At BearVault, our mission has always been to keep wild adventures going. This has been the driving force behind our continued search for a better way to protect bears.
Each year, we partner with a small group of passionate hikers and outdoor lovers to be part of the BearVault Ambassador Program. These individuals bring more than just miles — they bring stories, creativity, resilience, and a deep respect for nature.
Our Ambassadors Lead With Purpose
They embody the Leave No Trace principles guiding responsible recreation and help protect the places we all love to explore. From securing food to respecting wildlife, they remind us that every action on trail has an impact.
This year, we’re proud to introduce three adventurers who hike with heart, tread lightly, and inspire us to go farther.
Meet the 2025 Team
🧡 Cassandra — The Extra Ordinary Life of Me
Cassandra is stepping into her first full season of backpacking with humor and honest reflections on mental health. After reconnecting with hiking last year, she says it felt like finding a missing part of herself.
Now, she’s sharing her journey of healing, joy, and rediscovery on the trail.
Read Her Full Story
Hi! My name is Cassandra Loiselle-Walker, and in my little end of the world, I’m known as The Extra Ordinary Life of Me on my blog and socials — and no, it’s not a spelling mistake. My life is so ordinary, it is extra ordinary.
I have spent a lot of time in the outdoors, particularly in my younger days. After wanting to get back to hiking and exploring the outdoors this past year, I finally got back to hiking, and to say I found myself again is an understatement. I am recovering from complex PTSD, depression and anxiety. I have been sharing some of my journey with people, but there is something about being outside hiking that brings relief, clarity, and peace — all things that I had been working on for a long time.
It’s been like rediscovering a missing piece, and it just fits.
I’m excited to be a part of the Ambassador Program this year to share my journey with hiking and to start backpacking. It feels weird to say, as I did a couple of backpacking trips before, as a teenager … only a few decades ago (now I feel old), but it’s different now because of my age and size — it’s a new adventure.
🌅 Mike — Portrait of a Hiker
Mike found joy in life through hiking at 35. As a person living with PTSD, the trail has become a space of healing, connection, and artistic expression.
From photography to public lands advocacy, Mike brings depth and perspective to every step.
Read His Full Story
I love hiking. I enjoy it more than anything else. I have PTSD, and it was through hiking that I began to discover joy in life at the age of 35.
I love America’s trails system, which is an uncommon wonder. The USA doesn’t “preserve” most of its public lands in a pristine state; it aims to “conserve” the land for responsible human use now and forevermore. The financial investment to create such a thing is small, but the required investment of time and love required is staggering. America has made outdoor recreation a core component of our cultural identity for such a long time, and I wish we could embrace that more fully again. Historically, spending time in nature was an automatic part of day-to-day life for human beings. Today, we can get all the benefits of being outside while luxuriating in the massively reduced risk provided by modern information and technology. I also wish natural areas were more accessible to the average American and more people were encouraged to use the parks already in their neighborhoods. Raising awareness of local conservation efforts is every bit as important as the work done by NPS, USFWS, and other agencies.
I also love art. I often listen to music, stories, or stand-up comedy while I hike. I make a point of listening to the ways other cultures around the world and throughout time have expressed themselves. And while I’m hiking, I love photography. The landscape is what it is, and, exactly like thru hiking, I must simply surrender to the scenario. That sunlight, that cloud, that flower: in contrast to the wisdom of “the mountain will always be there,” no moment exactly like this will ever exist again. Sometimes those moments are beautiful, and I use my camera to share those moments with other people.
Sometimes I talk to strangers while I hike. Strenuous hiking has a way of stripping pretenses and regressing to a more primal humanity. These people tell me about their hopes, dreams, motivations, and fears — and I hear a lot about myself in their stories. My first thru-hike may have been inspired by a need to “seek fellowship with the wilderness,” but I also found fellowship with humanity. I’ve experienced so many wonderful places and met so many fascinating people from so many beautiful cultures, and I will be forever grateful for those experiences. Hiking has completely changed the way I see the world and the way I see myself, and my grand ambition in life is merely to inspire someone else who may need to take a little walk as desperately as I once needed it.
Thanks for sharing a part of my strange journey today. Now go outside and play.
— Mike
📸 Follow Mike:@portraitofahiker
🗣️ Motto: #GoOutsideAndPlay
🎧 Trail Soundtrack: Music, stories, and stand-up
⛰️ Paige — Trail Name: Brainstorm
Paige is a researcher with a background in social work and public health, and a passion for long-distance hiking. After finishing the PCT in 2023, she’s now tackling the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail.
For Paige, hiking is about connection to self, community, and the land.
Read Her Full Story
My name is Paige, trail name Brainstorm, and I am a researcher with a background in social work and public health. After finishing graduate school in 2023, I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Now I’m setting out on the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) in 2025, walking 3,100 miles from the Mexico border to Canada.
This journey is more than just miles; it’s about reconnecting with what matters.
Nature has always been a grounding force in my life, and I believe it holds the power to heal, create community, and inspire change. In a world filled with division, I hike to remember what connection feels like within myself, with others, and with the land.
I’m using a BearVault on this hike because protecting wildlife and preserving wild spaces is essential to me. Keeping my food secure means I can coexist responsibly with the environment I love. It’s one small action that supports a much bigger picture: living lightly, treading carefully, and respecting the natural world.
