Well other than being fans of Lord of the Rings, and having some of our hikes feel like the death march to Mount Doom, it came about from one of many long discussions while hiking.

Kelly and I were chatting about our preffered places to hike. I prefer the rainforests of the west coast, and anything in and around the water, while he preferred the rocks and alpine meadows of the mountains. Jokingly he said he must be a dwarf (because of the rock) and I must be an elf (because of the woods and the sea). We laughed.

When we decided to create a site dedicated to hiking, a dwarf and an elf seemed like it would be more interesting (and fun) than two regular guys (but it does makes a horribly long url). It provides us with more adventureous alter egos, and gives us just a little bit of mystery (as long as you don’t go to the about page).