Devin will be joining us as a Trip Leader for her fifth season at Adventure Treks! She answered a few questions for us below.
What are you currently doing?
I am currently a ski patroller at Park City Ski Area in Utah.
What made you want to work as an outdoor educator?
Growing up in Colorado, I’ve always loved being outside, but it wasn’t until I took a year off from college and spent 85 daysin Patagonia with NOLS that I realized I could make a living out of sharing my passion in the outdoors.
Out of your last several years with us, what’s your favorite AT memory?
I have a lot of great AT memories, but one of my favorites was summiting Mt. Olympus with my Leadership Summit students last summer. We had woken up at about 3:00 a.m., and the weather already seemed like it wasn’t in our favor. As we ascended through the forest and eventually onto the glacier, the clouds continued to roll across the summit. It was a constant mental balance between thinking we might have to turn around and feeling confident that we would make it. The game was holding both possibilities at once. Finally, standing on top of that summit around noon was incredible. Watching my students overcome challenges together and discover their own inner strengths throughout the process—these are the moments that make me proud to be an outdoor educator.
What keeps you coming back to AT?
I come back to AT because they are my people. There is hardly any other environment where one can find such a large collection of authentic, goofy, intelligent individuals—both instructors and students—and I’ve discovered some of my closest friends within this community. Even when I only get to spend a brief amount of time with some of them, I know they truly care about me. I also come back for the adventures. And the flair costumes, of course.
On a lighter note, what’s your favorite AT meal?
I LOVE peanut butter, so any meal that can incorporate this delicious spread has to be a favorite. I really like Gado Gado, which consists of rice noodles and a variety of sautéed veggies topped with a homemade Thai peanut sauce.
What’s the most beautiful place you’ve ever been to?
This is a hard one… I’ve been lucky to see a ton of beautiful places in my life so far. One that sticks out was seeing a glacier for the first time while mountaineering in Patagonia. It made me cry, it was so beautiful. I will say Blue Glacier on Mt. Olympus is probably a close second. Emerging from the rich greens of the Hoh Rainforest to stand before the seracs and crevasse of the glacier at sunrise is pretty spectacular.
Tell us something unique about you.
I know more recipes using figs as an ingredient than any one person should know. I love figs, probably even more than peanut butter.
Where did you attend college?
I spent two years at Colorado College and then transferred to Fort Lewis College where I earned my degree.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
My sister and I have been talking about a trip to Iceland. I’ve always wanted to see the Northern Lights, and I hear they have some fermented shark you can try. Who doesn’t love some good old fermented shark!