This week's Outdoor Enthusiast Next Door is Dave Lee. Currently, Dave works as a customer service manager. But, not for long. In December 2007, he is leaving for a long trip around the world. You can learn more about Dave, his trip preparation, and eventually his journey, on his blog, Go Backpacking.

Why do you travel?

Independent travel offers the chance to experience a freedom which is unparalleled when I am at home in the United States. Whether I am away for two weeks, or two months, it only takes a few days to leave the routines and concerns of my normal life for the sights, sounds, tastes, cultures, and adventures of a foreign land. Since everything about the environment is new, a single day can feel like an entire week. It is as if time slows down, and you live longer days.

And why outdoor/adventure type travel?

Whether I am snowboarding in British Columbia or whitewater rafting through the jungles of Costa Rica, participating in adventure activities in a different country is an amazing adrenaline rush. In addition to the activity itself, I am often experiencing a new, natural environment for the first time. People can get so use to the same scenery commuting to and from school and work every day for years, it can be sensory overload to travel.

Favorite outdoor activity and why.

I have been lucky enough to participate in a wide range of outdoor activities, though snowboarding sticks out as my favorite. Unlike skiing, snowboarding feels graceful, like surfing on land. Spending a day on the mountain can be exhausting; however the food and beer afterwards taste so much better as a result. Unfortunately, I've taken fewer trips as I've gotten older.

Tell me about your last outdoor/adventure trip.

In May 2006, I spent a few weeks backpacking in belize and Guatemala. I snorkeled in crystal clear Caribbean waters with nurse sharks and gigantic sting rays along the second largest barrier reef in the world. After relaxing on the islands, I headed inland for a stay at Ian Anderson's Caves Branch Jungle Lodge, which operates based on kerosene lighting in the evenings. I signed up for the Black Hole Drop trip, which is a hike into the local jungle, followed by a 300-foot rappel into a sinkhole. The experience was later surpassed by a 3-hour cave tour of Actun Tunichil Muknal ("ATM") in which we hiked upstream to elevated dry chambers which held 1,000 year old Mayan pottery and calcified sacrificial remains. I felt like Indiana Jones!