Our Guides

Our guides are experienced and accomplished hikers who enjoy showing you how to experience our local journeys. Each has extensive experience on the local trails with knowledge of the area’s flora, fauna, and history. We care about your safety, so all of our guides have 1st Aid / CPR certifications maintained by all destination guides.

Deb Van Schaack

Deb Van Schaack spent her previous life as a public high school counselor in northern Vermont and has always loved all things outdoors – learning everything she can about the wonders of the natural world around us. After 37 wonderful years living in Vermont, Deb and her spouse moved to Bisbee in 2020 and are so happy to be part of this fantastic new community.

Deb has been passionate about hiking (both day and long-distance adventures) for many years. In 2007 she completed Vermont’s 270-mile Long Trail, thru-hiked the 2,185-mile Appalachian Trail in 2013, hiked a stretch of the Colorado Trail in 2016, and became an Adirondack 46’er in 2019. In addition, she has had great adventures hiking three long-distance trails in Europe. Since moving to Bisbee, she continues to have fun exploring the many trails around Bisbee and the surrounding Huachucas ranges. As always, so much hiking and so little time!

When not hiking or walking through town, Deb enjoys working part-time as a walking tour guide for Country Walkers, gardening in her backyard, singing with the Bisbee Community Chorus, lifeguarding at the Bisbee City Pool, and traveling as much as she can.

Mike Buckley

Mike Buckley is a U.S. Army veteran of thirty-two years and multiple deployments in the Balkans and Middle East. During his time abroad, he experienced firsthand the incredible therapeutic power of nature and the outdoors to improve emotional, spiritual, and physical health.

Formerly an Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, his education includes a B.S. in Public Management, an M.S. in Kinesiology, and a postgraduate U.S. Army War College fellowship at Syracuse University. A veteran of 27 marathons, Mike now spends as much of his free time as possible on his bike or in primitive surroundings and on local trails and paths.

Mike summited Mt. Kilimanjaro, thru-hiked the 800-mile Arizona Trail, hiked the Presidential Range Traverse in the White Mountains, and spent a lot of time on the high peaks in numerous mountain ranges. He intends to bike-pack across the United States on the Great American Rail Trail in 2022 and complete the Utah Mixed Epic and Western Wildlands bike-packing routes in the very near future. He currently resides with his wife in Hereford, AZ.

Nikki Miller

Nikki Miller is an east coast transplant. She was raised in North Carolina where her love of the outdoors grew with each family adventure. In her ‘past lives’ she was a pastry chef, volunteered with several community organizations and most recently as an educator (science/conservation and Physical Education.)

Nikki is an outdoor enthusiast that loves to share her passion with others. Since moving to southern Arizona in 2009 with her husband and two children, she has enjoyed hiking and backpacking on many of the local trails in the Huachuca, Mule, and Chiricahua Mountains; along with others across the state. She is currently section hiking the Arizona Trail (800 miles), with just over 350 miles left. Her other hobbies include practicing and teaching yoga, gardening, cooking, and paddleboarding.

Susan Mayes

Susan is a native of Louisiana and lived most of her adult years in North Carolina and the Philadelphia area before moving to Bisbee in 2017. She and her husband live and work from their home in Old Bisbee. The town’s friendliness, vibrant downtown art and music, excellent climate, and easy access to outdoor activities attracted them to this unique place.

Susan, a former classroom science teacher and now dyslexia therapist, has always had a passion for the outdoors. She craves variety and enjoys rotating outside activities each morning: hiking, running, walking, cycling, pickle balling, and exercising at the outdoor fitness court. She loves exploring new trails and stairs and sharing the “off the beaten pathways” of her new hometown with friends and family who visit and will now do the same for visitors to our community.