For three seasons, the rabid fans of Friday Night Lights have followed Zach Gilford from heartbreak to triumph and back. And in the forthcoming Sundance darling Dare, the Northwestern-trained thesp finally puts his bedroom eyes to work, playing the object of two teenager's affection. Off-screen meanwhile, Gilford has been seduced by the great outdoors; for several years, he's been leading backcountry trips for teenagers in his spare time. Here, he gives us his wilderness tips for the big city.
How long have you been working as a backcountry guide? And how did you get into doing that?I went to summer camp, as a kid, and wound up getting really into the outdoors. So, I guess it's been six or seven years now that I've been working with Adventures Cross-Country; same basic idea as Outward Bound, but just during the summer and just for high school kids.
Do you find that working with kids forces you to be more conscious of your own behavior, eco-wise?
I’d like to think I can inspire these kids the way my own trip leaders inspired me when I was their age. And it is my job to set a certain kind of example. Like, we’ll be walking through the woods and I’ll see a piece of trash, and it’s my job to say, "Well, it sucks that someone did that, and now I’m going to pick up that trash, and carry it around in my pack until I can dispose of it properly." And that way, that trash won’t be here anymore. There’s this principle, outdoors: Leave no trace. Outdoor ethics. Those backcountry rules have been drilled into my head. Now I’m trying to pass them along.
Read more of Zach's interview after the jump.
To get Zach's eco-friendly style, shop the Alternative Earth collection.
Continue reading "Zach Gilford is Bringing Backcountry Rules to the Big City" »







