# @audipayne on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DHBdhdNskUx
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/27271853-audipayne-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9a96b85c81.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-03-10T14:51:40.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Audrey “Glowstick” Payne (@audipayne) — https://gondola.cc/audipayne

## Caption

I’ve been dreaming of this 2025 adventure for a long, long time. The idea of long-distance hiking first lodged itself in my brain over a decade ago, as I was laid up with a debilitating back injury, unsure if I’d ever be well enough to attempt such a thing. The Appalachian Trail was always going to be first, but even before I took my first steps on the AT at Springer Mountain, I somehow knew that wouldn’t be the end.
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In 2016, just as I was really starting to get my life back post-injury, I traveled to Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks with my dad. I wanted to explore the West and he wanted to see the giant sequoias in person. I was blown away by the meadows, framed by the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains. It was a wilderness I wanted to get to know better. This tiny glimpse over a 5-day trip wasn’t enough. I remember looking out into the distance at those peaks, promising I’d be back for them someday as a Pacific Crest Trail thru-hiker. How I knew then, I don’t know. But nine years later, someday is (almost) here. I’m over the moon to share that in April, I’ll be setting out to hike the PCT northbound from the Mexico border at Campo, California, with the intent of marching all the way to Canada. I can’t yet fully explain the forces making this year feel like exactly the right time for me to set out on another 2,000+ mile thru-hike, but I will soon. It involves a little side adventure, which I’m also very much looking forward to. For now, I’ll just say cheers to an amazing, gritty, dusty, joyful 2025. 
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I can’t wait to become Glowstick again and to see what this adventure brings. ✨✨✨ I hope you’ll follow along! I’ll be posting here and on YT at Audrey Adventures. I’ll share more soon! 😊
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#pacificcresttrail #pct2025 #pct #thruhike #thruhiker #thetrek #trekking #backpackingadventures #wildernesswomen #womenwhohike #hikersofinstagram #peoplewhohike  #hiking #backpacking

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## Tags

womenwhohike, pct2025, peoplewhohike, pct, thruhike, trekking, backpackingadventures, wildernesswomen, pacificcresttrail, thetrek, hiking, hikersofinstagram, backpacking, thruhiker

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