Shannon, who was born and raised in Marion, Ohio, the popcorn capital of the world, spent much of his youth imagining mountains rising above the corn rows. As soon as he could, he left to find them.
Since leaving the Buckeye state armed with college degrees in recreation and journalism and a boundless passion for getting outside, Shannon has worked as a desert survival instructor, a high school teacher, a wrangler, a house painter, a freelance writer, and an outdoor pursuits program coordinator. He’s also not worked at all, bike-touring from Montana to the Oregon coast and living for a year out of a VW Westfalia, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, and eating cheeseburgers in all 50 states. Shannon lives with his wife and two dogs in Colorado where he works as an editor at Backpacker magazine. He still enjoys some popcorn now and then.