About Heather

National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, Heather Anderson is the only woman who has completed the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide National Scenic Trails each three times. This includes her historic Calendar Year Triple Crown hike in 2018 when she hiked all three of those trails in one March-November season, making her the first female to do so.

She holds the overall self-supported Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Pacific Crest Trail (2013)–hiking it in 60 days, 17 hours, 12 min, which broke the previous men's record by four days and established the first female record. She also holds the female self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail (2015) in a time of 54 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes, and the Arizona Trail (2016) which she completed in 19 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes.

She has hiked over 40,000 miles since 2003 including 15 thru-hikes:
• Appalachian Trail in 2003, 2015, and 2018
• Pacific Crest Trail in 2005, 2013, and 2018
• Continental Divide Trail in 2006, 2017, and 2018
• John Muir Trail in 2005
• Wonderland Trail in 2010
• Arizona Trail in 2016
• Oregon Desert Trail in 2017
• Bartram Trail in 2019
• Benton Mackaye Trail in 2020
She is also an avid mountaineer and peakbagger working on several ascent lists in the US and abroad.

As a professional speaker, Heather speaks regularly about her adventures and the lessons learned on trail. She is the author of Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home (2019) chronicling her Pacific Crest Trail record and Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail (2021) about her 2015 AT record. She also co-authored a guide to long-distance hiking preparation with Katie Gerber called Adventure Ready: A Hiker’s Guide to Training, Planning, and Resiliency (2022). You can find her online at:
Website: www.wordsfromthewild.net
Instagram: _wordsfromthewild_