OSPREY AMBASSADOR

CHARLES GORE

Hi, I’m Charles, for me the outdoors is the ultimate escape, stripping life back to its simplest form. I like to think of hiking as my moving meditation. In the stillness and quiet of the wilderness is where I think clearer and feel most at ease. There’s something incredibly rewarding about exploring untouched landscapes, it can be a short walk or pushing myself beyond my physical and mental comfort zone. Living in Sydney, my favourite area to explore is the Blue Mountains with its epic views and countless swimming holes. When I’m not adventuring, I’ll be going for a dip in the ocean or reading a good fantasy book.

What has been your most memorable adventure so far?

It's honestly so hard to choose. We have a campervan and over the last few years we’ve done some epic trips in Australia. I think the favourite though was 4 weeks down to Tassie. Getting the Ferry over hiking in so many different landscapes and then summiting Cradle Mountain on a clear day was incredible. 

What adventure pushed you the most mentally or physically?

I haven’t done any crazy long hikes, usually I’m more of a weekend warrior. On a trip to Lombok, Indonesia though I hiked to the Summit of Mount Rinjani. It was two grueling days of incline, waking up at 2am to hike 3 hours vertically in sand to reach the summit at 3726m. It was tough but so rewarding.

If you could go back to when you first started exploring the outdoors, what advice would you give yourself?

I’d tell myself to be safer. When I was younger I did some pretty risky things without travel insurance, first aid kit or personal locator beacon. Now that I’m older and abit wiser, I can now see that I was just very lucky that something didn't happen. So I would tell my younger self to keep going on adventures but don’t be an idiot and be better prepared.

We are super excited to follow along all of Charles's adventures over the year, make sure you follow him on Instagram to stay up to date with his epic trips! @charlesgoreoutdoors⛰️