Past BearVault Ambassadors
Katie Jackson
I'm Katie, a thru‑hiker and ultrarunner based in Colorado.
After thru‑hiking the Colorado Trail, John Muir Trail, and Continental Divide Trail in back‑to‑back years, I'm looking forward to a little time of rest, relaxation, and writing. Or, who knows, maybe the AT. No one has ever accused me of being good at sitting still. Follow along on my journey with the articles I write for The Trek or through my photography on Instagram (@k80.trail).
Madelyn Meanders
As the blog name suggests, I like to meander—wandering aimlessly while finding new adventures.
Although I now live in Colorado, I'm a Midwesterner at heart. I created this blog to document my Appalachian Trail thru-hike, combining my passions of backpacking and writing. This continues as I take on new adventures. I strive to show that it's never too late to find new passions and belong in the outdoors, even if you didn’t grow up there.
Follow along on Instagram @madelyn_meanders!
Laura Killingbeck
Freelance writer and lifelong adventurer, often working from the wild with my BearVault as a writing desk.
I use my adventures to inspire stories, which you can read in my newsletter "Laura’s Stories," or follow me on Instagram and Facebook.
Thank You, Wolves
Meital Kupfer
When not examining spreadsheets or conducting research, I can be found camera in hand, or curating my next favorite playlist.
I’m Meital Kupfer (they/them), an avid hiker and climber. I’ve spent seven years in Uganda but hail from Washington, DC. I work in the development sector, focusing on gender, technology, and climate change, and advocate for equitable access to the outdoors.
Adventures: Currently thru‑hiking the Appalachian Trail; later leading folks up Mount Moroto, Uganda.
Goals: Disconnect, focus on the journey, and learn more about the land I traverse.
Favorite Snacks: Squeezed applesauce, Butterfingers, Rx Bars.
Cassia Rivera
Wildlife conservationist, photographer, filmmaker, and bear enthusiast sharing the outdoors with family.
Thrilled to hike the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains and Nantahala/Pisgah forests.
Goals: Push myself physically while learning about American black bears.
Favorite Snacks: Endurance fuel packets, electrolyte powder, trail mix, bananas, peanut butter sandwiches.
Where are Bears in North Carolina
Barry Auskern
Former trip guide turned attorney, thrilled to reconnect with wild, remote places.
Trekking western Iceland in June and backpacking Colorado’s bear country in July.
Goals: Disconnect from screens and experience the Milky Way in its full glory.
Favorite Snacks: Almond butter sandwiches; homemade trail mix with walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, and mini pretzels.
Fear of Packing
Anjelica Avella
Plus-size Mexican-American outdoor explorer creating an inclusive outdoors for all.
Thru-hiking The Long Trail this year.
Goals: Inspire others to chase outdoor dreams and learn more about backpacking on the East Coast.
Favorite Snacks: Cheese-Its, Sour Patch Kids, peanut butter in tortillas.
The Trans-Catalina Trail
The Urban Family
A Minnesota couple raising their kids with plenty of Vitamin N (nature).
Summer adventures include Crested Butte, Colorado, and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota.
Goals: Screen-free experiences, epic views, campfire tales, and sibling bonding.
Favorite Snacks: Coffee, Cajun shore lunch, Clif Z-Bars, trail mix, dried fruits, s’mores, freeze-dried meals.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Kaylee Lettau
Backcountry sports enthusiast and sustainability advocate in the Pacific Northwest.
Thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail in 2023, applying sustainability principles throughout.
Goals: Discover what my body can accomplish—first summit, first 30+ mile day, and cowboy camping in cold.
Favorite Snacks: Almond Butter Chip IQ Bars, Joyride Peachy Mango Rings, almond butter & mango roll-ups.
Greg Sakowicz
Fat Man Little Trail founder inspiring hikers to enjoy the mental and physical benefits of the woods.
First overnight backpacking trip this year, continuing goal of hiking every county in Colorado.
Goals: Gain confidence and step further from the couch.
Favorite Snacks: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Clif Bars, Nakee Butter pouches.
Why We Wander
Jennifer DiCiesare
Mountain woman from Colorado, teaching wilderness skills and regaining self-identity through nature.
Thru-hiking the Colorado Trail, leading multi-day trail work projects, and backcountry hunting in the fall.
Goals: Regain confidence and self-identity, becoming a better mother and friend.
Favorite Snacks: Mint hot chocolate protein drinks, coffee, goldfish.
To Know the Unknown
Elle Eberts
Horse packer preserving wilderness using stock, exploring Montana and surrounding wild spaces.
Exploring with family and friends, making wilderness more accessible with horses in Montana and Yellowstone.
Goals: Learn more about ecosystems and practice being present in the backcountry.
Favorite Snacks: Dehydrated garden veggies in ramen or instant potatoes, motivational candy.
Rocío Villalobos
Xicana Indigenous trail runner passionate about the environment and community wellness.
Participating in trail races including half marathons near Grand Teton & Yellowstone, and Mt. Hood 50-mile race.
Goals: Build endurance, tackle challenging races, and connect with the land.
Favorite Snacks: Dill pickle trail mix, chile-spiced dried mango.
Let's Connect
Interested in Being an Ambassador?
Are you a trail junkie who can’t stay off the path? We’re always looking for passionate thru-hikers and dedicated backpackers to join our Ambassador Program. Share your adventures, inspire the community, and show the world what it means to live for the trail!