Welcome to Armchair Explorer, where the world's greatest adventurers tell their best stories from the road.

My name's Aaron Miller. I'm a travel writer and your host, and today is a really special one.

If you don't already know the name, Tompkins Conservation, you've likely heard about their work. Over the years,

they've protected more than 15 million acres of wild parklands in Chile and Argentina, and they're

only getting started. They also helped to establish something called the Roots of Parks,

which passes through much of this protected land.

I was lucky to explore it a few years ago.

I was writing a couple articles about it

for National Geographic Traveler and others.

And it is one of the greatest adventure road trips

in the world.

So you're going to hear a few little snippets from me

along the way too about that journey.

But don't worry about that right now,

because we're about to step back in time.

Chris grew up on a ranch in Southern California, falling in love with nature through early

morning surf sessions and afternoons spent rock climbing. She first met Yvonne Schoenard,

Patagonia's founder when she was a teenager. As he describes

it, she was a 15-year-old beach bum surfer that had just been thrown at a class for refusing to wear

shoes to school. Nonetheless, he hired her, and she joined the Patagonia team in the lowest

possible rank, working her way steadily up to the CEO's chair, where

she steered the ship of the Antique Corporation, as it's known diligently for years, helping

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