New Hikers | Experienced Hikers | Trail Angels

CONNECTING THE LONG- DISTANCE HIKING COMMUNITY

ON AND OFF TRAIL

A BETTER WAY TO:

CONNECT

LEARN

SUPPORT

 

FOR NEW & EXPERIENCED

LONG-DISTANCE HIKERS

MEET OTHER HIKERS

The best part of the trail is the people you meet along the way. This platform is an effective tool to connect with other long-distance hikers before, during, and after trail.

EXCLUSIVE COMMUNITY

We welcome long-distance hikers into our community. Here at THRU-r, a “long-distance hike” is defined as 100 continuous miles or more in one trip. We approve hikers who have hiked – or are planning to hike – this amount of miles. Looking at you new and experienced section and thru-hikers!

CONNECT TO HIKERS NEAR YOU VIA THE THRU-r MAP

Our THRU-r Map (or Member Map) allows approved members to view other hikers in their area and beyond. Connect with hikers for a quick chat, online or in person meetups, or find a Trail Angel near the trail to coordinate with, etc.

DISCUSS TRAIL TOPICS IN OUR HIKER FEED + EVENTS

Connect, discuss gear, trail food and more through our hiker feed and during exclusive events. Because our members are all vetted – you know the information you receive is from long-distance hikers like you.

FIND FRIENDS + PRIVATE MESSAGE

Connect with others in a similar way you would on social media: Add friends, private message, and group chat. Our site offers a more exclusive community with more quality information: Long-distance hiker to long-distance hiker.

FREE + UP-LEVELED MEMBERSHIPS

Here at THRU-r, we love to “pay it forward” and give back to the trail community. That’s why we offer the majority of our standard memberships for free! If you’d like to get even more perks, sign up to be a Hiker Pro member.

Building the THRU-r community

An excerpt from founder, Carol Coyne or “Cheer” on the long-distance hiking community and building THRU-r:

“On trail, we all looked out for each other and lent a hand when needed. We shared joy. Reveled at the remote and beautiful scenery that only a portion of the population gets to witness. Laughed at the ridiculous scenarios we found ourselves in (and there were many). We connected on deeper levels than most of our relationships in the “default world.” This wasn’t quick office banter at the coffee machine – these were some of the most meaningful relationships hikers ever form, on or off trail.

We celebrate, and also dread, the end. Finishing a long trail is bittersweet and many hikers can’t put what they are feeling into words. “Happy” and “sad” come up in the same sentence. A huge accomplishment of hiking thousands of miles through beautiful – and sometimes rough – conditions is spiked with a deep longing for it to go on forever. To hike with the people you’ve come to see as family every day, to witness nature in all of her beauty, to have the goal of making it to Canada one step at a time – gone.    

After trail, many hikers experience a condition called Post Trail Depression.  I’ve heard hikers of past years say that, even though they went back to their normal life after trail – they thought about their long-distance hike(s) every day. Not a day went by where they wouldn’t think about their experiences from trail.

While I was going through post trail depression myself after the PCT, I couldn’t accept that my trail life would just drop off. “How could I just let this go?”

The answer? I couldn’t.

This was the greatest thing that happened in my life, and I wanted to keep the bonds to the trail community alive. Problem was, there weren’t many effective ways to do that. No tools existed beyond Facebook – which is a little clunky to use and was open to the public (so many people in these groups weren’t actually long-distance hikers). This wasn’t enough to support our community in the ways I – an experienced hiker – desired.

So there was only one solution I came up with:

I’m going to have to build it myself, and I’m going to have the trail community build it with me.” 

Carol Coyne, THRU-r Founder

ARE YOU A THRU-r?

THRU-r is a long-distance hiking community for hikers who have hiked or are planning to hike beyond a weekend backpacking trip. There is no official definition of what a long-distance hike is, but we define it as a 100 mile continuous hike or longer. Some of our hikers are Triple Crowners, and others have pieced together longer section hikes over years with sections of the PCT, AT, CDT, etc. Many of our hikers have hiked hundreds or thousands of miles.

If you fit into this category we invite you to apply to be a part of the community! Our core offerings are free (count that as our Trail Angel duty to the long-distance hiking community) which include our hiker map, hiker forums and more. For even more perks, you can also choose to level-up to our “Hiker Pro” membership with exclusive content, access to educational materials, exclusive private events, special guest Q&A’s, and much more!

BECOME A MEMBER

Join our FREE membership for long-distance hikers. We define a long-distance hike as a continuous trip of at least 100 miles. If you fit into this category – apply below!

Please make sure to fill out all sections of the application to ensure quick approval – including previous hikes, future hikes, and a bio.

FREE

THRU-r MEMBERJOIN THE COMMUNITY
  • Hiker Profile
  • Hiker Forum Access
  • Direct Messaging
  • Friend Requests
  • Hiker Map & Directory
  • Exclusive Event Access

UP-LEVEL YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO HIKER PRO

$15.50/MONTH*

HIKER PROCONNECT & LEARN ON A DEEPER LEVEL
  • All Standard Membership Benefits
  • Exclusive Panels
  • Monthly Meetups
  • Group Challenges
  • Organized Video Library
  • Gear Exchange
  • Private Hiker Forum
  • Early Event Access

So, it’s your first time.

You’ve done those weekend backpacking trips and a few weeklong overnights. But now you are committed. You are going to become a THRU-r.

We are here to help.

#THRUTRUTH: Best Tips for a First Time THRU-Hiker

Before heading out on a thru-hike, many questions pop up on how best to prepare. Where do I store my food? How do I filter water? How do I get from point A to point B? What is the best gear to buy? Here at THRU-r, we’ve had these questions ourselves and have heard many others with the same questions. Click the link below for our best tips for the first time THRU-hiker to get things started.

Leave No Trace

A must to preserve the trails we know, use, and love. Pack everything out! Visit the Leave No Trace Center for more.

Navigation

Far Out (formerly known as “Guthook”) is the way to go if you’re heading out on many of the long trails in the USA. Almost every long distance hiker uses this app, because it is so easy to use. 

Gear

Make sure to get out and test your gear ahead of time – by way of shakedown hikes – to make sure everything works for you. 

THRU-r RESOURCES FOR BEGINNERS

Our site and community focuses specifically on the long-distance hikers however – if you are new to backpacking we have a few resources to get you started with more on the way!

If you are a hiker interested in backpacking shorter distances, we invite you to check out our blog, podcast and YouTube channel. You can also sign up for our Beginner Backpacker course – with tried and true advice from experienced long distance hikers (launching in 2024/2025!). If you’re interested in upleveling to longer hikes, take advantage of our free offerings including hiker meetups, our podcast recordings, and our YouTube videos.

Map

#TrailLove

become a trail angel

Interested in helping out your fellow THRU-r? Join our community as a Trail Angel or become a Virtual Trail Angel!

count your calories

Want some tips on what to take on the trail?

And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” 

– john muir 

trail friends.

 

Connect with other hikers who thrive on trail life… just like you.

view inspired.

 

A bit of trail eye candy to get you stoked for that next single track.

A huge thank you to our sponsors and partners!

All of our sponsors play an integral role in connecting the long-distance hiking community by facilitating community growth, providing hiker education, and outfitting our teams.

More than an outdoor company. Nature wants to be explored. Gear up and get into it knowing that these products have been tested and chosen by those who count on serious protection on the trail all day long.

Thank you to SAWYER who is outfitting our ambassador team with trail gear.