A former school teacher, Clark combined his love of the outdoors and strong people skills to create Outdoor Odysseys in 1987. A native of Tacoma, Washington, Clark grew up on the shores of Puget Sound and the San Juans.
An avid paddler, he started whitewater kayaking in 1977 and sea kayaking in 1981. He has led trips for the Seattle Aquarium, The Whale Museum, REI Adventures and numerous corporations including Nike, Weyerhaueser and Microsoft. An inveterate traveler, he has walked the Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada, cycled through the British Isles and Ireland and worked on an archeological research project in the Negev desert in Israel. He spent two months the winter before last paddling, trekking and birding in New Zealand and Australia