Even though both grew up in Soldotna, Joel and Kaitlin didn't meet each other until they moved home after a decade of living out of state. After several years of circling with the same friends, Joel planned a group camping trip in Hope. Conveniently, no one came except Kaitlin. As the midnight sun set the mountains aglow, they frolicked on alpine ridges while munching blueberries and cliff bars. There may have been some skinny dipping. There was no tom foolery in the shared two-man tent, but in the morning, as the sun rose, they saw each other in a new light.

Many adventures later, while floating in a two-person kayak "ducky" on a month-long Grand Canyon river trip in February, Kaitlin and Joel thought, "what are we waiting for? Let's jump in!" (Shortly thereafter they flipped on one of the biggest rapids on the river). After many months of secret strategizing throughout the summer, Joel and Kaitlin's mom, Penny, found Grandma Ruth's engagement ring. Joel tucked the family ring in his pocket on several bushwhack adventures that ended in getting lost rather than a picturesque mountaintop proposal. So, on a peaceful walk one Sunday afternoon, on the Clam Gulch beach where Kaitlin played as a little girl, Joel got down on one knee, golden sunlight at his back, and told Kaitlin he'd known she was the woman he wanted to marry since that first night in Hope, laughing aloud as they read books to each other in the tent.