Thru-Hikers

The act of hiking an established end-to-end or long-distance trail with continuous footsteps.

 

Popular Trails

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United States

• Appalachian Trail (AT) — 2,190 miles through the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine.

• Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) — 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada via the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges.

• Continental Divide Trail (CDT) — 3,100 miles following the Rocky Mountains from the Mexican to the Canadian border.

 

Completing all three is known as earning the Triple Crown of hiking.

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New Zealand

• Te Araroa Trail — traverses the entire country from Cape Reinga to Bluff.

 

Europe

• The Caminos — 281 routes spanning over 51,500 miles across 29 countries.

 

United Kingdom

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16 National Trails — nationaltrail.co.uk

• Cleveland Way — 109 miles (175 km)

• Cotswold Way — 102 miles (164 km)

• Glyndŵr's Way — 135 miles (217 km)

• Hadrian's Wall Path — 85 miles (137 km)

• North Downs Way — 153 miles (246 km)

• Peddars Way & Norfolk Coast Path — 130 miles (208 km)

• Offa's Dyke Path — 177 miles (285 km)

• Pembrokeshire Coast Path — 186 miles (299 km)

• Pennine Bridleway — 205 miles (330 km)

• Pennine Way — 268 miles (435 km)

• The Ridgeway — 87 miles (139 km)

• South Downs Way — 100 miles (160 km)

• South West Coast Path — 630 miles (1,014 km)

• Thames Path — 184 miles (294 km)

• Yorkshire Wolds Way — 79 miles (127 km)

• England Coast Path — 2,800 miles (when completed)

 

Total Miles (UK National Trails): 2,630 miles

Estimated Duration: ~132 days (4.5 months) at 20 miles per day

Suggested Hiking Season: April – August (allowing ~5 months including travel)

 

29 Great Trails in Scotland covering over 1,900 miles of well-managed paths. — nature.scot – Scotland’s Great Trails

 

Wales

3 National Trails www.nationaltrail.co.uk

• Pembrokeshire Coast Path (opened 1970)

• Offa’s Dyke Path (opened 1971)

• Glyndŵr’s Way (opened 2002)

 

European Long Distance Paths (E-paths) — official network of routes across the continent. — e-paths.org
 

The first European long-distance trail was Hungary’s National Blue Trail, established in 1938.

 

Resources

American Long Distance Hiking Association (ALDHA-West)

• Oversees the Triple Crown of Hiking, awarded to hikers who complete the Appalachian Trail (AT), Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT). — aldhawest.org/triple-crown
   

Fastest Known Times (FKT)

• The official site documenting record times on hiking and running routes. — fastestknowntime.com

 

Buzz Burrell, co-founder of Fastest Known Time, notes the growing number of women attempting and setting FKTs:
“We’re seeing big record after big record fall. I think these runners see what their peers are doing and are inspired to try bettering it.”

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Trail Records & Firsts

 

Appalachian Trail (AT)

• First solo woman thru-hiker of the Appalachian Trail — Emma Rowena “Grandma” Gatewood (USA) — age 67 — 1955

• Youngest woman to complete the trail — Neva “Chipmunk” Warren (USA) — completed at 15 years old — 22 October 2013

• Fastest woman to finish — Jennifer Pharr Davis (USA) — 46 days, 11 hours, 20 minutes — 31 July 2011

 

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)

• First woman to complete a solo thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail — Carolyn “Ravensong” Burkhart (USA) — age 21 — NOBO — 1976

• Fastest woman to finish the Pacific Crest Trail — Heather “Anish” Anderson (USA) — 60 days, 17 hours, 12 minutes — NOBO — 2013

 

Triple Crown of Hiking

• First woman to complete the Calendar Year Triple Crown — Heather “Anish” Anderson (USA) — 2018

• First woman to become a Triple Triple Crowner — Heather “Anish” Anderson (USA) — 2018

• First African American woman to complete the Triple Crown — Elsye “Chardonnay” Walker (USA) — 2018

• First Mexican person to complete the Triple Crown — Zelzin “Quetzal” Aketzalli (Mexico) — 2019

• Aiming to become the 2nd Black woman and 1st Black lesbian to complete the Triple Crown — Shilletha “Dragonsky” Curtis (USA) — ongoing — Tough Girl Podcast

 

The Triple Crown of Hiking Award

Established in 1994 by ALDHA-West to honour hikers who have hiked the entire lengths of the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). As of the end of the 2024 application period, ALDHA-West has recognised a total of 775 Triple Crown of Hiking Awards.

