Al Christie has some stories.

There’s the one about when he backpacked around Crater Lake on skis. And the time he was nine years old when the family rented a cabin late at night and ended up buying the place next door.

And the one about hitting the road for 45 days, spending every night but one
camping in National Parks (the one night was in a motel, where he could get a
shower). And another about when he got to ski on some bike trails by the
Deschutes River with four fresh inches of snow, thanks to getting his work
done quickly.

“I was lucky,” Christie said. “That was a really nice day.”

Christie grew up in New York State and frequented the Adirondack Mountains
before moving to Oregon in 1964, where he raised his children and worked
servicing restaurant equipment until he retired in 2000. Two years ago, his
brother died, and while Christie was going through four albums of family
photos, including some that went back to the early 1900s, he realized some of
the people in them were likely relatives, but he wasn’t sure.

The realization led Christie to decide that he didn’t want his stories to be lost,
and he landed on starting a website, OutdoorTracks.com to share them and as
a platform for others to share their own.

“That was an experience that I think had something to do with this idea,”
Christie said. “The idea of, at first, having a lifetime of outdoor stories and
wanting to write them up for my grandkids.

“So it wouldn’t happen to them what happened to me when I’m gone,” he
added. “There will be some stories behind the pictures.”

Christie has already written approximately 18 of his own stories, with
photographs, for the site, which also features 10 stories by other contributors.
He noted that he does review submissions before posting, but has found that
people have responded positively to the site, while approaching it with a
variety of motivations.

“They all think it’s a great idea,” said Christie, who has been doing some work
hauling things for people since retiring. “Some, like me, are thinking of their
kids and grandkids. Others are young people just wanting to share
experiences.”

Christie noted that for anyone who is interested in sharing their stories, he
encourages them to try submitting to the site while not worrying about small
things like typos. The act of sharing the stories is the important part.

“I don’t want them to get bogged down on that sort of thing, I want them to
write it like they’re telling it around a campfire,” he said. “There are people
that have a lot of outdoor experiences that make good stories, but they think
they can’t write. Just put that on paper and we’ll take it from there.”

The endeavor has also already lead to two discoveries. The first was the Altai
Hok Ski, skis that feature a climbing skin on the bottom and are a ski and
snowshoe hybrid.

“It’s the greatest ski experience that I’ve ever had,” said Christie, who now
offers the skis for sale through his site. “I like to get off the trail. Now even
cross country skiing is getting crowded.”

The second is that not only will sharing his stories on the site be a lifetime
project, but he’s also finding out that despite his time in the Northwest, there
are corners he hasn’t been – and stories yet to be told.

“I’m discovering and exploring some trails that I’ve never even been on
before,” Christie said.

To read Christie’s stories and others, visit OutdoorTracks.com.