David Nitkin looks to the outdoors for his endorphin fixes, and has spent his adulthood extending city roots into mountains and valleys.

A native of Boston, David's love of outdoor activities blossomed at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, where the school's unique Outing Club encourages students to leave their dorm rooms in all seasons. The college requires incoming freshmen to strap on a backpack and head into the wilderness as a bonding experience that culminates with a breakfast of green eggs and ham at the Mount Moosilauke lodge to honor renowned alumnus Ted Geisel. If that doesn't make you go green, nothing will.

Since then, David has kayaked through the Florida Keys, summitted Mount Washington and the Tetons and completed marathons on the streets of New York City and New Orleans. He's an avid alpine skier most familiar with New England slopes but who gets to the Rockies whenever he can.

A resident of Ellicott City, Maryland, David spends hours running along lonely trails carved into the Patapsco River valley, and often drives a few hours to knock off a stretch of the Appalachian Trail.

David spent most of his professional career as a journalist, and was State House bureau chief, political editor, White House correspondent and metro news editor for the Baltimore Sun. He is currently a policy advisor to a leading local government official in Maryland, helping Howard County Executive Ken Ulman preserve the environment and protect the Chesapeake Bay, among other initiatives.

My backyard is: