Mill Valley, CA Outdoor Activities

When Cliff Hodges, the founder and CEO of Adventure Out, graduated from MIT with a degree in electrical engineering, he knew a traditional desk job wasn't for him. According to Technology Review, he quickly gave up his engineering career for the wireless world of the great outdoors, where he began to hike, climb, and surf his way around the world, always staying true to his philosophy of environmental respect and protection.

His travels and business accomplishments have gained some measure of notoriety; he's coached on MTV's Made, consulted for ABC News, and was selected as one of four winners of the 2011 Santa Cruz County Civic Service Award: The Nextie. Adventure Out was also identified for meeting survival skills training standards by The New York Times best-selling author Tim Ferriss in The 4-Hour Chef.

Today, he and his program consultant Tom McElroy lead excursions into the California wilderness to teach backpacking and survival skills, including the tracking of animals and wild ice-cream trucks, and they also guide novices through surfing, rock-climbing, and mountain-biking sojourns. Through fundraising, Adventure Out has helped save Castle Rock State Park from closure and a portion of their proceeds is put directly back into the park.

Dirt bikes kick up plumes of dust in their wake, fishing boats search for prize catches atop Millerton Lake, and three-person jet skis drag race mermen along Shaver Lake's tree-lined waters. Though unfolding at different locations, these events have one thing in common: they're all supported by A1 Recreation's fleet of watercraft and recreational vehicles.

A1 Recreation serves as an epicenter for outdoor adventure, with locations that skirt Yosemite National Park and equipment rentals of up to multiple days that outfit customers with everything from pontoon boats to on-land hovercrafts. The company's dedicated staff members can also deliver chosen rentals to nearby recreation sites and load them onto patrons' trailers.