Bozeman Contributor

Mike Wolfe

Self-prescribed endorphin addict, more comfortable in wranglers than slacks, better off cold, wet, and hungry in the woods than in the office.

Having grown up in Bozeman, Montana, Mike spent his formative years gallivanting throughout the Rocky Mountain West. Lucky to have been raised by parents both passionate about the outdoors, they taught him from an early age the importance of self-reliance and survival in the wilds; instilling such knowledge as how to cook road kill and drink out of mud puddles.

His father being a farrier (horseshoer), he learned the importance of an honest day’s work early on, and spent a majority of his summers either grunting and sweating underneath a horse or mending barbed-wire fence on various ranches in Montana and Wyoming.

Mike worked as a professional guide for the National Outdoor Leadership School for four years, guiding 30-day climbing, paddling and hiking courses throughout the West. After serving a stint as a blacksmith’s apprentice in Hoback Junction, Wyoming, he decided to go for a traditional education. He finished up his undergrad at Albertson College of Idaho in the Gipson Scholar’s program where his documentary research focused on the changing landscape of the West.

After serving long stints in remote places -- 150 days paddling in northern Canada to three months climbing in the Torres del Paine, Chile -- he has returned to his roots in Montana. He worked for the Madison Valley Ranchlands Group in Ennis, Montana, working to preserve the rural character and landscape of the Madison Valley before landing his current position at Off the Beaten Path in Bozeman where he is a outdoor travel consultant for the company.