Stephen Schoof was born in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1974.  His parents introduced him to the Blue Ridge and Great Smokies on numerous short trips before finally moving to the area when he was five.  Day hikes with family and friends fueled his later enthusiasm for running, backpacking, and biking in all sorts of outdoor settings, though he still finds the mountain ranges of the Appalachians the most intriguing.

Stephen graduated from UNC-Asheville with a degree in environmental science and does entomological field research for North Carolina State University's Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, in addition to freelance writing and photography.

He lives with his wife, Leslie, and daughter, Alyssa, near Asheville.