>>>
>>> HEATHER ANDERSON 7800 MILES WITH 1 MILLION VERTICAL FEET
GAME IN 251 DAYS BECOMING THE
FIRST WOMAN TO HIKE THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL. THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL
AND PACIFIC CREST TRAIL IN ONE
CALENDAR YEAR.
CALENDAR YEAR. SHE DID IT IN RECORD TIME.
SHE WAS NAMED AN ADVENTURE OF
THE YEAR BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
AND SHE IS RELEASED A MEMOIR.
IT'S GOOD TO TALK TO YOU.
THAT IS SUCH AN AMAZING
ACCOMPLISHMENT.
ACCOMPLISHMENT. THE FIRST ONE TO DO THIS IN A
CALENDAR YEAR.
CALENDAR YEAR. >> REC.
>> REC.
>> REC. >> WHEN DID YOU START THINKING
ABOUT DOING SOMETHING LIKE
THAT?
THAT?
THAT? >>
THAT? >> I THOUGHT ABOUT IT I FIRST
READ AN ARTICLE IN 2003 ABOUT A
MAN, RYAN ROBINSON, HE HAD THE
CALENDAR YEAR TRIPLE CROWN IN
2001.
2001.
2001. I
2001. I READ THE ARTICLE IN
BACKPACKER MAGAZINE AND I
THOUGHT I NEED TO DO THIS.
IT HAS BEEN A LONG TIME COMING
BUT I ALWAYS HAD IN THE BACK OF
MY HEAD.
MY HEAD.
MY HEAD. >> IT'S AN AMAZING A COMPASS
AND.
AND.
AND. HOW
AND. HOW MANY MILES DID TO HAVE YOU
COVERING PER DAY?
>> ON AVERAGE ABOUT 30.
A LOT.
A LOT.
A LOT. >>
A LOT. >> YOU WENT INTO THIS WITH HOW
MUCH TRAINING?
MUCH TRAINING? HOW MUCH PREPARATION?
>> THE ACTUAL PREPARATION FOR
THE HIKE AS FAR AS LOGISTICS
ONLY TOOK ME A COUPLE OF
MONTHS.
MONTHS.
MONTHS. BUT I'VE BEEN HIKING PRETTY
CONTINUOUSLY FOR THE LAST FIVE
YEARS.
YEARS.
YEARS. I
YEARS. I WAS IN PRETTY GOOD HIKING
SHAPE.
SHAPE.
SHAPE. >>
SHAPE. >> THIS IS CALLED THROUGH
HIKING.
HIKING.
HIKING. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
>> IT IS A TERM USED TO MEAN
YOU HIKE FROM END TO END LONG
DISTANCE HIKING TRAILS.
GENERALLY THEY ARE REFERRING TO
LONGER TRAILS LIKE THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL. THE WONDERLAND TRAIL IS ONLY 96
MILES.
MILES.
MILES. >>
MILES. >> ONLY 96.
AND YOU HAVE A TRAIL NAME?
>> ANEESH.
>> ANEESH. >> WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE THESE?
>> I BELIEVE IT STARTED ON THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL. A LOT OF PEOPLE HIKING.
WAY TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. THEIR 10 PEOPLE HIKING IN AN
AREA THEY MIGHT, WE'VE GOT
POTATO CHIP MIKE OR WHATEVER TO
DIFFERENTIATE.
DIFFERENTIATE. IT BECAME A CULTURE ON THE
APPALACHIAN TRAIL AND SPREAD TO
OTHER TRAILS.
OTHER TRAILS. >> WAS THERE A REASON FOR THAT
PARTICULAR NAME?
PARTICULAR NAME? >> MY GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER
SHE WAS ONE OF THE NATIVE
AMERICAN PEOPLES OF THE UPPER
MIDWEST.
MIDWEST.
MIDWEST. WHEN I HIKED MY FIRST TRAIL IN
2003 IT WAS APPALACHIAN TRAIL.
BEFORE I GOT AN EMBARRASSING
TRAIL NAME LIKE IT'S NOT ROCKET
I THOUGHT I MIGHT NAME MYSELF.
