, resilience, and endurance by taking a whole-body approach and getting to the root of imbalances. When she’s not out playing in the mountains, Katie can be found digging in the garden, experimenting in the kitchen, or devouring the latest health and wellness research. Katie lives in Salida, Colorado.
Jill Sanford is an avid skier both in bounds and at the resort, logging well over 40 days a year. She writes for outdoor publications, including Outside, SNEWS, and Outdoor Project. She lives in Truckee, California, and skis primarily at Palisades Tahoe and in the surrounding backcountry of the Sierra.
Katie Hearsum is a freelance journalist covering topics related to outdoor recreation and tourism for publications like 5280 magazine, Elevation Outdoors magazine, U.S. News & World Report and snowshoemag.com. Her work has taken her from guiding horseback rides in the Rockies to trekking in the Peruvian Andes to kayaking in Vietnam, but her favorite place in the world is back home in Colorado. You can connect with Katie and see more of her work at www.katiehearsum.com
Mike Unger left his high-stress corporate job to thru hike the Pacific Crest Trail in 2006. That experience forever changed him, and he purposefully re-arranged his life to allow for as much adventuring as possible. Today, he’s closing in on 28,000 miles on North American long trails and is one of a handful of people recognized by the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West as a Double Triple Crowner, having hiked the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide Trails each twice. He’s also picked up another passion along the way: long-distance bike tourin, including the 1,850 mile Pacific Coast route. When he’s not hiking or biking, he’s probably planning his next trip and/or researching gear.
Kevin Tatsugawa, Ph.D., is a professor of Adventure Education at Westfield State University. He teaches students how to lead outdoor activities and educates others about the outdoors. His current courses include downhill skiing, bicycling, orienteering, initiative games and ropes, rock climbing, Wilderness First Responder, and adventure leadership. He has published numerous articles, ranging from “Perceptions of trekking tourism and social and environmental change in Nepal’s Himalayas” to “Mt. Whitney: Determinants of summit success and acute mountain sickness.”
josette deschambeault
contributing writer
Website: https://barelybadass.com/
Instagram: @jodeschambeault/
Josette Deschambeault is a dog mom and self-proclaimed water woman who contributes to all sorts of outdoor-related publications, including Backpacker Magazine, NRS’ Duct Tape Diaries blog, Powder 7’s Lift Line Blog, and REI’s Coop Journal/ Uncommon Path Magazine.
She’s guided rock, rivers, and trails in Alaska, Colorado, Canada, and Maine but is currently based out of New England. When she’s not on the water, she’s road-tripping in her ’95 Tacoma to camp in new places, or taking up the rear on the skintrack to find fresh snow. Josette is an EMT, Search & Rescue tech, volunteer firefighter, Swiftwater Rescue Level IV technician, AAIRE Avalanche Companion Rescue certified, with an AAIRE Avalanche Rescue Level I coming soon. Her gear expertise stems from 6 years of writing gear reviews professionally, 6 years of guiding, and a plethora of gear-head friends.
Ebony Roberts is a Squamish, British Columbia-based outdoor writer for REI, Wirecutter/New York Times, and editor at 57Hours Magazine. She’s a serious outdoor tester who hiked more than 100 miles throughout her pregnancy testing hiking boots for Wirecutter (up until the very day she gave birth to her son — five weeks early). She’s hiked nearly as many more since having him two years ago (including time spent testing hiking shoes for Treeline Review).
Ebony is known for spending hours researching and speaking with experts to determine what makes something a top pick. Then, she field tests it from her home base in Squamish, BC, where the trails are plenty (and literally steps from her back door). She’s a parent dedicated to raising a child with a sense of adventure and a love of the outdoors, and she believes there’s no time too early to get your kids in nature (with the right gear, of course).
Tiffany “Miss Information” Searsdodd has almost 20 years working in the Outdoor Industry. She got her start backpacking when she was in her mother’s womb, and at age 9 became a member of the Mazama Mountaineering Club by summiting a glaciated peak. After taking two Outward Bound courses and getting her Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification, she spent 4 years (including winter) as a Wilderness Guide guiding with teens in the mountains of Central Oregon.
Tiffany has thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and John Muir Trail, biked coast to coast across the United States, worked as a Sea Kayak Guide in Alaska, and conducted field research in the forests of Oregon and Washington. Throughout, she worked in Outdoor Retail doing gear shakedowns, leading informational clinics, blogging about gear and trips, and outfitting folks for every adventure under the sun. She volunteers at the American Long Distance Hiking Association West annual Cascade Ruck where she moderates the gear panel at the event.
Nicole Snell grew up outside Joshua Tree National Park and spent her childhood exploring the desert and rocks nearby. As an adult, she’s hiked all over the world including Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Scotland, Wales, and the infamous 4 Day Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in Peru.
She’s an outspoken advocate for hiking and protecting our natural lands. She’s a hike leader for Black Girls Trekkin, which focuses on Diversity, Inclusion, Conservation, and Education. She’s also a Fjallraven Local Outdoor Guide in Los Angeles. She’s presented a trilingual workshop on Hiking Emergency Preparedness at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum Camp Out and on Outdoor Preparedness at the Stoneview Nature Center. Nicole is committed to getting more people outdoors and enjoying nature safely.
