Meet the Trail Crew: Cameron Herber

The great thing about the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance is all the interesting people who are members. Just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Cameron Herber. It was the morning the Trail Crew picked up vast amounts of trash in Purgatory Creek Natural Area. I noticed Cameron working hard way off the jeep track, grubbing the ground, uncovering metal and debris. Later he stepped in to help Melani Howard move a particularly heavy wheelbarrow load. At coffee afterwards, I asked Lance Jones to introduce me.

Come to find out, Cameron is a native San Martian. In his youth he was active in Scouting, enjoying the outdoors under our very own former Scoutmasters Greg Moore and Jon Cradit. He told me that he used to hike Purgatory when there was no trail system! Cameron went on to graduate from Texas A&M with a B.S. degree in Recreation, Parks and Tourism. After a short stint living in Denver and working in the hospitality industry, Cameron decided to spread his wings, traveling around the world and visiting 25 countries. When it was time to come home, he consciously picked San Marcos, drawn back as he was to the Natural Areas. At first there were plans to outfit a van and travel the States, but with the arrival of the pandemic, Cameron felt fortunate to be able to hike the trails. He especially likes having thru trails. The Greenbelt has allowed Cameron to give back to something he really likes.

Also, during the pandemic, Cameron and two of his buddies completed a magnificent large outdoor metal sculpture using roof tiles!

Currently, Cameron works in private rental management and is starting a mushroom growing business, producing both indoor and seasonal outdoor varieties. You can see his fine produce at Three Six General Market on old Ranch Rd 12.* It’s beautiful.

And finally, Cameron wanted to share with us something that he learned in college: “Volunteering is a good form of recreation” for many reasons: it builds community and lets you spend time outdoors. Plus, it’s cost-effective!

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Written by trail crew member Melissa Katz.

* Since this writing, it was announced that Three Six General is among the stores facing closure if Crestwood Center is not able to resolve its wastewater issues by March 31.