• Get Outside Tour

    I spent much of 2023 on the road as an Ambassador for Outside Magazine's Get Outside Tour! My partner and I traveled across America with one mission: Get everyone outside. The tour brings gear giveaways, skills clinics, guided adventures, iconic speakers, good causes, and more to stops all across the USA.

  • The Trek: 10 Incredible Thru-Hiking Artists Inspired by Long Trails

    “I am most inspired by nostalgia and memories of life spent on trail—I often say mother nature is my muse! I love the challenge of combining memories and photos with surreal elements such as oversized plants or fungi, nightscapes that blend into daytime, and the form of backpackers filled with their trail story.”

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  • Founded Outdoors: Embark Program

    In collaboration with REI Co-op Path Ahead Ventures, Embark is a 3-month program for underrepresnted founders in the outdoor industry.

    I was one of 27 game-changing founders selected for this pilot program. Learn more the Embark cohort here here.

  • Backpacker Magazine: Document Your Hikes in Paint

    "Huddled in her sleeping bag amidst a driving rainstorm, Appalachian Trail thru-hiker Alina "Abstract" Drufovka experienced what every backpacker dreads, a flooded tent. But instead of lamenting her bad luck, Drufovka made lemonade out of lemons. She broke out her watercolors."

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  • Blue Ridge Magazine: Trail Magic with Alina “Abstract” Drufovka

    "At the beginning of the pandemic, with no long-distance hikes scheduled, painting and drawing became a way to process her experiences on the trail. Her pieces started as a celebration of hiker culture, illustrating trail lingo and iconic scenes from her travels. “People talk a lot about post-trail depression,” she said. “It’s easy to lose sight of who you became on the trail and how that journey shaped you.” 

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  • She Explores: Artistry Spotlight

    "We love her bold use of color and we marvel at the way an expansive experience is distilled inside surreal contours and shapes. Alina’s work blurs the lines between memory and imagination..."

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  • NOLS Blog: Artist Alina Drufovka On Her Path To The Outdoors

    "Just as I was about to curse this 'sufferfest,' the skies cleared, double rainbows framed the glacier in front of me, and wild blueberry scones were on the menu every night. I returned home to Center City, Philadelphia with a full understanding of “'Type 2 Fun' and never stopped backpacking.

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  • Garage Grown Gear: Who Are You Beyond ‘Hiker’?

    "I had heard time and time again throughout my life that “making it” as an Artist was an impossible venture. The word Artist, more often than not, was preceded by the word struggling, as if to drive the point home. Yet I could not stop painting. Much like when I set off to hike the AT, despite the potential frivolity of walking north for 6 months and my family’s hesitation, I knew I needed to paint."

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  • Garage Grown Gear: Female Solo Thru-Hiking: Why I Carried 3 Phones, But Not Mom’s Fear

    "If my mom were to have a trail name, my 17 year old self most certainly would have told you it was 'Dream Crusher.' The dream she was consistently trying to quell was none other than walking the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, or really any dream that symbolized her young, petite daughter venturing out alone in the world. 

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