You can find her writing on Hiking Solo as a Woman in Adventurus Women and Self Defense for Hiking in the National Parks Experience. She’s been a frequent podcast guest for talking about safety while hiking and has been featured on the: Nike Trained podcast, Tough Girl podcast, Jazzed About Nature podcast, The Mend podcast, Womxn of the Wild podcast, and the Almost There Adventure Podcast.
Duncan Cheung is a mountain guide with over 15,000 miles of on-trail and off-trail wilderness experience. He’s a passionate and geeky wilderness explorer, teacher, guide, father, strategy advisor, and outdoor brand ambassador.
Duncan brings to Treeline lessons from having taught over 150 people how to backpack smarter, lighter, easier, and more mindfully through his backpacking academy, Off Trail On Track.
His mission is to inspire people to cultivate fulfillment in life, to channel resources toward conservation, and to foster inclusivity in our outdoor communities.
Duncan has three homes: Hong Kong, where he grew up, Berkeley, where he lives, and Wilderness, where he belongs. When he’s not guiding trips, Duncan loves to take Kiyo, his 6-year-old ninja-geologist son mining and camping.
Kate Hoch is a mechanical engineer by day and a thru-hiker, alpine climber, ski and snowshoe tourer by weekend. She designs and builds machines to test fitness equipment, but uses an engineer’s mindset to refine gear choices.
Kate has thru-hiked 8,000+ miles including the Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail and routes including the Hayduke Trail, Oregon Desert Trail and Sierra High Route. She also has alpine ascents of numerous Cascade Volcanoes, including Mt. Hood and Rainier.
Kate is formerly President of the ALDHA-West (American Long Distance Hiking Association - West) for 4 years. She regularly runs educational events and clinics, teaching new backpackers how to get outdoors safely.
Stasia Stockwell is a lifelong skier who has spent an average of 50 days skiing each season since she could walk. She has taken classes on all-mountain skiing techniques and has her AIARE Level 1 avalanche safety certification. Her work in the industry spans from testing and reviewing skis for Backpacker Magazine to working on ski videos for Atomic skis.
Stasia has written for Backpacker Magazine, REI Co-op Journal, The Dyrt Magazine, and more. You can find more of her writing, gear reviews, and adventures on her website.
Matt McDonald has written for various outdoor-industry publications like Outside, Freeskier, Powder, Backpacker, Mountain, and a variety of smaller outlets in the outdoor and travel space.
He works by day at Powder7 Ski Shop in Golden, Colorado, and skis 60-90 days per season.
Recently, he’s skied in far-flung places like Hokkaido, the Yukon, Chile, and Argentina, in addition to domestic haunts like Colorado and New England.
Chris Meehan has 20-plus years of exploring, hiking, backpacking, climbing, guiding and playing in Colorado. He’s worked as a mountain guide on Colorado’s 14ers and is the author of Falcon Guide’s Climbing Colorado's Fourteeners: From the Easiest Hikes to the Most Challenging Climbs and the new Falcon guidebook Colorado’s Best Front Range Adventures: The Greatest Hiking, Climbing, Paddling and More From Denver to Colorado Springs and Fort Collins.
Chris edited Justin Lichter’s Trail Tested: A Thru-Hiker's Guide To Ultralight Hiking And Backpacking and worked with National Geographic and their mapping division in developing their Colorado 14ers Map Pack Bundle.
He’s written for Elevation Outdoors, including stories about Colorado 14ers and outdoor apps to boost adventures. Chris also writes for Backpacker Magazine, covering their Deals of the Week, gear review pieces, and their Editors' Choice Awards 2019: The Best Gear of the Year.
Chris also covers outdoor companies and outdoor sports for publications including CompanyWeek, Outdoor USA Magazine (print), Elevation Outdoors, 5280, and more.
John Carr is a Colorado-based outdoor lifestyle photographer and contributing photographer for Treeline Review. His photography is featured in guidebooks and coffee table books including: Best Hikes on the Continental Divide Trail: Colorado, The Continental Divide Trail: Exploring America’s Ridgeline Trail, and the National Outdoor Book Award winning book Long Trails. His clients include outdoor companies 13 Fishing, Mettle Rings, The Crock Spot, Melters, and event photography for the Continental Divide Trail Coalition and the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, skiing, and motorcycle touring.
kate butler
contributing writer
Kate Butler is a climbing enthusiast who is from Minnesota, currently residing in Bozeman, MT. When she’s not writing, she’s out ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon or skiing the Cold Smoke. Kate has earned her Climbing Wall Instructor and Single Pitch Instructor certifications, and climbed both rock and ice around the continent and as far out as New Zealand. Her writing has covering the Minnesota Wild hockey team for the NHL and her soon-to-be published book.
Kate has worked in and around the outdoor industry for the last 14 years. She managed an international guiding company conglomerate out of Alaska, worked with Montana Alpine Guides and Montana Whitewater seasonally, and managed a climbing gym for several years in St. Paul, MN. She enjoys skiing and ice climbing when the weather turns brisk, or canoeing in the BWCA and rock climbing throughout the west in the warmer weather.