>> THAT IS GOOD THINKING.
ONE OTHER INTERESTING THINGS
ABOUT THE BOOK, IT ISN'T LIKE I
AM SUPERWOMAN AND I'VE DONE
THIS WITH NO HELP AND PERFECTLY
AND I'M SURE MYSELF THE WHOLE
WAY, YOU SHARE SOME OF THE
VULNERABILITIES AND UPS AND
DOWNS.
DOWNS.
DOWNS. WE
DOWNS. WE EVEN HAVE A CLIP OF VIDEO
THAT DEMONSTRATES WHAT YOU WERE
FEELING AND THINKING.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK.
>> SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE THIS
IS QUITE POSSIBLE.
AND SOMETIMES I REALLY FEEL LIKE
IT'S A FOOLS ERRAND AND I
SHOULD GO HOME NOW.
IT SEEMS LIKE WINTER IS ALREADY
COMING.
COMING.
COMING. TONIGHT I WAS BARELY WARM ENOUGH
IN MY SUMMER BAG.
I WAS ALL BUNDLED UP IN ALL MY
LAYERS THIS MORNING.
THE DIVIDE HAS BEEN COLD AND
WINDY, ONE DAY OF ATROCIOUS
POURING SLEET, RAIN, COLD AND
NASTINESS.
NASTINESS. IN AUGUST.
IN AUGUST. >> TODAY IS A BEAUTIFUL DAY.
THE SKY CLEARED UP BY AFTERNOON.
IT'S WARM.
IT'S WARM. I'M PUTTING ON THE MILES.
THAT'S ABOUT ALL I CAN DO.
EAT, DRINK AND WALK.
JUST LIKE A BEEN DOING FOR THE
LAST SIX MONTHS.
I WILL EITHER GET THERE OR I
WON'T.
WON'T.
WON'T. AND I GUESS I HAVE TO BE OKAY
EITHER WAY.
EITHER WAY. >> THE THING THAT APPEALS TO ME
ABOUT THAT SO MUCH IS THAT YOU
WERE HONEST ABOUT HOW YOU'RE
FEELING, IT WASN'T ALL SUGAR
PIE, YOU HAD MOMENTS OF DOUBT
THAT YOU WERE WILLING TO SHARE.
AND WE ALL FACE DIFFICULTIES
AND THE SECRET IS TO GET UP AS
YOU SAY, EAT AND DRINK AND WALK
THE NEXT DAY.
DID YOU TAKE SOMETHING MORE
PROFOUND FROM ALL OF THIS THE
JUST THE HIKING?
>> YES, THE TOPIC OF MIGHT
MEMOIR IS ACTUALLY MY 2013 HIKE
WHERE I HIKED 50 AND 60 DAYS.
THE LESSON IN THAT VIDEO IS
SOMETHING I INTERNALIZED ON
THAT 2013 HIKE AND THAT IS
ACCEPTANCE.
ACCEPTANCE. ACCEPTING WHAT IS, RATHER THAN
SPENDING MENTAL AND PHYSICAL
ENERGY LAMENTING WHAT IS IN.
I EXPECTED IT TO BE THIS, AND
IT'S NOT.
IT'S NOT.
IT'S NOT. SO YOU CAN SPEND A LOT OF
WASTED ENERGY ON WISHING IT WAS
DIFFERENT OR YOU CAN SAY, IT'S
NOT THAT WAY, THIS IS THE WAY
IT IS AND WHAT WILL I DO GO
FORWARD?
FORWARD?
FORWARD? THAT IS A LESSON ON TRAIL
MANAGEMENT AND THAT'S A HUGE
LESSON I HAVE APPLIED MY LIFE.
>> YOU MAKE YOURSELF A LITTLE
CRAZY IF YOU'RE ATTACHED TO THE
OUTCOME RATHER THAN THE EFFORT.
THAT REALLY APPEALED TO ME.
TIME WAS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR.
HE WANTED YOURS TO BE THE
FASTEST AS WELL AS GETTING
THROUGH ALL THREE IN A CALENDAR
YEAR.
