Board of Directors Feature: Chuck Frank
We’re excited to introduce you to Chuck Frank, one of our new members of our Board of Directors, and a Charter Member of the American Hiking Society!
Chuck Frank is a true multitasker when it comes to trails! He has hiked on many throughout the world and in countless places throughout the United States — especially in the American West. Chuck feels at home not only on wilderness trails, but also exploring our planet’s waterways; he recently kayaked off the southern coast of Crete, Greece!
Growing up on the North Shore of Chicago, where he still lives today, Chuck developed a love for the outdoors at an early age. He began fishing with his parents as a child and, by age nine, could often be found paddling a canoe or camping out. It’s no surprise that these early experiences sparked a lifelong passion for outdoor recreation. Some of Chuck’s favorite activities include canoeing, backpacking, kayaking, wilderness travel, fishing, biking, ice climbing, and backcountry skiing.
A tip from Chuck, a lifelong fisherman: sometimes to get to the best fishing spot you have to hike in – gear and all!
When he’s not on an outdoor adventure — and even when he is! — you can find Chuck reading and writing, activities he even sets aside time for during backpacking trips.
In the mid-1970s, Chuck’s love for the outdoors led him to become a Charter Member of the American Hiking Society.  He has spent decades advocating for trail funding and wilderness protection and has served on multiple Boards including the Sierra Club Foundation, Sierra Club, YMCA of Metro Chicago, and Jewish Community Centers of Chicago. Check out a virtual outing Chuck hosted for the Sierra Club during the pandemic to share highlights from his lifetime of adventures!
Chuck’s entrepreneurial spirit and drive to connect with people led to a long career in the auto business and to the operation of eight franchises in three different locations. He also had several commercial real estate properties. While basically retired now, he is partners with one of his daughters in Mathnasium Learning Centers and also another set of Centers with someone else. Chuck and his wife Debbie have been married for 45 years and have four children, two son-in-laws and two grandsons — all who live within a half hour.
At American Hiking, we have seen how Chuck’s love for trails is interwoven throughout so many aspects of his life, and look forward to sharing his introspection, strategic visioning, and passion for the outdoors with all of you!
Some Q&A from our conversation with Chuck:
Why is hiking important to you?
There are a lot of reasons why it’s important to me, but let me change it a little bit and say backpacking, because other than being together with my wife and my family, backpacking basically gives me the opportunity to do pretty much everything else I love to do.
I love seeing the beautiful mountains and, as John Muir would say, getting the peace of the mountains over you, the tranquility, and the opportunity to reset your sense of reality and place in the universe. I love sleeping out under the stars for that reason.
I love the exercise and the physical nature of it. I love to fish. I love to do photography. I get plenty of time to read. I’m generally with people that I enjoy being with. I love to write, so I keep a journal. I love to wander.
It just includes so many things I love to do and I can do them all pretty much at the same time.
What is one of your favorite places to hike?
It is really not fair to ask for a favorite, because I’ve been to so many fabulous places. I’ve been to the Wind River Mountains / Jim Bridger Wilderness about six times, and the Sawtooths in Idaho, I think seven. One nice thing about the Sawtooths is they’re just not quite as high as other mountain ranges. The top of the Sawtooths are only 10,000 feet, so you’re generally hiking at around 8,000 feet, while in the Winds, you’re generally hiking at 10,000 or even 11,000, and it really can make a difference.
What is one of your favorite hiking memories, and how has it shaped your connection to the trails or the outdoors?
Hiking in Canyonlands was a blast. We were there for six, maybe eight days. When I came home, I told everyone it was like being a kid on a playground. There were so many unique kinds of hiking circumstances. We hiked through this one sliderock canyon, and we came to a point where there was well, just this sandstone wall in front of us. Attached to the wall was a metal ladder the Park Service had installed. It’s just like being on the jungle gym. You have to climb up this metal ladder with your backpack and everything. That hike, that ladder, was part of a really cool experience.
What brought you to your decision to join the AHS Board?
Well, I’ve been a backpacker all my life and I love hiking – it’s truly a passion. I joined AHS as a charter member and have stayed a member for almost 50 years. About three years ago, I became a part of AHS’ strategic planning committee, and recently due to some other changes, I had some more time, and it made sense to join the AHS Board.
I like to spend my time wisely, to have as big an impact as I possibly can, and at the same time, pursue my interests, which hiking certainly is for me. Basically, life is short – you’ve got to do what you like to do.
How would you explain the importance of trails to someone who’s never set foot on one?
I was on a strategic planning committee for another organization, and we were trying to explain the importance of the organization. A consultant we were working with said, ‘what would the world look like without this organization?’ It’s a great question. So, what would the world look like without trails? I would explain to people who have never been on a trail that with a trail, they would be able to step into another world that would provide them with a perspective on life that would be mind-altering. Trails can provide people with a means and an outlet to get away from all of the stress and details of everyday life – to just be able to relax and reset one’s whole being to another plateau. It’s other worldly – a beautiful, relaxing world, especially if it’s not in the middle of a hailstorm!
What advice would you give someone new to hiking?
There’s a number of pieces of advice that I give. I think maybe the most important is how not to get lost in the wilderness and avoid bad situations.
I’ve been lost a couple of times. It’s scary, and it’s not when you think you’re going to get lost that you get lost. My favorite story about getting lost was when I was hiking through the Three Sisters Wilderness in Oregon. We were on the Pacific Crest Trail on this particular day and we were camped on a lake. We got everything packed up and were getting ready to head out. I decided to use the facilities before we hit the trail, so I grabbed some toilet paper and a trowel and walked up over the nearest ridge, but I didn’t see a good spot, so I went up over to the next ridge.
After I had done my business, keep in mind now all I have is a trowel, whatever’s in my pocket and some toilet paper. So, I walked back over the ridge and then I walked back over the second ridge, but there was no lake. There I was in the woods and I couldn’t even see the Three Sisters Mountains because the woods were so dense. I just started walking in a direction that I hoped would be the right one, or would get me to somewhere that I could figure out where I was. I don’t know how long I was walking, maybe ten minutes, but all of a sudden I was back on the PCT. I remember just taking a step or two and thinking, ‘oh, there’s the trail.’ So, I wandered back into camp from the opposite direction that I’d left, and Jeff was sitting there wondering where the hell I was and secondly, why I was coming from one direction when I left the other way!
I concluded I would never again go off like that into the woods without being able to see a lake, a river, my camp – some type of marker. It’s not when you’re watching out that you can get lost. It’s when you are doing stupid stuff like that and you just get turned around.
Is there anything else you would like our community to know about you?
I would just say that hiking, backpacking, and wilderness has saved my life and my sanity and is the core to my sense of place in the universe. Also, I have a blog, Frankly Talking, where you can read about some of the backpacking, kayaking, and canoe trips I have taken and see my photos. I carried 10 pounds worth of Hasselblad camera equipment through the wilderness from 1984 until, well probably for about 20 years. Then I switched over to digital. Now, I have a new mirrorless Sony, which I got and am excited to try out.
Please join us in welcoming Chuck Frank to the AHS Board of Directors and check out his photos, reflections, and articles on his blog. As Chuck shared, and John Muir wrote, “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves.” (Our National Parks). We look forward to continuing to work with Chuck to ensure hiking remains a way for people to connect with nature and rejuvenate themselves.
