Brielle and Brayden met outside of Olde Queens in New Brunswick, NJ. Brielle caught Brayden's eye; Brielle cracked a joke about Brayden's Smokey Bear hat. Soon after, through a mutual friend, a connection was made, and a first date at Clyde's in downtown New Brunswick was planned. In a year, to the very day, the two would start dating after a weekend hiking trip in Joshua Tree National Park.

After that desert trip in Joshua Tree in January of 2018, they both were looking for more adventure. They both wanted to see the west and Brielle was looking to move past Social Work schooling at USC in Southern California. In April of 2018, after many hours of Craigslist surfing, a van was found, and named "Murph." (Ask to look at Brayden's right calf when you see him!) The van build out took about two months. It was timed so that it would be complete before Brayden's childhood home in Freehold, NJ was sold in June of that year. And, so that as much summertime adventuring as possible could be experienced. The Van trip began on June 6th 2018. It would be 15,000 driving miles, 14 states, Canada, some oddball contracting work, and many miles of hiking before it would come to a bittersweet end. They were tired, out of money and had completely filled up their cups with a lifetime of memories. It was time to find some work and start carving out a life in the west that easily stole their hearts.

Colorado was short and sweet. They took their van Murph with all their belongings in it and moved into a small room inside an old dormitory that occasionally rented out rooms to local federal employees and their partners. Brayden began his first position with the United States Forest Service and Brielle continued to work in the mental health professional at a residential treatment facility. They both knew this was only for a few short months before their summer positions began in Central Oregon. They moved out of Cañon City, Colorado in May of 2019 and made a short adventure out of the drive to Oregon. Pictures and celebrations were had at the state line. They’ll always miss Colorado and yearn for a summer of adventure there, after having endured a very cold and snowy winter.

Life in Oregon started off fast. Brayden began work as a Wildland Firefighter with the Forest service in Sisters, Oregon and Brielle as a Wilderness Therapy Guide at Evoke Cascades out of Bend, Oregon. Brielle worked 8 days on, 6 days off and Brayden worked long shifts, 6 days a week until he got a fire assignment that could last up to two weeks at a time. Somehow they still saw each other a fair bit this first summer in Oregon and knew they had landed in the right place. The hiking, the views, the outdoor recreation and the culture of physical activity and chasing summits was exactly what they were looking for. They were also looking for a pup. Joshie came into their lives in October of 2019 when they moved to Portland for the winter so Brielle could establish state residency ahead of her new plan for nursing school. Joshie was a sweet pup, with an old soul, who charmed Brielle through “Pet Finder”… from all the way back in Colorado. Who knew those apps had distance filters on them?! Brielle flew out to get Joshie, and Brayden still hasn’t paid her for half the flight, only the adoption fee - that was the agreement! The winter in Portland was fun, albeit rainy, and the two knew they wanted to get back to the mountains and the friends they made that first summer of 2019. So, Brayden went back for a second summer season on the Sisters Ranger district and Brielle began nursing school prerequisite classes. They both decided they needed an affordable place of their own and set their sights on a 30ft travel trailer that would allow them to have their own place and also give them an opportunity to move when Brielle got into Nursing school. The winter of 2020 into 2021 was spent in Redmond with dear friends. They learned a lot that winter about how poorly built campers are for below freezing temperatures - whoops! Brielle found out she got into nursing school in Ashland, Oregon (four hours south) a few months later and the preparations to move began! They settled into their new “parking spot” in June of 2021 in Medford Oregon, a short drive from Brielle’s campus in Ashland. Brayden left the Forest service that summer for his mental health. Fire wasn’t what he expected and he knew he had to change things up. He began working with a restoration forestry nonprofit later that year and has been there for over two years now. He gets to play in the woods, make communities safer, improve his local forest and come home each night and actually enjoy his summers instead of working for hours on end. Brielle graduated with honors from OHSU at SOU and was hired onto the Labor and Delivery unit at the hospital she did her school internship at. The camper had lost its luster and the two decided to find a rental with a backyard and lots more square footage in Ashland. They moved into their current digs in January of 2023 and have been absolutely stoked each day they get to walk downtown from their doorstep and go on hikes and trail runs just outside their own neighborhood. The living is good! But wait… when did Brayden propose?! Go onto the next section!

Brayden and Brielle are avid hikers and adventurers. They have been backpacking more thanks to Brielle’s insistence and expertise and set their sights on a Middle Sister summit and 2 night backpacking trip in September of 2022. Brayden made sure to get a summit involved for this trip because he wanted to get a big view for such a big event - to propose! The hike into camp was hot and tiring. Camp was beautiful and the two laid down to sleep when they both asked each other if they felt a scratch in their throat; summertime exhaustion and an early fall cold had set in. Nonetheless the summit was attempted the next morning, but a late start set things off on the wrong foot. The climb from camp to the summit was loose scree and fully in the sun. Joshie was a trooper and Brayden and Brielle kept checking in about hopes for the summit. All the while Brayden had his mother’s mom, Florence's, wedding ring in his backpack. Soon it became apparent that the summit would be out of reach due to time and energy levels. They began to turn back to camp when Brayden began to get quiet. Believe it or not he gets pretty nervous sometimes! They walked further down and took a break to shake off the blues from bagging on the summit and turning around. They sat on this huge rock that almost perfectly fit two people laying propped up on their backs like a couch in your living room. “Cuddle Rock” they called it. The break was cozy, the sun warm, but not too hot, and the snacks tasty. They were about ready to head off the rock and continue down to camp when Brayden got up first and began quietly rummaging through his pack. Brielle thought he was looking for more snacks. Brayden was trying to think of the next words he would say… “Brielle, I’ve got one thing to ask you before we head down to camp. Will you marry me?” He was down on one knee with his grandmother’s ring out, looking up at Brielle, with the Three Sisters behind her, and he got an excited and teary “Yes!” Joshie was so sleepy from all this hiking and heat that he barely stirred from a trailside nap. A few hikers coming up the trail saw Brielle and Brayden and were kind enough to take their first pictures as an engaged couple. An alpine lake cold dip, burritos and whisky awaited them at camp as the first celebration of the next chapter of their lives together! They went out to dinner the next night after the hike out at Wild Rose, their favorite Thai Restaurant on earth, and were smiling from ear to ear.