22 Trek Bloggers on the Pacific Crest Trail You Should Be Following in 2022
As the snow melts in the PCT’s Sierra Mountains and Katahdin opens to AT hikers, we find ourselves deep in the throes of thru-hiking season once more. For months now, The Trek’s Blogging/Vlogging Class of 2022 has been proving that they not only have a knack for creative content, but that they’ve also got some killer trail legs. Here are 22 intrepid adventurers on the AT right now that you should be following this season.
This feature is meant to shine a spotlight on some of our bloggers who have opted to have their content shared on social media. It is NOT an exhaustive list. Click here to view a full list of our talented, intrepid blogging team.
Featured image via Trek Blogger Thomas Allie, @roamwiththomas.
Quinton “Sweatsuit” Peters
NoBo 2022 PCT Thru Hiker from Central Wisconsin. Also known as Sweatsuit on trail. I am an avid conservationist with a passion for bringing attention to and protecting public land. I also make custom hiking posters that can be found on my Etsy store: SweatsuitMaps
Post highlight: “Turd in the Punchbowl: A Dose of Civilization on Trail, Mile 77-369”
Excerpt: “Overall trail has been fantastic, but one experience has unexpectedly thrown me for a loop. I’ll get over this all, just need to bag a few peaks and log a few more miles. As for tonight, I’m making lasagna for my newly found friends and it’s up to Baden Powell after.”
Follow Sweatsuit: Instagram | Facebook | Etsy
Rachel “Dobby” Shoemaker
Hey y’all! Rachel aka “Dobby” here. A little snippet about me: I use she/her pronouns. I’m from Western NC, right outside of Asheville. I’m currently on the PCT and aside from walking, I’m doing some interesting things out here! I’m hiking the trail low-waste and also removing litter from the trail as a member on the ’22 Grounds Keeper team. The outdoors is my passion and working to preserve & protect our natural resources is super important to me! So I guess it makes sense that after the trail, I plan on going back to school to pursue environmental law, right? I’m having an incredible time out here and sharing my experience with all of you makes it even more special! Thanks for following along!
Post highlight: “Rose, Bud, Thorn: A Reflection”
Excerpt: “Rose – I reached the exact place where I previously had to exit the PCT with my dog Lily. Bud – I’m looking forward to facing the challenges that are sure to present themselves in this upcoming section of trail through the Sierra. Thorn – Life on the trail is constantly in flux; the views change, the people around you change, and the trail has a way of challenging you in unexpected ways.”
Follow Dobby:Instagram | Facebook
Thomas “Optimist Prime” Allie
Post highlight: “PCT Week 7: Storms, New Friends, and Water Carries”
Excerpt: “As I walk, the moon sets behind me, and the sun rises in front if me. While many folks dislike this section, I’m excited. It’s a unique part of trail and it brings you along some neat features. After two grueling days, I make it to mile 566 and officially complete the Southern California section of trail. It’s finally time to take a zero in Tehachapi and prep for The Sierra.”
Follow Optimus Prime: Instagram
Melissa Peters
First attempt at a thru hike of the PCT. I am leaving behind the burnout of a medical career and the trappings of a material world. I hope to find connection and a new passion on the trail.
Post highlight: “Quitting Before I Have Begun?”
Excerpt: “There will be more trials and setbacks before Canada looms on the horizon, I am sure. But I was able to set aside my ego for the sake of my body and quitting is back off of the agenda.”
Follow Melissa: Instagram
Allie “Mumble” Lindstrom
Hey! I’m Allie (she/her), also known as Mumble. I’m a Michigander in search of some real hills on the PCT. In my daily life, I’m organizing youth climate activists to go after greedy bankers. Solving the climate crisis seems impossible, but so does hiking 2,650 miles. If I can do one, the other will feel just a bit more in reach. In fall 2022, fossil fuel CEO’s better look out because I’ll be back with a vengeance. But for now, it’s one foot in front of the other.
Post highlight:“7 Lessons from 700 Miles”
Excerpt: “The hotels were all booked up, so we found our way to the airport pedestrian entrance, paid five dollars, and pitched our tents on the greenest grass on the PCT. I watch an airplane take off through the mesh of my tent and laugh at the absurdity of it all. Sitting here, comfortable in the most ridiculous situation, I finally feel like a true thru hiker.”
Follow Mumble: Instagram
Rachel “Clash” McVittie
I’m Clash! Causing safe and relative chaos on the PCT. I’ve absolutely loved getting to know the mountains and the people of this trail so far. Every so often I’ll ramble my musings into this sunny corner of the internet. It’s a great platform to allow friends old and new to follow my adventures and weird gremlin happenings.
Post highlight: “Queer Tales from the Trail – Finding Your People”
Excerpt: “I talked myself out of even writing about this topic, presuming I didn’t have a wise enough brain to articulate these thoughts well. But if everyone thought this, then we would have no food-for-thought gay thru-hiking blog posts (a fantastic niche, yes) and that sounds both sad and boring.”
Follow Clash: Instagram
Liz “Pippin'”
Post highlight: “Desert’s End”
Excerpt: “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity for new and slightly scary experiences as a backpacker, especially with so many miles back east under my belt. With the vast ecological diversity our country has to offer, I’m thrilled knowing I can have even more new experiences no matter how ‘pro’ I become.”
Follow Pippin: Instagram
Petri Anne Van Dijk
Post highlight: “Pacific Crest Trail Week 4: Very Expensive Trash”
Excerpt: “Laughing really is the best medicine. It can even cure road walk grumpiness. It ended up being my longest day on trail so far. A little over 26 miles (42 km!) and the best medicine for that? Trail magic right at the end of your day. It was amazing. Little Fish was there with soft drinks and food. Somehow the sodas turned into beers and all the tiredness was quickly forgotten.”
Follow Petri Anne: Instagram
Emily “Dim Sum” Hayes
Post highlight: “A Southern CA Summary”
Excerpt: “As we were finishing the last few 100 miles in Southern California I realised the trail had become very social and I had perhaps neglected to appreciate my surroundings. I took a few days to walk alone at a slow pace before arriving at Kennedy Meadows, choosing where I would sleep each night for scenic value and not for water strategy. Now that I have finished the desert I’m glad that I took the time to reflect but I am ready for the next chapter, the Sierra Nevada Mountains.”
Follow Dim Sum: Instagram | Facebook
Annika Ananias
Post highlight: “PCT Week 5: From Mountains Back to Desert”
Excerpt: “Then a tough climb follows that leads me in a big curve back to the highway. As soon as I reach the top, a car stops and a man offers me an apple. While I’m chatting with him another car stops and the driver gives me a beer. The trail crosses the road two times again and I reach the 400-mile marker. Just 300 miles to go to the Sierras! At Camp Glenwood, we are offered some snacks again. And that won’t be the last trail magic for today.”
Follow Annika: Instagram | Facebook | Website
Katie Ribble
Post highlight: “Campo to Julian”
Excerpt: “It’s amazing how much the landscapes have changed as we hike through changing elevations. When we started it was very much a desert landscape, but as we climbed into Mount Laguna we entered into a pine forest environment. We also saw our first cactus blooms, non-venomous snake and rattle-snake, and I got my first nose bleed from the dry climate.”
Follow Katie: Instagram | Facebook
Sibley “Possibly” Brown
Post highlight: “The Rhythm of the Desert: PCT Days 34-40”
Excerpt: “We spend the afternoon at Neenach Market, where we eat burgers and buy a few resupply items to round out our food bags for the remaining miles to Tehachapi. I teach Billie Goat a summer camp dance to The Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be,” and we dance across the patio celebrating 500 miles until we remember that in mere hours, we will begin one of the most infamous sections of the PCT.”
Follow Possibly: Instagram
Alyssa Kroeker
Post highlight: “Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight”
Excerpt: “All of my perseverance, determination, resilience, and pure grit made this happen. Never give up on your dream. If you want it bad enough it will happen. I’m proof of that. Resilience, tenacity, determination, perseverance all got me back on this trail to finish what I started. All my worries and fears are still right there with me because of my injury and the not knowing of if it will hold up or if I will re-injure myself again, but I pushed those worries aside and started back on the trail.”