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Women who have completed the Triple Crown!

• Alice Gmuer — PCT: 1988 | AT: 1990 | CDT: 1993

• Jenny Jardine — PCT: 1987 | CDT: 1992 | AT: 1993

• Diane Ensminger — AT: 1990 | PCT: 1992 | CDT: 1996

• Cindy Sinclair — AT: 1975 | PCT: 1977 | CDT: 1985

• Karen Berger — AT: 1994 | PCT: 1997 | CDT: 1990

• Kathy “Wandering Star” Faulks — PCT: 1994/1995 | AT: 1997 | CDT: 2000/2001

• Claudia Tuor — AT: 1998 | PCT: 2000 | CDT: 2002

• Jane Powell — AT: 1988, 2004 | PCT: 1994, 1995 | CDT: 2000, 2001

• Marcia Powers — PCT: 2000 | CDT: 2002 | AT: 2003

• Sharon Dziengel — AT: 1998 | CDT: 2001 | PCT: 2003

• Jackie “Yogi” McDonnell — AT: 1999 | PCT: 2002, 2003 | CDT: 2004

• Amy Robbins — AT: 1993 | PCT: 2003 | CDT: 2005

• Stacy “Simply Seeking” Boone — AT: 1998 | PCT: 2001 | CDT: 2006

• Christine Thuermer — PCT: 2004 | CDT: 2007 | AT: 2008

• Anitra “Nitro” Kass — AT: 2004 | PCT: 2005 | CDT: 2007

• Jessica “Wildflower” Winters — PCT: 2002 | AT: 2003 | CDT: 2007

• Melissa “Puff Puff” Pysz — AT: 2003 | PCT: 2006 | CDT: 2007

• Meridith “Nimble Will Nomad” Eberhart — AT: 1998, 2000 | CDT: 2007 | PCT: 2008

• Selena Leonard (Wing It) — AT: 2005, 2009, 2010 | PCT: 2007 | CDT: 2008

• Liz "Snorkel" Thomas — AT: 2008 | PCT: 2009 | CDT: 2010

• Colleen “JellyBean” Porter — AT: 2002 | PCT: 2008 | CDT: 2010

• Katie “Wing It” Howe — AT: 2009 | CDT: 2010 | PCT: 2011

• Mary “Speedstick” Moynihan — AT: 2006 | PCT: 2007 | CDT: 2011

• Felicia “Princess of Darkness” Hermosillo — AT: 2002 | CDT: 2006 | PCT: 2008

• Lillian “Hmmm” Robinson — AT: 2000–2001, 2003 | CDT: 2007–2008 | PCT: 2010

• Melanie “Lemstar” Simmerman — AT: 1996 | PCT: 2002 | CDT: 2007–2009, 2011

• Deb “Walking Carrot” Hunsicker — AT: 1997 | PCT: 2004, 2008–2010

• Kristin “Lost” Gates — AT: 2007 | PCT: 2008 | CDT: 2010

• Elizabeth Jolene “Jojo Smiley” Koby-Burley — AT: 1999 | PCT: 2008 | CDT: 2010, 2012

