I’m Kelton Bournazian and I enjoy challenging myself and seeking adventure, excitement and success in all that I do. I grew up in Lander, WY and moved to Rock Springs, WY for junior high and high school. Being close to the Wind River Mountains my whole life, I’ve spent much time hiking, fishing, and camping, as well as my personal favorite, snowboarding and split boarding in the winter. I’ve spent three seasons fighting fire in north Idaho and two seasons grooming at a ski resort in Lake Tahoe. There are six people in my family and right now four of them are working as wildland firefighters. I grew up playing football and hockey and love being competitive and hardworking.
I met a friend this last fire season that had previously worked for an AmeriCorps trail crew and thought that sounded like a fun job. This summer I wanted to take a break from fire and give myself a little more freedom while I’m still young. Fire crews hardly get any days off, and if they do they have to be within call back distance. With this in mind, I began searching for trail crew jobs and found this opening with Mt. Adams Institute’s Land Stewards program. What excites me the most is the opportunity to get paid while doing something I already love – hiking and camping. Not to mention gaining experience in things I want to further my knowledge in such as backpacking, crosscut saws, and trail preservation and reconstruction.