Dante Martinez - Chief Organizer of OACS - Atlanta Local Organizer

Dante is the founder and president of OACS. He's a rare Georgia native but also grew up in North Carolina, Texas, and Alabama. When his family moved to Rome, GA in 1993 he discovered the beautiful mountains of North Georgia and has been a hiking fanatic ever since.

His passion for the outdoors lead him to found OACS in April 2008. He loves to introduce new members to hiking and other outdoor adventure! His favorite events to lead are long and challenging day hikes. He also leads backpacking, mountain biking, canoeing, climbing, and rafting events. If you're new to hiking and backpacking his 101 courses will get you up to speed fast!

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Trey Baldwin - Chattanooga Local Organizer

Trey grew up in the foothills of North Georgia and has eaten his share of fried chicken, poke salad, and peaches. Trey currently lives in Chattanooga Tennessee and joined the OACS in September of 2009. Trey is passionate with his outdoor pursuits and has been Backpacking and playing in the Southern Appalachians for the past 14 years. In August of 2008 he decided to go west and drove his Jeep Wrangler over 8000 miles, 16 different states, and 7 national parks in 30 days. Trey always enjoys meeting new folks, and looks forward to seeing you on one of his events!

Interest include: Backpacking, Fly Fishing, Hiking, Spelunking, Climbing, Cycling, Mountain Biking, Cliff Jumping, Kayaking, Dancing.

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Adam Beck

Adam has spent all of his life enjoying the great outdoors in various locations, climates, and altitudes. He has years of experience leading both children and adults in outdoor adventure activities. He currently lives with his wife in Nashville.

"I originally came to Nashville for the music. But Nashville and Atlanta are both hubs for outdoor adventure too. We're just a few hours or less from the lush, green forests and dense fog of the Smokey Mountains, great hiking and biking trails of Chattanooga and Northern Georgia and Alabama, the world-class rapids of the Ocoee, Mammoth Cave, Red River Gorge, and the hard granite domes of North Carolina! The South offers a lifetime of adventurous exploring!"

Adam is an American Mountain Guides Association (AMGA) certified Top Rope Site Manager and is also the organizer for most of our rock climbing trips. He is the founder and owner of Becknology Rock Climbing Guides and RockClimbingMeetUP.com. Both organizations work closely with OACS to provide you with several rock climbing and rappelling adventures each year.

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Joseph Blankenship

Joseph is an Atlanta native (yes, people are really ‘from’ Atlanta), but grew up in L.A. (Lower Alabama). After graduating from Auburn University, he moved back to his native Atlanta in 1995 where he has lived ever since. His love of the outdoors, sports and adrenaline rushes has grown over time.

After spending far too many years vegetating inside, Joseph decided to get outside to enjoy the beautiful scenery Mother Nature has graced us with here in the Southeast. He leads casual cycling and hiking trips around the Atlanta area, but can be found attending OACS trips to go hiking, whitewater rafting and skydiving (which he found that he enjoys far too much).

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Cathy Dull

Cathy lives in Alpharetta, Georgia with her husband and 12 year old son. She loves getting out in nature and sharing it with others. She hikes slowly, taking time to breathe and enjoy the scenery. Her trips are kid - friendly, and include bike rides, beginner-level hikes, car camping, tubing down the river and special seasonal events like the 4th of July fireworks, a bluegrass festival, a corn maze and haunted barn for Halloween, Callaway Gardens Fantasy in Lights for Christmas, and winter Snow Tubing.

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Rachel Kanarek

Rachel Kanarek grew up in the Ramapo Mountain Range, which is located in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains - in northern New Jersey. Somehow she found her way to Atlanta, and doesn't plan to go anywhere for a good long time. She began hiking in 2006, and has really enjoyed exploring the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains - in northern Georgia!! Rachel loves one thing more than hiking: her dogs. So as an Assistant Organizer for OACS, she's found a way to combine her two favorite things. Rachel hosts dog-centric hikes and outdoor excursions. You don't have to have a dog to join in the fun, but be prepared to be surrounded by friendly fur-kids when you attend her events.

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Ron Sanders

If there is a body of water or mountain and enough spare time Ron will find an excuse to see what is on the other side. An avid mountain biker, paddler, swimmer, climber, and orienteer, Ron puts these together with other insane people to compete in Adventure Racing - sport of the gods; but rumor has it he has slummed it in triathlons. He teaches courses in wilderness navigation and occasionally suckers people into going with him on very long paddles or runs up a mountain. He is Vice President of the Georgia Orienteering Club, captain and navigator for Team Skiritai adventure racing, and a spin instructor at LA Fitness - none of which pays the bills.

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Nick Treschitta

Nick took a discovery tandem flight in 2005 and has been hooked on hang gliding ever since.
Weather permitting you can find Nick flying over the North Georgia mountains on the weekends.
His passion for hang gliding has lead him to the Outdoor Adventure Club where he organizes discovery flights,hang glide/adventure trips and loves to share the sport with anyone who is interested in flying.