Christopher Cardella

Hello, My name is Christopher Cardella and I’m a YLabber here at One Stone. I am a self-proclaimed outdoor enthusiast and environmentalist. I love to backpack, ski, fish, hike, camp, mountain bike, and swim. My artifact is my orange Osprey pack that was my dad’s. He bought it in college and has used it to backpack the whole AT, summit Mount Whitney, and summit the Grand Teton. When I was around 14, he gave the pack to me, and by this point it was 20 years old and had been ripped up by a squirrel in the Redwoods. Regardless, I still use it for all of my outdoor pursuits because that pack means something more to me than just a backpack. Always seeing it on my dad’s back as a kid while he showed me the ropes kind of turned it into something bigger. This artifact is a representation of multiple sections of my T-popper, and has stood as a constant reminder of what my values are during this semester and last. Being the good to me involves staying true to my passions and my beliefs, and my backpack is just a tool that helps me do that. Being online for many hours a day sometimes distracts me from my passion for the outdoors, but seeing my pack always reminds me to stay on track. Since Covid has started, I've used that pack on over 200 miles of backpacking, across 6 states, as well as a session on a crew with the Idaho Conservation Corps, and as a lift operator up at Bogus Basin. I will never throw it away, upgrade it, or get rid of it. I hope it will keep serving me into my adult years, and I can keep adventuring with it.