Gabriel Tiller has always liked being outside. When he launched his first professional career as a graphic designer, he quickly found that it wasn’t for him. “I wasn’t stoked on my career choice,” he said. The outdoors have been a fundamental part of his life and he wanted to be closer to them, one way or another.
“[The outdoors] shaped who I am and my life and made me a better person being in these natural places.” Tiller departed his design career and started as a bikepacking guide, learning how to design routes instead and curate the stories behind the trails. Eventually, time as a guide revealed how much he enjoys facilitating natural experiences for people and even though he knew he wouldn’t be a guide for long, he started working with the Travel Oregon tourism agency and helped identify an opportunity for the state: a trail from north to south where people could bikepack or hike the state’s length.
This turned out to be the Oregon Timber Trail, a 700-mile route from the Columbia River Gorge