About Me

I was born in Pittsburgh, Pa back in 1965. I graduated from Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pa in 1983 and enlisted in the Air Force in 1986. I was originally stationed at Castle AFB, California and spent my last year in the service at King Salmon AFB in Alaska. I've been married since 1991 and have two daughters. Around 1995 my life changed when I became a Christian, accepting Jesus as my Savior.

I currently live in Atwater California which has one big advantage...it's only an hour and a half drive to Yosemite, which enables me to spend a lot of time up there hiking and backpacking.

Besides hiking and backpacking I enjoy fixing up cars. I have a 1968 Dodge Coronet 500 convertible waiting for a restoration and have been known to drag race my 1969 Firebird 400 at Sacramento Raceway. I also spend too much time on the computer with this site; my photography site, Images In The Backcountry; my car site, Mike's Car Lot and as webmaster of my church's website, New Beginnings Fellowship.

During the summer of 2004, I began to experience joint pain in both of my knees. It has progressed to the point where I have been unable to walk without the use of a walker. This has prompted the first total knee replacement of my left knee in February, 2006. I've had some healing complications, and in October 2006 my hardware on my right knee has been removed. In March 2008 I finally had my right knee removed and fused straight. So for now I'm using a walker or a wheelchair until I can walk without help. Since mobility is an issue, most of my photographs have been taken while inside of the car, along the road or in my wheelchair.

In August 2005, I had my first photograph published in BACKPACKER Magazine ®. Recently, the U.S Fish Wildlife Service just published this photo on their 24-page brochure called Initiative Areas of California, Nevada, and the Klamath Basin of Oregon.

I hope you find the information here helpful and inspiring. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail.

God Bless,

Mike "Hikin' Mike" Matenkosky