Andrea Robinson: Her adventurous life as a nurse, pilot, and thru-hiker

Meet Andrea Robinson - Montreal-born adventurer, nurse, private pilot, and long-distance hiker chasing the Triple Crown (AT, PCT, CDT).Andrea grew up roaming the Adirondacks, joined the Air Cadets as a teen, and never lost the itch to fly. Decades later - while working extra nursing shifts during the pandemic - she used those earnings to finally learn: Private Pilot (2022), tailwheel endorsement, now working on her instrument rating.On the ground she’s just as fearless. After years of section hikes with her kids (including Wright Peak memories and Vermont’s Long Trail), Andrea thru-hiked the Continental Divide Trail in 2022 - 2,543 miles in 139 days - and is now piecing together the Pacific Crest Trail to complete the Triple Crown. She’s biked the Erie Canal with her family in support of people with disabilities, and she brings a joyful, practical take on adventure, motherhood, and making big goals happen mid-career.In this conversation with host Pat DiCerbo, Andrea talks:Growing up free-range in the ’70s, summers in the Adirondacks, and discovering long trailsNursing, grit, and how COVID overtime paid for flight schoolWhat a CDT thru-hike really takes (pace, resupply, mindset)Flying, fear, and why learning new skills at 50 is magicSection-hiking the PCT on the way to the Triple CrownIf you like stories about ordinary people doing extraordinary things—with boots on the trail and wheels off the runway—press play.