John Stegmaier - Bio

A little bit about me. I live in Portland OR and am originally from Southeast Michigan. After working in web design the past couple years, I decided it was time to move on and chase my dreams.

Over the past couple years, I've done a lot of volunteer trail work in my free time, constructing and repairing mountain bike and hiking trails in Northwest OR as a way to give back to the areas that I enjoyed recreating in. I came to a realization that I wanted to go beyond volunteering on my weekends and make trails and conservation work a career. Working as a Trail Crew Leader for the SCA sounded like the perfect fit for me and I jumped on the opportunity.

Previous to my stint in web design, I worked as a wilderness therapy field instructor in Eastern OR with troubled teens. The program I worked at focused on wilderness skills which included fire starting with found materials--I'm excited to put together a bow drill set for us in VA and get some fires going! Besides conservation and outdoor activities, I enjoy listening and attempting to make music (drums, guitar, mandolin), gardening, reading, friends/family and spending time with my fiancee and pet pug. I can say from having hiked a fair bit in Virginia and the Appalachians in general that we're in for some nice scenery and there should be plenty of opportunities to make a contribution to a great area of our country.