Auteur: Stephen Ausherman

David Ryan left his conventional job in the business world at the age of 49 to rearrange his life into a mixture of income-producing and personal activities. Since making that change, he has found time to walk the 2, 180-mile Appalachian Trail from end to end, walk the Camino de Santiago from France to Santiago de Compostela in the west of Spain, become involved in archaeology, earn a black belt in aikido, and pursue several other outdoor and walking activities. For the past 18 years he has explored the New Mexico backcountry, looking for previously unknown archaeology sites as a volunteer for the Bureau of Land Management. He is the author of Long Distance Hiking on the Appalachian Trail for the Older Adventurer,  The Gentle Art of Wandering,  The Bisbee Stairs, and a blog on walking and wandering at www.gentleartofwandering.com. Ryan lives in Albuquerque with his wife, Claudia, and his three dogs: Paddy,  Petey, and Sparky. Stephen Ausherman is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Art Therapy & Counseling at Southwestern College in Santa Fe. In pursuit of stories as a freelance journalist, Ausherman interviewed witchdoctors in the foothills of Kilimanjaro and crisscrossed Iraq in an Oldsmobile. He also taught English in Korea and China. He has been recognized in various communities for his work with children and adults with developmental disabilities. Born in China and raised in North Carolina, Ausherman took an unscheduled detour to New Mexico in 1996. He has lived there ever since.