Explorer Spotlight: Gustavo Quiros

Name: Gustavo Quiros | Age: 26 | Location: Massachusetts

What’s your day job? 

Freelance Photographer. 

What are your favorite things to do outside?

Hiking, camping, climbing, star gazing, and of course Photography.

What first drew you to the outdoors?

Photography and a sense of freedom from civilization.

What’s your favorite hometown adventure? ...and, almost as important, where’s your favorite spot to get a beer after?

Hiking Wachusett Mountain in the fall, and if I'm not having a beer by a campfire then I enjoy going to Medusa Brewing Company.

What’s your essential gear that never gets left at home?

My Canon 6D and 24-70mm lens.

What’s your favorite trail snack?

Hard boiled eggs. 

Any go-to soundtracks when you’re hitting the road?

The Steeldrivers and a little Led Zeppelin, go a long way.

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened while you were adventuring? And/ or funniest? 

The scariest was while exploring the rainforest in Costa Rica when my cousin and I found a hot spring at the foot of a cliff. He took the long way around through the forest and I thought I could climb down only to have the rocks give way beneath me which resulted in me falling and sliding down about 25 feet and thinking how I just cheated death with only a couple of burns and scrapes. 

The funniest thing to happen during an adventure was another incident on the edge of a cliff. While road tripping through Utah we were exploring slot canyons and took a short cut around what we could see would be a long walk. When we arrived at the end of the shortcut we were required to jump down maybe 8-10 feet. 3 out of the 4 of us jumped and the last of us inched her way down little by little until she reached the edge and laid back flat like a starfish and started yelling that she couldn't move and frozen in fear was stuck there for about 5 minutes until my friend and I helped her down. We will remind her occasionally via text as the other friend on the ground got the whole thing on video.

Who’s your number one adventure partner-in-crime? Who inspires you?

Tava Hoag is my number one adventure buddy and Adventure Photographer Tim Kemple is probably my biggest inspiration. 

What are your top destinations for adventure travel?

Colorado and Utah are two of my favorites and the Scottish Highlands are a must.

What's on the top of your must-do adventure list right now?

Hiking in the Canadian Rockies are at the top of what seems to be a never-ending list of places I want to visit! 

Show us your most memorable photo, and tell us about it!

This photo was taken on Independence Pass Colorado, as we were making our way back to Aspen I noticed I could see the milky way with my naked eye and we pulled over to photograph Tava Hoag and the milky way. I had no lighting equipment and used my phone flash to illuminate her on the road during the 30-second exposure of the clearest milky way I have ever seen in my life.

And last but not least…What’s your personal motto?

I actually have two, my number one motto is “Never Stop Exploring” (I do not work for The North Face) and the other is an Asian proverb that goes “Better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times”.