#27: Shawn Forry -- First Ever Winter Thru-Hike of Pacific Crest Trail

Imagine walking sunrise to sunset day after day for 2,650 miles through brutal winter weather. We're talking summiting gigantic frigid mountains, freezing cold river crossing, waist deep snow, without seeing other hikers for weeks at a time through intense wintry wilderness. Those are only a few of the obstacles Shawn Forry and his hiking partner Justin Lichter faced while successfully completing the very first WINTER thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Thru-hikes have always fascinated me. What it must feel like to immerse yourself into the wilderness with nothing but the winding trail for months at a time. In fact, every time I did a day hike on the Appalachian in Virginia I would unsuccessfully try to get into that headspace. Beyond the completely awesome story of the winter PCT, I was pumped to chat with Shawn just so I could nerd out on some of the billion of questions I had for an experienced thru-hiker. On this week's episode Shawn shares stories from the winter PCT trek, explains how his thru hiking career began and the factors that drive him to continue, how he's created a mindset that helps push him through seemingly insurmountable adversity, and so much more! After reading Shawn's history on his website www.shawnforry.com, I have to honestly believe he is one of the most experienced thru-hikers in the world having trekked over 20,000 miles in various countries over the last 14 years. The Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest, Continental, El Camino De Santiago, Hayduke, Great Himalaya Trail, are some of the highlights of his extremely impressive resume. Shawn was a pleasure to talk to and I hope that this inspires you to get outside and immerse yourself in the beauty of a local trail....or do a really long walk....or realize that you have the power within you to achieve a seemingly impossible goal! Enjoy the convo and we'll get back at you next week!!