Heather Anderson Shares “5 Life Lessons Learned on Trails”

Posted By Ella Prieto on Apr 3, 2023 | 1 comment

By Ella Prieto, Assistant News Editor

Hiker and author Heather Anderson shares lessons she learned from the trails at talk in the Atrium (Photo Will Oehler/The Gettysburgian)

On Thursday, hiker and author Heather Anderson, whose trail name is Anish, spoke to an audience in the Atrium. The event went from 6:30-8 p.m. and was sponsored by the Garthwait Leadership Center (GLC), the women, gender, and sexuality studies department, the peace and justice studies department, and the Appalachian Trail Museum. The event was open to the Gettysburg community and beyond. People from Maryland, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and other locations to attend.  

Anderson is the first woman to have hiked what is known as the “triple crown” of hiking in one year: the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail. Her talk, titled “One Foot in Front of the Other: 5 Life Lessons Learned on Trails,” detailed her journey to achieve the triple crown.

The event began with an introduction by Emily Kreider ’25. She read Gettysburg College’s Land Acknowledgement Statement and then transitioned into her work with the GLC and as an environmental studies major. 

“Within the same amount of time that I’ve been an environmental studies student at Gettysburg College, I’ve simultaneously been an outdoor facilitator at the GLC. In that realm of my life, I’m supported by an amazing community of professional staff and peers who empower me to develop effective leadership and be a socially responsible citizen,” said Kreider. 

She then thanked the sponsors of the event and welcomed Appalachian Trail Museum Volunteer Ed Riggs ’77. Riggs described how he met Anderson in March 2018 at the Appalachian Trail Museum when she was doing her triple crown run. He was blown away by her accomplishments, which included hiking over 45,000 miles. Riggs then invited Anderson to begin her presentation, which focused on five key lessons Anderson had learned through her time hiking.

Courage 

The first lesson Anderson delved into was courage. She explained that to begin a long hike, one must have the courage to take leaps of faith. 

“Taking on a 2,000 plus mile long hiking trail is a very big dream. But it’s also an incredibly intimidating adventure,” said Anderson. “I think that setting foot on the trail in and of itself is one of the greatest acts of courage a hiker can take.”

She then explained a moment of courage she had during a hike around Mount Hood, Oregon. Reading an excerpt from her book “Thirst,” Anderson described how she had to ford a dangerous river at a risky moment due to time constraints. The hardest part was taking those first steps, but once she did, she felt empowered and was able to cross successfully. 

Additionally, following the ford, Anderson was hyped up on adrenaline and then saw a mountain lion. Instead of being scared, she yelled in the mountain lion’s face, scaring it away.  

Anderson also used the courage she learned from hiking in other areas of her life, such as public speaking.

“To get up and speak about my hike was another act of courage, because in a lot of ways, screaming in the face of a mountain lion seems way less scary than standing up in front of a group of people and talking,” Anderson said.

Anderson described how having the courage to speak in front of people or take the first steps of a 2,000 mile trail can give people the power to face their fears and accomplish their goals. 

Acceptance

The next lesson Anderson highlighted was acceptance, which she described as “probably the greatest gift hiking has given to me.”

Anderson detailed how being able to accept situations when unplanned or unsatisfactory things occur can allow people to bounce back from various situations. When a negative situation occurs, the only thing people are able to control is how they feel about it. According to Anderson, accepting it is the best route to go.

“You can have the most detailed plan for your hike or for your life, and guarantee it’s not going to go accordingly. And you’re going to have to learn to accept and adapt,” explained Anderson.

Self-Reliance 

The third lesson, self-reliance, was the lesson Anderson considered to be the most obvious. Hiking on trails with few people around necessitates fair navigation skills and the ability to provide for oneself. 

To illustrate this, Anderson explained a story from her time hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2015, when she was trying to break a record for the fastest hike time. She explained that to break this record, she meticulously made spreadsheets and planned every aspect of her trip. However, Anderson said that “…from day one, I was off the plan.” 

A specific instance of her deviating from her plan was her attempt to ford Cascade, a river in Maine. Anderson explained that usually there is a ferry to take hikers across, but the ferry was not running due to bad weather. After waiting 15 hours for said ferry, she decided she could not wait any longer and attempted to cross on her own. This attempt was unsuccessful and dampened Anderson’s spirits so much that she decided to not finish the trail and set up camp to sleep. She was prepared to leave the next day.

That next day, however, Anderson found herself successfully fording the river, and she continued with her hike.

“I decided you know what I am going to do, I am just going to go every single day and I’m going to do my best and I’m going to trust myself to know how hard I can push myself and how much I need to let back,” said Anderson. “I’m not going to trust a spreadsheet. I’m going to trust myself.” 

