Colin Macdonald
Colin Macdonald, Owner and CEO Kit Fox Outfitters
I am Colin Macdonald and growing up on the Central Coast of California on the Monterey Peninsula places like the Carmel Highlands and Big Sur were my backyard playground. It was the amazing adventures as a child that created the foundation in my love for the outdoors.
My father who is now retired from the fire service spent an epic career at the Carmel Highlands Fire which I was fortunate enough to not only grow up around and in the fire service but also have an opportunity to become one as well. In 1999 I attended the Monterey Peninsula Fire Academy and became a Paid Call Firefighter with Cypress Pebble Beach Fire Protection District. It was over that year working I had an opportunity to gain crucial skills that would carry on further in life while working emergency medicine.
The year 2000 I went from the fire service to completing a lifelong goal of becoming a United States Marine. I attended boot camp in San Diego, CA hoping to be a firefighter in the Marine Corps however they had a different plan and I ended up working on airplanes for twelve years. In that time, I had an opportunity to see the world and work in some pretty neat and sandy places. Ove the years I had the pleasure of working on F-18 jets as well as CH-63 helicopters. One of my many highlights was becoming an Aircrewman.
So, working on aircraft might now sound like a solid background for backcountry skills, wilderness first aid or survival at face value, but it did come in handy in assisting some pilots that crashed and ended up with the Sikorsky Life Saving Award, but that is a story for another time. I did miss out on biting the heads off snakes and climbing mountains on the government dime, but I did get to fly all over San Diego County and have the aircraft point of view, planning, logistics as well as risk management among other things. So, after twelve years with multiple deployments, it was time to part ways and move on to some new adventures.
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In 2012 I took on one of my greatest challenges...college. I attend National University with my GI Bill and majored in Organizational Leadership obtaining my Bachelor of Science in 2016. During this time, I also co-founded Kit Fox Outfitters (2015) focusing on being an educational outdoor retailer.
While I currently have a day job as a technical writer for aviation my passion is Kit Fox Outfitters and more importantly Outdoor Education. It was with this in mind I went back to school and completed my Emergency Medical Technician. After passing the National Registry in 2019 and 2020 I went on to become a Wilderness First Responder with Sierra Rescue International. In December of 2020 I became an instructor with Sierra Rescue International.
I love the outdoors and teaching skills that will benefit everyone in making the trails a little safer for all to enjoy. I love learning and continue to from teaching the great students we have. My philosophy on teaching is to keep it fun and light, this isn't a boot camp. We love to see people build their skills and feel safer and more independent in the outdoors.