Evan grew up playing outdoors in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. At the age of 16, his family moved to southern England for two years, where a love of nature and international travel took hold and have been driving forces in his life ever since. While in college at University of Colorado, Boulder, he spent his summers as a whitewater rafting guide on the Arkansas River. After graduating, Evan traveled to South America and Asia before settling in Bozeman, Montana. He also worked as an ESL teacher with the US Peace Corps in Ukraine and hiked the Pacific Crest Trail.