Anderson further explained that as a society people do not trust themselves to do what is possible, and  fear causes them to quit. She encouraged audience members to take from their past successes and failures to build their self-reliance and accomplish their goals.

Community 

The next lesson was the importance of community. Anderson explained that “as important as it is to have self reliance, you can’t do anything without community.”

While Anderson believed she would be alone on her hikes, she was able to meet a variety of people and bond with them from shared hiking experiences. Additionally, through hiking, she has experienced many acts of kindness from strangers. 

“And I think that there’s something really beautiful in the fact that thru-hiking brings together people who are so vastly different yet out on the trail none of matters because we’re all filthy, stinky, hungry, laser steel hiking machines, and we’re all walking toward the same goal as everyone else and that’s matters. That’s what brings us together,” said Anderson. 

Perseverance 

The final lesson was perseverance, which Anderson described as the lesson that binds all of the others together as a foundation. 

For this, Anderson read an excerpt from her book “Mud, Rocks, Blazes.” In this excerpt, she described wanting to quit her hike and struggled with not feeling good enough. She realized, however, that she was an active force that has already gotten herself so far into the hiking world.

In closing, she said “You will learn these lessons just as I did. And those will aid you on your life journey both personally and on the trail… So keep walking.” 

Audience Questions

The first person asked Anderson how she had gotten her trail name: Anish. Anderson explained that she named herself in 2003 and that Anish is from Anishinaabe, who are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples present in the Great Lakes region of Canada and the United States. One of Anderoson’s ancestors was Anisniaabe, so she wanted to honor her with her trail name.

Next, an audience member asked if Anderson felt accepted in the hiking community and if she ever craved people while on the trail, as some go days without seeing anyone when thru-hiking. 

“I felt accepted in the trail community right off the bat [and] I never really felt like I fit in anywhere until I started backpacking,” Anderson said.

Anderson said she has never craved people because she is an introvert. However, she said she always enjoys seeing and talking with people on trails. 

An audience member then asked if Anderson always knew she was going to be writing books about her experiences and what her note-taking process is like while hiking.

“I did not know that I was going to write,” said Anderson. “I’ve always wanted to be a writer, but it was never my intention when I went out on these sites.” 

She also said she does not take notes when hiking and attributes her books’ details to a good memory. 

Anderson was then asked if she had ever hiked outside the United States. She shared that she has hiked in Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Scotland. 

Following this, a student asked how Anderson handled dangerous experiences on the trail as a woman. Anderson explained that trails are generally safer than any city in the country, so she has always felt safe with her experiences on trails in terms of her gender. She also said that people always have to evaluate their situation to make decisions, so being on trails is not drastically different from normal life. 

Another student then asked how Anderson became involved in hiking, and if she had any specific influences for hiking. Anderson answered that her interest in hiking began from a high school assignment when she learned about the Appalachian Trail. The concept of being able to walk from Georgia to Maine seemed interesting to her, so she set out to do it. 

An audience member asked a follow-up question relating to that and wondered if Anderson believed that anyone could take up hiking. Anderson said that if someone has resilience, perseverance and tenacity, she believes they can.

It was then asked if Anderson has ever failed on her hiking goals, and she answered yes. 

“I quit the John Muir Trail and the Colorado Trail attempts both due to injury or life threatening situations,” said Anderson. Additionally, she has failed some attempts to break records.

An audience member next asked if Anderson has ever looked back and regretted bringing a piece of gear. Anderson responded yes and told the story of her first Appalachian Trail hike. She brought a five pound rope to use as a bear rope, when they are usually only a few ounces.

Someone then asked how Anderson feels in terms of her strength and age due to hiking. She said that while she needs more recovery time, she feels that she is continuing to get stronger and is just as fast as someone younger. 

Following this, an audience member asked how many pairs of shoes Anderson goes through on a thru-hike. Anderson said that she switches out her shoes every 500 miles and wears trail sneakers, not hiking boots. 

Anderson was also asked about her favorite trail in Pennsylvania, which she said is the Allegheny Front Trail.

Someone then asked if Anderson had ever gotten lost while hiking. She answered that while she has been temporarily lost many times, she was only ever completely lost once on the Continental Divide Trail in 2006. She had followed trail markers instead of her map and guide book, but she was, however, able to find the trail again six to seven hours later. 

The final question from the audience was why Anderson decided to write books. She explained that she had always wanted to be a writer, and she decided to take that step when she found something interesting to write about.

“I will write as long as people keep finding what I’m writing about interesting,” said Anderson. 

The event ended with a thank you to the audience from Anderson and the GLC organizers.