Mary Moynihan has the math all worked out. She will need to average 21.8 miles per day, which comes out to about 12 hours per day. She will need to hike at a speed of 2½ to 3½ mph. And if her math is correct, she will hike a total of nearly 8,000 miles — in one calendar year.
It’s called the Calendar Triple Crown, and only a handful of hikers have ever accomplished the feat — all of them men. Moynihan hopes to be the first woman.
The 31-year-old Bend, OR resident and manager at the Patagonia outdoor clothing and gear store in Bend plans to solo thru-hike the Appalachian, Pacific Crest and Continental Divide trails, all in 2016.
If she has anything going for her, it is that she has completed all of those hikes before. She hiked the 2,190-mile Appalachian Trail in 2006, the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2007 and the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail in 2011. Her book about hiking the CDT, “Married to the Trail,” was released this fall, and she also has her own hiking website.
The idea has been a few years in the making. When Moynihan returned to Bend after hiking the 1,850-mile Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand in 2014, she was asked the same question numerous times.
“Every person would say, ‘What’s next?’” Moynihan says. “And it’s a beautiful question, but sometimes it gets overwhelming. For a few years, I’ve had the idea to re-hike these trails.”
The following are paid links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
Copyright © 2011-2023 Internet Brothers. All Rights Reserved. ISSN 2324-6057
Designed by Elegant Themes | Powered by Wordpress | Logo by Design Aspirations