Quote:
Originally Posted by Klassyhk
A couple of months ago, I was working across the country and received a YT notification that Julia Sheehan (aka Rocket) posted a new video. Prior to that, I watched Julia's videos since she finished the Arizona Trail. This latest vid was entitled "Getting Off Trail: Quitting". I finally watched it today.
Sounds like Julia is in a serious relationship and due to her SO's (Corey) career, she's making a decision to shift the focus of her life. She says that they're not giving up hiking for good but likely won't be doing anymore long (3+ months) hiking expeditions anymore. They've recently relocated to Alabama, if I'm not mistaken.
Her latest project is a podcast "Embracing Death". The backstory was, as Julia explained, for years she's suffered with anxiety and suicidal thoughts whenever she's back at home, not hiking. She credits her new podcast as significantly helpful in reducing those intrusive, negative thoughts. Good for her.
|
Yeah, honestly I was not too surprised that Julia quit the PCT. I was actually kind of surprised she made it as far as she got, after watching her quit the CDT last year near the beginning of the trail without even getting through one state.
It seems to be a recurring theme with many young female hikers like her. They seem more than physically capable of completing a long distance thru hike, but mentally they don't do so well. They tend to Yellow Blaze a lot, skipping big sections of the trail, then they just disappear from the trail completely.
But I watched all her videos, and Julia seemed to be doing really great until they got to Oregon. Then they took that side-trip to the Oregon Coast, which didn't make a lot of sense. After they got back to the PCT she just didn't seem to get back into it much. I watched her trailmates Sam and Moriah after that. They supposedly finished the trail, but I have my doubts. They only had three videos for all of Washington. I suspect they were Yellow Blazing to the end. They should have had more videos than that.
A lot of the hikers I watched this year didn't complete their hikes. Here is a list of the ones I have posted here.
Jay Wanders Out completed his AT hike. I'm still watching his videos. I'm about a month behind on them.
Daisy Hikes got COVID and had to get off the trail. Now she seems to have completely given up hiking and changed her channel name.
Kelly Hays Hikes also caught COVID. She gave it her best shot to get back on the trail several times, but her doctor finally told her to take it easy for six months.
I'm not sure how Arielle Shipe is doing. Her videos are months behind, but she is still uploading weekly videos. I doubt that she was or will be able to finish with all the wildfires along the PCT. But it will be interesting to see what happens with her. I was kind of disappointed when she started Yellow Blazing. She skipped an entire section to go on a boat ride instead. But I guess all the fires were getting to her, and she apparently had a traumatic experience and close call escaping from one of the fires in Northern California. Which seemed to affect her a lot.
Tiki Bird Tracy ended her PCT hike before she got into the Sierras. I think she gave it her best shot, but she is probably not in good enough shape to complete the PCT.
Kirt Lewis I think is still going on the PCT, but I haven't been watching his videos closely. I think his videos are pretty far behind. I'll probably start watching to see how he dealt with all the wildfires.
For the CDT hikers.
Travelinbeat ended his hike epically by hiking to both terminuses in Glacier National Park. He did a loop to both Chiff Mountain and Waterton Lake. He did a lot of weird Blue Blaze routes but he hiked all the way from Mexico to the Canadian Border.
Rod Clemen quit the CDT when he got to the Wyoming State Line. I'm not sure of the reason he quit. It was kind of a surprise to me. He seemed like the type of person who nothing could stop him. But he did seem to be burning out a bit in his last couple of videos.
Becca ‘Little Skittle’'s CDT hike just turned into a weird Yellow Blaze, that made no real sense. Then she just disappeared. Her last Instagram post was from the Yellowstone National Park boundary, but she had missed big sections of the trail by that point.
And HikingAmerica Constantine after completing five thru hikes this year, finally found a trail that defeated him. He got driven off the Ozark Highlands Trail by ticks and chiggers, and ended up with a bad case of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
But him and his girlfriend still plan to be hiking on the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand in November.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
