Nina Butler

Nina grew up in the South African wilderness roaming barefoot beneath sunny skies, in awe of earth’s wonders. She was a high-school drop-out who traded the classroom for a yacht skipper’s qualification and started working on private yachts in the Mediterranean at 16 years old. This was the ultimate ‘university of life’ that led her into various culinary, viticultural, spiritual, and artistic pursuits around the world. She eventually navigated back to formal education and defended a Doctorate in Philosophy in 2015. Nina is the founder of a yoga travel and adventure experience business - www.inretreat.co. Connect with Nina - www.instagram.com/inretreat.co. In 2025 Nina and her husband Chris will be hiking the PCT!

Posts

How hot can you handle? Conditioning for the heat on a PCT thru-hike

How hot can you handle? Conditioning for the heat on a PCT thru-hike

From January 2022 to December 2024, my partner Chris and I were based in Norway. As South African immigrants to Norway, the frigid, long winters were

Feb 14, 2025 : Nina Butler
A slow-paced wilderness immersion for PCT preparation in Southern Africa

A slow-paced wilderness immersion for PCT preparation in Southern Africa

To welcome in 2025 Chris and I spent time immersed in wilderness, well out of mobile connectivity. We joined a group of friends on a 5 night hike in Pondoland, which is a remote coastal region of South Africa. We saw the Pondoland hike as a symbolic start to 2025 - an inviting and fun first step in our training and preparation for the PCT. We will be doing a thru-hike from May - October 2025, and although we are experienced hikers and generally fit, we understand that hiking 30kms (± 20miles) a day for 140 days carrying a pack between 12-20kgs is unlike anything we’ve ever done before. Although we love navigating a trail ourselves, we wanted to join our friends on this guided slack-packing hike, and support a good cause over the festive time of New Years.

Jan 31, 2025 : Nina Butler
When does your PCT journey really begin?

When does your PCT journey really begin?

“I feel like our PCT journey began today!” My husband enthusiastically proclaimed over a mediocre lunch in Oslo on December 7th 2024. The tiny cafe was rammed with people hidden below massive coats and blank expressions. Why would the journey start a whole 5months before even arriving in the USA you may be wondering? I think answering that question overlaps with another bigger question: How and when exactly do we determine the beginning of a journey?

Jan 23, 2025 : Nina Butler