Hello!

My name is Lauren and I feel incredibly lucky to start the Appalachian Trail in March 2025. I am excited to challenge myself as a writer and share this journey with whoever stumbles upon this page. Thanks for reading!! Let me give you a proper introduction!

how old are you? where are you coming from?

I am 23! I graduated from CU Boulder in 2023 with a degree in Environmental Engineering. Since then, I have been working as an Energy Engineer in Denver, CO. I was born in Denver, but grew up all my conscious years in Southern New Hampshire- a little apple town called Londonderry 🙂 I love the vastness and challenges of the Colorado mountains so much, but I am so excited to return home to the White Mountains’ granite, switchbackless mountains. I love the roots of the East Coast where you do not get the view until you are at the peakity peak summit. There is a “grit” about the East Coast that I very deeply miss.

hiking experience?

Thru-hiking wise, I hiked the 486-mile Colorado Trail in the summer of 2023!

It took me 31 days and is perhaps the thing I am most proud of. Before this, I had done a couple of overnight backpacking trips with my second-hand gear and had absolutely NO idea what I was getting myself into leading up to the CT. I was the “passenger princess” to my best friend who planned the whole thing. When she had to get off the trail 100 miles in, it was up to me to figure out what the hell I was doing and prove to myself that I could do it. I owe a lot of that belief in myself to my stubbornness, but mostly to the support of my lovely trail family who dared me on.

why are you doing this?

I am hiking this trail mostly because I miss being outdoors, surrounded by people who care so much about something. The world right now is quite depressing and I find myself craving being surrounded by a community of people I am inspired by every single day. I miss the sufferfest. I miss pushing my body to the limit of what it is possible to do and the group sufferfest mentality of, “We got through something worse, we’ll be fine.” Getting a taste of the lifestyle and then being removed from thru-hiking has made me realize that even the worst days on trails are the most wonderful stories and inspire resilience amongst anyone who dares to endure them. 

Also, most of my life is dedicated to climate activism. The natural world is something we all share, and spending time outside has only deepened my urgency to protect it. This innate feeling is another reason why I’m hiking the Appalachian Trail—not just for the adventure, but to connect with nature in the most immersive way possible.

In this weird period of society where our society seems to be divided in hatred, I am hopeful that the trail can remind me what humanity is all about: the importance of community, the power of kindness to each other and to the ground we walk on, and completing a dream, all together. Over the past few years, my friends in Boulder—some of the most wildly adventurous athletes I’ve ever met—have pushed me beyond my limits, challenging me to take on feats I never could have imagined as a kid. As a young girl, I still remember meeting Appalachian Trail hikersl, being in complete awe of how someone could be that fearless, that free, that cool.

Here’s my cheeseball summary of an answer – I’m hiking to honor the little NH girl who dreamed big, the woman I’ve become, and to believe again the world I want to live in is possible.

who are you hiking with?

I am so lucky to be hiking with my lovely partner and boyfriend, Jeremiah! We have done many hikes together now, in fact, he joined me for the last four nights of the CT (bless him cause by then I had some hiking legs). Some of our most stunning treks include the Teton Crest Trail, Four Pass Loop, and Rim2Rim2Rim in the Grand Canyon. He is calm, a good listener, and balances my constant, worrisome, “Oh my god the world is ending” energy quite wonderfully. Jeremiah shares my belief that life is supposed to be a unique, exciting, and rapturous adventure. He is a Marine veteran and also an engineer. I say that to highlight he also understands that many great feats of life usually come with a sufferfest.

fun facts? what else?

I am a vegetarian. I thrifted 98% of my closet. Before this hike, every single piece of my gear was either from dumpster diving or second-hand shops! (I’ve upgraded since hiking with some ultralight folk, no worries)

I listen to a ton of music. My top Spotify artists last year were Charli XCX, Grateful Dead, Lorde, Royel Otis, and Odesza. 

I have a small dog that I failed as a foster parent and adopted last year. He is named Charles Beebow the First or Charlie or Bar Bar, he is living with my parents now, but I will miss him very much.

222 are my angel numbers and my trail name on the CT was “twos”. 2’s show up wherever I need them to be and my lucky stories always come in a pair.

My favorite shows are Rupaul’s Drag Race, Parks and Rec, and SATC.

I have anxiety and ADHD.

I am the oldest daughter, I have one younger sister.

My drink of choice is a Coors Light with a lime.

I am a diehard New England sports fan.

I have 9 tattoos!

I can juggle.

Lastly, I am NOT a writer! I look forward to challenging myself to do something out of my comfort zone – write – about something that is so far out of my comfort zone – the AT!

IF NOT NOW, WHEN?