• Shannon “Slim” Christensen — AT: 2009 | PCT: 2010 | CDT: 2011

• Stephanie “Trainwreck” White — AT: 2000, 2002 | PCT: 2004, 2009 | CDT: 2011

• Amanda “Miss Parkay” Tumminelli — AT: 2006 | PCT: 2009 | CDT: 2012

• Sarah “Coyote” Holt — AT: 2004 | PCT: 2008 | CDT: 2012

• Julie “Boston” Obear — AT: 2005 | CDT: 2008 | PCT: 2010

• Elaine “Brazil Nut” Bissonho — PCT: 2010 | AT: 2011 | CDT: 2012

• Annie MacWilliams — AT: 2009 | PCT: 2011 | CDT: 2013

• Ginny “Steiner” Too — AT: 2005 | PCT: 2010 | CDT: 2013

• Heather “Steady” Werderman — AT: 2011 | PCT: 2012 | CDT: 2013

• Lauren “Neon” Reed — AT: 2008 | PCT: 2010 | CDT: 2013

• Nancy “Why Not?” Huber — PCT: 2009 | CDT: 2012 | AT: 2013

• Naomi “The Punisher” Hudetz — PCT: 2009 | CDT: 2012 | AT: 2014

• Leslie "Squirrel" Croot — AT: 1994 | PCT: 1997 | CDT: 2005

• Elsye “Chardonnay” Walker — PCT: 2015 | AT: 2016/2018 | CDT: 2017

• Zelzin “Quetzal” Aketzalli — PCT: 2017 | AT: 2018 | CDT: 2019

 

New Zealand — Te Araroa Trail (3,000 km)

• First woman to run the Te Araroa Trail — Mina Holder (UK) — completed in 77d 10h — 2015

• Fastest woman to complete the Te Araroa Trail — Brooke Thomas (New Zealand) — completed in 57d 12 — 2021

• New women’s overall self-supported Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Te Araroa Trail — Paulina Zäck (Germany) — 54d 9h 48m 0s — 27 March 2025

 

Road Running

Fastest crossing of New Zealand on foot (female) — Emma Timmis (UK) — 20d 17h 15m 57s — 18 December 2021 to 7 January 2022

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There are countless incredible walking trails around the world, but you can hear inspiring stories from women who’ve hiked them on the Tough Girl Podcast.

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I’ve personally hiked several long-distance trails — you can follow my journeys and watch the vlogs on the Tough Girl Challenges YouTube Channel:

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• Appalachian Trail - Thru hiking 2,190 miles in 100 Days!

• Camino Portugués - Begins in Lisbon, Portugal at Lisbon Cathedral and goes all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, approximately 620km or 387miles.

• The Lycian Way - A 509 km, 29-day way-marked footpath around the coast of Lycia in southern Turkey, from Fethiye to Antalya. One of the ten most beautiful long-distance hikes in the world.

• The Overland Track - Traversing Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park, within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.

• The Wales Coast Path - Spanning 870 miles of Welsh coastline — Wales is one of a few countries in the world to have a continuous coastal path stretching its entire length.

• The Anglesey Coast Path - A 200-kilometre (124 mi) long-distance footpath around the island of Anglesey (Welsh: Ynys Môn) in North Wales.[1][2][3][4] The route is part of the Wales Coast Path.

• The Pilgrims Way - An ancient pilgrimage route in southern England from Winchester in Hampshire, or Southwark, London to Canterbury, a 138-mile walk through wood and farmland, with views across the Weald.

• The South Downs Way - A long-distance footpath and bridleway in southern England, the South Downs Way is one of 16 National Trails in England and Wales, stretching 160 km (100 mi) from Winchester in Hampshire to Eastbourne in East Sussex.

• The West Highland Way - It is 154 km (96 miles) long, running from Milngavie north of Glasgow to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands, with an element of hill walking in the route.

• The Great Glen Way - A long-distance path in Scotland. It follows the Great Glen, running from Fort William in the southwest to Inverness in the northeast, covering 125 kilometres (78 mi)

First person to walk the Wales Coast Path — Zoe Langley-Wathen (UK) — 2012

 

First woman to walk Land’s End to John o’ Groats (LEJOG) — Dr Barbara Moore (UK) — 1960