This week, Big Rich chats with Adam Leidy, Off-Highway Vehicle and Over-Snow Program Manager on the Inyo National Forest. Adam’s NorCal roots run deep—raised by a forestry biologist, he grew up camping, chasing garter snakes, and logging time in an Isuzu Trooper before wrenching on a K5 Blazer and falling hard for Land Cruisers. After 9/11, Adam joined the Marine Corps as a motor transport mechanic; post-service he ran a landscaping business, then supported military aircraft logistics before finding his way home to the Forest Service.
It’s exciting to highlight a Forest Service employee who wheels just like the rest of us. Adam shares some insight into what the job entails and how you can stay out of trouble in his jurisdiction. Be sure to listen close, good stories ensue.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:13.070] – Big Rich Klein
My guest this week grew up in Northern California as the son of a forestry biologist and learned to love the outdoors. After 9 11, he joined the Marine Corps doing three and a half years and eventually found his way into the Forest Service. My guest is Adam Leidy. Hello, Adam Leidy. How is it going today? I’m glad to get you on the podcast.
[00:01:41.240] – Adam Leidy
Hey, good afternoon. Everything is going wonderful, Excellent, excellent.
[00:01:46.440] – Big Rich Klein
So we met a couple of years ago on the Rebelle.
[00:01:52.840] – Adam Leidy
Yeah, that’s correct. That was what, two, three years ago, I think now.
[00:01:56.000] – Big Rich Klein
Two, three years ago, we were down in your jurisdiction and you came up to, I think you came up to our checkpoint or something like that. But we saw you on the way and we conversed and here we are.
[00:02:11.370] – Adam Leidy
Yeah. This is awesome. Yeah, thanks for having me.
[00:02:14.090] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah. So let’s start at the very beginning. And where were you born and raised?
[00:02:20.650] – Adam Leidy
I was born in Sacramento, California.
[00:02:22.810] – Big Rich Klein
Oh, wow. Okay.
[00:02:24.410] – Adam Leidy
Yeah. Grew up, grew up in the Carmichael area.
[00:02:27.960] – Big Rich Klein
Okay. You’re not old enough for it to be rural. It was still 50, was an interstate there right at that time.
[00:02:39.640] – Adam Leidy
But a lot of the, like the Roseville, Folsom, a lot of that area, Granite Bay, around there, hadn’t really been developed like it is now.
[00:02:50.200] – Big Rich Klein
True. So you’re more on the outskirts at least.
[00:02:53.940] – Adam Leidy
Yes, definitely.
[00:02:55.380] – Big Rich Klein
Okay. And what was it like growing up in that area?
[00:03:01.540] – Adam Leidy
It was awesome. You know, lots of things to do. We were not far from the mountains to go exploring or camping or go drive around on dirt roads. So it was, it’s changed a lot. Sacramento, you know, has always been a big City. But now it’s even bigger. Bigger?
[00:03:21.640] – Big Rich Klein
Yeah, it’s sprawl. Everywhere you look, they’re just building more and more houses.
[00:03:27.800] – Adam Leidy
Yep. It’s amazing. What is it? Highway 65 going towards Lincoln. I remember that. When that was just farm fields or just grass. And now it’s just Costco’s housing developments. You name it, it’s all. It’s all there.
[00:03:42.600] – Big Rich Klein
It’s amazing, isn’t it? I can’t fathom where all the people are coming from,
[00:03:48.560] – Adam Leidy
you know, That’s a good question. I’ve wondered that. Where are all the people coming from? READ MORE
