Foothills Volunteer Spotlight: Susan Conbere

Meet Susan Conbere, a Foothills backpack, hike, and snowshoe leader. Susan also leads the Staying Found course and is an active member of the Foothills Backpacking and Hiking Committee. Susan earned Super Volunteer and Key badges in 2020 and 2021 in recognition of all she does for The Mountaineers! 

Here’s how Susan describes her experience with The Mountaineers:

“If you had told me seven years ago that, one day, I would willingly carry a tent many miles and then sleep in it – in the dirt – I would have told you that you were out of your mind. But here we are!

When we moved to Seattle from Maryland in 2015, my brother Bill suggested I join The Mountaineers. I thought it sounded intriguing. You get to do all this stuff – and then get a badge to prove you did it? I’m in. My first event was a Welcome to Hiking seminar with Cheryl Talbert, who I thought was exceptionally cool. Maybe someday I could be more like her? Hmmmm…. So I started hiking, which led to backpacking, which led to snowshoeing. Because I wanted to lead my own trips, and because I’m all about the badges, I became a hike, backpack, and snowshoe leader. My navigation skills were nonexistent, so I also took Wilderness Navigation (believe me, for someone who failed geography in 4^th grade, getting a Wilderness Nav badge was immensely rewarding). Later, I took the Staying Found, On-Trail Navigation as a refresher. I told Cheryl, who was an instructor, that I had some ideas on how to improve the course. Oops. I now lead Staying Found, which is wonderful.

Through, hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing, and navigation, I can help others build their confidence in the outdoors, which is exactly what The Mountaineers has done for me. I am immensely grateful for the many opportunities to not only meet and volunteer with fabulous people, but also to challenge myself to learn new skills, take leadership in a supportive environment, and dream up amazing adventures in the outdoors that I can make come true. Thank you so much, Mountaineers!”