Faces No. 4: Heather “Anish” Anderson

I'm originally from Michigan. I did my first hikes at Grand Canyon National Park, but I really truly fell in love with backpacking when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2003. Although I had no prior backpacking experience, my first journey on the AT set my course in life. By the time I'd traveled 200 miles I knew that there was nothing else I wanted to do in life except be in the outdoors. ARTICLE OUTLINE

• Where are you from and when did you become excited about the outdoors?
• How did you get your trail name?
• How much did you sleep while on the trail? What was your typical daily hiking routine?
• What were the differences and similarities between your AT and PCT record thru-hikes?
• You were on the trail for 54 days for the AT and 60 days for the PCT by yourself. Did you feel alone? How did you pass the time? Were there times when you'd hike with others?
• What led to the JMT record attempt coming up short? Do you view that attempt as a failure? And how did you get motivated to try for the AT record?
• What's your favorite piece of gear? Why? What's your most used gear item?
• How do you train to hike 45 miles a day? How active are you when you are off the trail?
• Tell us about your most memorable experience from one of your thru-hikes.
• Have ever faced danger while on the trail?
• What kind of mindset do you need to be able to push yourself to the limits and accomplish these hikes?
• What other trail ambitions do you have? What hiking goals do you still want to achieve?
• Why did you start hiking? Why have you continued to hike? And how has hiking impacted your life?
• If you could recommend one trip to change someone's life what would it be and why?
• In some of your Facebook posts, you mention overcoming doubt and self-defeating beliefs - how did you learn to do this and what techniques do you use to stay motivated?
• What advice do you have for the BPL membership?
• Where do you see yourself in 20 years?
• What do you foresee as the challenges the next generation of backpackers will face?
• Social Media

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