Paul Gerald

Paul Gerald grew up in Memphis and, as a teenager, discovered his two great loves: hiking and soccer. His writing career began in the sports department of the much-missed Dallas Times Herald. He later worked for the Memphis Commercial Appeal and the Memphis Flyer before setting out as a freelancer, eventually specializing in travel, the outdoors, and sports. He’s also worked in and around landscaping, restaurants, public relations, social work, an amusement park, Alaskan fishing boats, the YMCA, corporate marketing, FedEx, taxis and as a tour guide. Such is the life of a writer who really, really wants to avoid having a regular job. Paul’s hiking life started at age 12, when he went to a summer camp in the Absoraka Mountains of Wyoming. He became a trail and road hound at that point, and his hometown of Memphis never looked the same. He’s hiked in the Rocky Mountains from New Mexico to Montana, as well as in Appalachia, Alaska, Nepal, and Argentina. In 1996 he moved to Portland to be close to the ocean, the mountains, the big trees, and the coffee shops. His first book was 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of Portland; the first edition came out in 2001 and the Seventh in 2022. Other titles include Day and Overnight Hikes: Oregon’s Pacific Crest Trail, Best Tent Camping: Oregon, Peaceful Places: Portland, and Breakfast in Bridgetown: The Definitive Guide to Portland’s Favorite Meal. A friend took him to an Arsenal game in 2014, so he set out to write about that. That book project led to a blog, then trip consulting and ticket sales, and eventually to formation of Groundhopper Soccer Guides, which now pays for Paul to go all over the world hiking, writing, and catching games.