Follow Alyssa: Instagram | Facebook
Sandy “Tinder” Griffith
Post highlight: “The End of the Desert: Big Bear to Kennedy Meadows”
Excerpt: “A few days ago I walked into Kennedy Meadows, one of the most iconic moments of any PCT hike. This stop signifies the end of the 700 mile desert section and the beginning of the Sierra — one of the most beautiful and also challenging sections of the trail. When hikers walk up to the General Store from the trail, everyone at the store breaks out into applause — every single time. I knew about this tradition and it was everything I’d imagined it to be. Even if I don’t hike another step, I still feel a huge sense of accomplishment for completing the entire desert section and making it this far.”
Follow Tinder: Instagram
Connor “Jackrabbit” Chapdelaine
Post highlight: “Jackrabbit Hikes Day 51 – 52: Mt. Whitney”
Excerpt: “I cried as the man who can. I thought of the man who loves a challenge. I thought of the man who knows he can do anything. I thought of the man with no limits. I thought of the man with no doubts. I smiled because I had become him.”
Folow Jackrabbit: Instagram
Lightning Rod
Post highlight: “PCT Section D”
Excerpt: “I read a lot about proper walking techniques for going downhill because my knee(s) have been bothering me basically the entirety of this hike so far…. And it’s kinda amazing because I actually put the techniques I learned to practice and genuinely tried all day and I had no pain!
Sometimes, I think I might not try very hard to solve my problems and choose to complain instead – I hope that in the future I can continue to just try a little harder and complain a little less.”
Follow Lightning Rod: Instagram
Rachel Guevara
Post highlight: “PCT Thru-Hike, Paradise Valley Cafe to Idyllwild (Days 13-15): Danger Zone”
Excerpt: “The enchantment of a diner breakfast kept the tramily cooped up at Paradise Valley Cafe until 10:30 am. While everybody else gorged on their eggs, hashbrowns, and meat platters, I nibbled on my dry, plain bagel. Unfortunately, random isolated diners in the middle of nowhere do not offer a vegan breakfast option!”
Follow Rachel: Instagram | Facebook
Rain Reitman
Post highlight: “Going Solo: Agua Dulce to Tehachapi on the PCT”
Excerpt: “There was nobody to celebrate finding water with. Maybe that’s part of this whole being-self-sufficient thing. I have to figure out complicated challenges—like finding water in a mostly dry stream—without anyone to ask for help, and then I need to manage the outcome of that on my own too, whether joy or disappointment or frustration.”
Follow Rain: Instagram | Twitter
Connor “Brand New” and Allie
Post highlight: “Where Is the Tent Bag? Eagle Rock to Paradise Valley Cafe – Day 11-13 on the PCT”
Excerpt: “I am much happier today than yesterday, it’s nice when it is just Allie and me. We are feeling good tonight but the climb down to camp was really tough on our feet. Allie’s were aching as she was trying to fall asleep. I am really impressed by how well she is doing. She is getting stronger quickly and really aced the climb today. Tomorrow we go 13ish miles and then 5 miles the next day to Paradise Valley Cafe (PVC)!”
Follow Allie and Connor: Instagram
Caitlin “Pretzel” Lara
Post highlight: “Watering Hole Highlights: Mary’s @ 145.4”
Excerpt: “I made it to Mary’s at 930 ish. As I approached I saw a sign that read “still here”, a bunch of hikers underneath a shade sail, and some lifesize photos of notable men. I dropped my pack and perused the little free library. I snagged a couple of poems to read.”
Follow Pretzel: Instagram
Sofia Gellner
Post highlight: “369 Miles and Counting”
Excerpt: “In many ways hiking in the desert takes away some of the challenges I have previously had to contend with. It’s amazing how much easier it is to be happy when you are never cold or wet and your belongings stay dry without effort. But instead we have to battle with the heat. Despite taking long siestas in the middle of the day, I have found myself struggling on those days: each step a little victory and each tiny patch of shade under a bush or rock a miracle.”
Follow Sofia: Instagram
READ NEXT – 22 Trek Bloggers on the Appalachian Trail You Should Be Following in 2022
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