Just who is this Paul Magnanti fella?
In Canyon de Chelly. PCO Josh Zapin.
If you actually bothered to click on this link, I guess you really want to know about me for some odd reason.
The name is Paul Magnanti. Paul Mags or just Mags for short. Mags is a family nickname that goes back to at least my grandfather. Having an unusual last name of Italian origin leaves many English speakers stumped. Easier to say “Mags” than trying to pronounce the last name. (In Italian, the name is pronounced Mon-nyan-tee, like lasagna. “Americanized,” we pronounce it Mag-nan-tee. Rhymes with bag-fan-tea).
I am a Rhode Island native; which leaves me with a fondness for Del’s Lemonade , Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee, some very-bad-for-you-but oh-so-good weiners , clam cakes and “chowda”. In addition, I insist that Disney World is in a state called “Flah-ra-dah”.
One year to the day after finishing my thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, I moved to Colorado.
For nearly twenty years, I called Boulder, CO home. This town is situated at the very edge of Rocky Mountain foothills. Within an hour Boulder is Rocky Mountain National Park, the Indian Peaks and many other places for outdoor pursuits. I also enjoyed coffee in one of Boulder’s nearly one-million coffee shops.
In the Fall of 2018, I moved to Moab, UT. A move I did not originally plan, but an opportunity came up and the canyon country called!
The outdoors is my passion. Hiking and backpacking, in particular, are my first outdoor loves. Love the simplicity, the journey on foot, the personal challenges and how the intensity of physical activity seems to make everything that much more beautiful.
Though I have hiked the Triple Crown of hiking (AT, PCT, CDT), and some other longer trails, my real love is just to be out as much as possible.
In addition to hiking, I have become passionate about ski touring as well. When I can’t hike, I’ll tour on skis! Winter is not a reason to stay indoors; it is a reason to pull out a different set of toys. Gliding along on fresh snow, the sun shining on my face and skiing off into the distant vista is about as close to heaven as you can get in winter. And much to my chagrin, since the spring of 2010, I’ve started to dabble in alpine climbing. I’ve also been known to camp out and enjoy a place for a few days, too.
In addition to my personal outdoor activities, I used to co-host a popular podcast called The Trail Show (we discussed beer, trails, and nonsense) , guide full time here in Moab and occasionally with Andrew Skurka Adventures LLC. I somehow found myself with a bit of writing career and get real money to inflict my thoughts on the wider world. In the past I served as a volunteer board member for the Continental Divide Trail Coalition and try to do other volunteer work when I can.
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