Bug

Payton grew up in Minnesota, where she attended summer camp in Northern Minnesota as both a counselor and a staff member. She fell in love with the outdoors after spending most of her summers on the lake or in the woods. After graduating highschool, she attended the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she studied Conservation Biology, with a minor in Environmental Studies and and emphasis in Entomology. She graduated college and moved out to the Oregon coast to work with the Forest Service as an Education and Interpretation Intern. On her commute to and from work everyday, she drove on HWY 1, and fell in love with the coast and the ocean. It was here that she surfed for the first time ever, and found her new favorite hobby!

After her internship, she moved to the Southern California San Bernardino mountains, where she started her career as an Outdoor Educator. She taught environmental classes, and spent time being a ropes lead, where she discovered her love of outdoor climbing and challenge course management. In her free time, she spent weekends exploring the many outdoor gems Southern California has to offer.