Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those original Pack 31 folks can often be found at the Gathering, sharing their stories and knowledge with a new ..read more

Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those original Pack 31 folks can often be found at the Gathering, sharing their stories and knowledge with a new ..read more

Debby became a Girl Scout leader when her daughter was young, and found herself learning all the camping and backpacking skills so that she could take her troop out. What started as a fun thing to do soon became a passion as she jumped into year after year of adventuring on the Appalachian Trail. She had no grand plans of doing the whole thing, and it wasn’t until years into her journey that she thought, “I have worked so hard, I might as well finish the thing!” The 30+ year trek took her from her mid-40’s to her mid-70’s and she has now completed the entire thing. Along the way, she inspired ..read more

Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those original Pack 31 folks can often be found at the Gathering, sharing their stories and knowledge with a new ..read more

Dr. Karen Lord Rutter is a retired teacher and administrator with over 30 years in education whose work with students ranged from preschool through high school. Dr. Rutter has a passion for travel, children, animals, and perpetual learning. Her first novel was inspired when her son, David, thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail with the family dog, Copper. Her love of the Appalachian Trail was born after David invited her to hike a few sections of the A.T. as he progressed on his journey. From those Appalachian Trail adventures with Copper and David, Northbounders was born. With deep roots as an ed ..read more

Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those original Pack 31 folks can often be found at the Gathering, sharing their stories and knowledge with a new ..read more

Bio- Christine discovered long distance backpacking while surfing the internet at work. She decided that day to attempt to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Her Rugged Outdoors Woman persona started as a joke, a nod to the outdoor adventurer that she wished to be. One adventure led to another and since then she has hiked the Wonderland Trail, the Colorado Trail and thousands more miles along the way. ​Her debut memoir, Alone in Wonderland, is about backpacking, but it is really about the independence that we seek when we go into nature solo. Guest Links- Christine on Facebook - https://ww ..read more

Bio- Kara Hardman is the Chief Fun Officer of Thicket Adventure and a curvy adventurer living in Colorado. Her favorite adventures include hiking with her adorable dog and kayaking. Kara has been in a plus size body for many years and understands the thought work it takes to love yourself exactly as you are. In March 2019, Kara climbed Kilimanjaro with the Cury Kili Crew, an all women’s group of curvy hikers, for International Women’s Day. This trip convinced her of the need for size inclusive experiences. Guest Links- Thicket Adventure Website - https://thicketadventure.com/ Thicket Adventur ..read more

Jan Leitschuh was bitten by the AT bug in 2002. With no real backpacking experience, she threw herself into learning, training and stomping down fears and questions that swirled around her preparations. She joined the infamous Pack 31- a group of hikers that met online and named themselves after the date they started, March 1, 2003. This community, built on meetings at the ALDHA Gathering and a thousand online hours, still remain friends to this day and Liteshoe, along with many of those original Pack 31 folks can often be found at the Gathering, sharing their stories and knowledge with a new ..read more

Bio- Bonnie Nork lives in Southern Oregon with her husband, Mike, and daughter, Elaina. Her son, Ryan, is in college. Being active in the outdoors has always been a big part of Bonnie’s life. With adventurous parents, she was always out and about as a child, either hiking, backpacking, river rafting, on horseback rides, on canoe pack trips, and more! When Grand Staircase Escalante was signed into a national monument in 1996, her parents planned a backpacking trip there. The whole family was smitten with the landscape, and now Bonnie relishes being able to share such special areas with her husb ..read more