Paul is an avid outdoorsman, spending a lot of time hiking, biking and backpacking in Southern California. Beginning in high school and later as an Assistant Scoutmaster in his son’s scout troop, he has made many backpacking trips to the Los Padres National Forest. He has transitioned from a weekend to a multi-day long-distance hiker, and from a traditional backpacker to an ultralight backpacker. In the memory of his deceased mother, Margery Cronshaw (1923-2008), he began section hiking the PCT in 2008. He has completed Sections A, B, C, F, G and H.  He is an active participant in a number of Santa Barbara trails organizations. As part of the Los Padres Volunteer Wilderness Rangers, he leads a small group of backpackers known as the “Litehikers”. In 2008, this group has contributed well over 500 hours of volunteer work including training, scouting trail conditions, and gathering important data to apply for grants aimed at trail restoration and maintenance in the Los Padres Forest. With the Montecito Trails Foundation, he is a trails steward for a number of multipurpose trails, responsible for keeping them maintained and accessible to hikers.

Home: Santa Barbara, CA

Age: 57

Website: picasaweb.google.com/beemancron

Favorite Training Ground: Los Padres National Forest – San Rafael and Dick Smith Wildernesses. These two Wilderness regions are my playground and training areas for long distance hikes and testing new UL backpacking gear. Above all, it is an area where I can get away quickly from the stresses of civilization and receive an instant cure for recurring cases of Nature Deficit Disorder (NDD).

Current Plans: To continue section hiking the PCT.

Favorite Gossamer Gear Product:

Gorilla™ Ultralight Backpack