YEAR.
YEAR. WHY
YEAR. WHY WAS THAT IMPORTANT?
>> ACTUALLY THAT WASN'T A GOAL.
MY GOAL WAS TO COMPLETE ALL
THREE TRAILS.
THREE TRAILS. >> IT JUST HAPPENED?
>> WAS COMING IN AND I WANTED
TO GET IT DONE.
>> THE FASTER YOU GO THE SOONER
IT'S DONE.
IT'S DONE. >> OCTOBER, WINTER HAD SAID IN.
I WAS READY TO BE DONE.
>> YOU HAVE ADVICE, I KNOW
WOMEN WORRY ABOUT HIKING THESE
TRAILS AND WORRY ABOUT THEIR
SAFETY AND IF THEY CAN DO IT.
WHAT IS THE ENCOURAGEMENT YOU
CAN OFFER US TO GET STARTED?
OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T START ON 96
MILES --
MILES --
MILES -- >> THE TRAILS ARE JUST
INHERENTLY VERY SAFE.
I THINK PEOPLE HAVE A
MISCONCEPTION ABOUT IT BEING
DANGEROUS.
DANGEROUS. THEY SEEM SCARY IF YOU HAVEN'T
BEEN OUT THERE.
HONESTLY, BEING IN DOWNTOWN
SEATTLE IS JUST AS DANGEROUS OR
MORE DANGEROUS BEING ON THE
TRAIL.
TRAIL.
TRAIL. I
TRAIL. I REALLY RECOMMEND PEOPLE GO
OUT AND DO WHAT IS COMFORTABLE
AND WORK UP TO IT.
KEEP PUSHING YOUR BOUNDARIES A
LITTLE.
LITTLE.
LITTLE. IF YOU HAVE TO GO OUT AND HIKE
HALF A MILE TO A TRAIL IF
YOU'RE WORKING TOWARD BACK
CAPPING -- BACKPACKING, GET AN
IDEA OF SLEEPING IN THE WOODS.
IF IT'S SCARY YOU CAN ALWAYS
DRIVE HOME.
DRIVE HOME. BABY STEPS.
BABY STEPS. WORK YOUR WAY INTO IT.
>> WHAT YOU STARTED?
>> I HAD A SUMMER JOB IN 2001
AT THE GRAND CANYON.
THE VERY FIRST DAY THERE MY
ROOMMATES WERE, DO YOU WANT TO
GO HIKING?
GO HIKING? I SAID OKAY.
AND I WAS TOTALLY UNPREPARED.
I WAS WEARING SANDALS AND CUT
OFF DENIM SHORTS AND PROBABLY
HAD A GRANOLA BAR AND A BOTTLE
OF WATER AND I WENT HIKING.
IT WAS TREMENDOUSLY HOT AND
HARD AND DIFFICULT.
BUT IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE
WITH ME AND I WAS LIKE, I WANT
TO KEEP DOING THIS.
>> YOU KNOW WHAT YOU LOVED SO
MUCH?
MUCH?
MUCH? >>
MUCH? >> IT WAS JUST RIGHT FOR ME.
I FEEL LIKE WHEN YOU FIND THAT
THING THAT IS YOUR CALLING OR
THAT IS PERFECTLY SUITED TO YOU
YOU KNOW.
YOU KNOW.
YOU KNOW. I KNEW FROM THAT MOMENT I WANT
TO HIKE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE.
>> THAT'S INSPIRING AND
WONDERFUL.
WONDERFUL. THANK YOU SO MUCH.
THE BOOK IS GREAT.
HEATHER HAS MULTIPLE BOOK
EVENTS THIS WEEK.
YOU CAN SEE HER TONIGHT AT 7 PM
IN VILLAGE BOOKS IN BELLINGHAM.
TOMORROW AT MOUNTAINEER
SEATTLE.
SEATTLE.
SEATTLE. AND WEDNESDAY IN OLYMPIA.
SHE IS PUTTING DOWN THE MILES.
>> EXACTLY.
>> EXACTLY. >> THANK