Peggy got started in the outdoors when she was just three years old. Her father made plans to go backcountry canoe-camping, and mom wasn't about to stay home. The family, with four children under six years old—"Imagine six people in a canoe with two dogs," she says reminiscing about the trip—set off for the Boundary Waters for a few weeks of primitive camping. The journey grew into a tradition, sometimes in the form of 17-day all-women expeditions, which lasted 22 years.

Peggy's been with National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) for five years now, a job that has taken her to Baja, Alaska, Maine, and through much of the land in between. Her job with NOLS seems like a natural progression. Peviously, she worked as a naturalist, outdoor educator, and camp counselor. She is a Wilderness First Responder and Leave No Trace Master Educator with more than fifteen years of professional outdoor experience.

In Her Own Words

The Job
"As a NOLS instructor, I lead, coordinate, and facilitate self-support expeditions into wilderness areas. We teach wilderness skills, leadership, and environmental stewardship in remote and beautiful areas. (Well, whether or not they're remote depends on your definition, but we're definitely the only ones around.)"

How She Got There
"In seventh grade I was a junior guide with the Girl Scouts, and later, in high school I was a guide-in-training. I worked at a Girl Scout Camp for a few summers, and I learned a lot there. Later, I taught ecology and recreation to tons of kids at Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, a great place in northern Minnesota. When I moved to California, I was a naturalist at L.A. County Outdoor Science School. Mostly we taught kids about ecosystems and the natural world. My last position before I became a guide at NOLS was with Yosemite Institute, an experiential education non-profit. That job allowed me to take junior high and high school kids into the park for three-to-five days of camping and learning.

"To work for NOLS, I first qualified for the instructor course, which is pretty competitive. There's an application to get on the course and I think my background in education helped me qualify. The course lasted 35 days, over which I really expanded my skill set."

How to Get Her Job
"First do a self-assessment. In my experience, NOLS is looking for three main things: outdoor experience, teaching experience, and technical experience. Look at the areas where you have a high degree of skill and improve on those where you don't. Try to find work as a guide or instructor at an outdoor learning center. Or take a NOLS course if you don't have that much outdoor experience. That will give you a firsthand understanding of what it means to be an instructor on one of our courses.

"The main thing you need is a desire to know and be in the natural world, because that's where you're going to be. I wanted to do longer courses and NOLS provided that. You also have to be able to get along with people and be able to deal with stress. If you're not sure what you're skill level is, call somebody at the NOLS office. They have the parameters pretty well mapped out.

"Oh yeah, learn to read a topo map really well. Navigation skills are very important when you're off trail and without any landmarks to let you know where you are."

Pros
"When I'm cruising around the most beautiful places, I feel so spoiled. I eat my dinners with the most spectacular views."

Cons
"Being so transient is difficult. It's hard to have stuff—everything is in storage. Having relationships, especially romantic ones, is really hard. People think our life is a vacation. It's far from that, but [what we do] is hard for some people to relate to."

Salary Range
"Seniority matters. The pay scale is based on experience. I think a lead instructor gets something in the ballpark of $100 per day. The beginning pay starts lower, but you're not in a place where you'll be spending any money."

Her Dream Job
"When I started, this was it. After five years, I think I'm looking to be in one place for a while. I'd like to live somewhere eight months of the year and guide or travel the rest."

Do you think there's any danger in your passion becoming your career?
"For people who love a certain sport, like climbing, being an instructor can be a difficult. You're not out there pushing your limits; you're there to help other people push theirs. Safely. You have to teach within your comfort zone, which isn't always as exciting as climbing on your own."

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