Tough Hikers: Thru-Hiking 101

Go from day hiker to backpacker with

Kyla "Tough" Zapisek in San Diego, CA

Are you completely overwhelmed at what gear you should commit to? There are so many options! This is an opportunity to try out different types of gear to learn what you like to use. Every day you will sleep in a different type of tent, use a different type of water filter, cook over a different type of stove. You will get to try out the gear before you go home and decide what you want for yourself and your own pack.

Thru-Hiking 101

This is a guided group backpacking trip that will teach you how to transition from day hiking to overnight backpacking. The goal is to teach you (and your soon to be hiking friends) how to hike with a pack (all you need to survive) and camp so that you can feel confident doing it on your own in the future. You will learn to:

set up a one-person tent
find and filter water
use a backpacking stove
organize your pack for comfort and convenience
navigate with a paper map (and learn about phone apps)
stay warm when it's cold and stay cool when it's hot

I want you to come away from the hike with the confidence that you can do this again independently whenever you want.

This is a trip for women who are already comfortable day hiking and are interested in backpacking, but have never done it and are feeling nervous, scared, or worried trying to plan a trip themselves. Maybe you don't know anyone else who backpacks that could go with you. Maybe you don't know anyone else who could teach you or answer your questions. Maybe you have only ever gone with someone who did everything for you. This trip will teach you how to take care of yourself and give you the confidence that you can do this on your own (or take your own friends out, because sharing an experience with others is rather nice).

You will be with two or three other new backpackers in the local mountains of San Diego. We don't have to travel far away to find the wilderness. Though we will be on hiking trails, dirt roads intersect our trails and emergency evacuation will be accessible. This is a safe space to start to feel remote while actually not being very remote.

What is thru-hiking?

Thru-hiking is a type of backpacking that involves hiking a long distance trail in one calender year. There are 3 really really long trails in the United States: Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), Appalachian Trail (AT), and Continental Divide Trail (CDT). Many, though not all, hikers prefer to make their packs as light as possible. We will be using and learning about ultralightweight gear. Some of these brands only sell online.

Who is Kyla "Tough" Zapisek?

I am your guide/instructor/mentor. I thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) in 2023, one of the highest snow years on record. The PCT is a 2600 mile trail that runs from the Mexican border here in San Diego to the Canadian border in Washington. I had done some backpacking trips before that, but the PCT is what made me feel like a pro. Five hundred miles of snow trekking taught me I can do anything. To complete the whole trail took me 6 months. I unknowingly prepared for the hike by reading every book written by a female thru-hiker I could find, which ended up being nine books. After reading them, I knew that hiking the PCT was what I needed to do with my life. The trail name given to me on the PCT was “Tough.”

Background:

Wilderness First Responder (2024)

Field Botany course at SDSU (2024)

CA Naturalist course at UCSD Extension (2019)

EMT-Basic (2017)

NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) course on horse packing (2012)

BA Sociology from UCSB (2009)

The number one question people ask me when they learn that I hike a lot is "Do you go alone?" and when I say "Yes" they then ask me "Aren't you afraid?" My answer is "Of what?" Women don't have to be afraid of being alone in the outdoors. I want the world to be more full of fearless, intelligent women. It occurred to me that I can teach other women how normal it can feel to be in nature. You don't have to be afraid of animals. You don't have to be afraid of men (the city is actually way less safe than the outdoors). You can find your own way and take care of yourself.

When I'm not hiking, I grow vegetables and plants, resettle refugees in San Diego, and mentor youth as a Big Sister.