The Strawbridge Family: they went the distance and plan to do it again

Written by Emily

A long, walking family of six, from Lakeland, Florida, the Strawbridges set out to thru-hike the PCT with their four kids in 2018. They accomplished this feat successfully going SOBO, averaging around 20 miles per day and, facing all the struggles and joy that come with hiking 2,650 miles as a large family. 

Meet the family and checkout their journey here or view their entertaining YouTube channel, where Monica aka mom was recently interviewed by her kids midst healthy food prep for their upcoming thru-hike. Keep reading to find out where & when this is happening! 

They were recently interviewed by BackPacker Radio. Listen to the full interview here, for some quality entertainment via trail stories. If you've thought about taking your family out on a thru-hike or section hikes, their story serves as inspiration for all!

The Strawbridges are planning another long family walk and are setting out to become the first and largest family to complete the hiker's Triple Crown. That's the Appalachian Trail, The Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail. One down, Two to go! We're honored and excited to provide their 4 children with Hiker Hunger Trekking Poles - two Aluminum and two Carbon Fiber sets - on their upcoming adventure. 

What's next? The Continental Divide Trail. Their start date, snow & current circumstances dependent, was June 24th from Chief Mountain. They were previously training on local trails and had begun adding weight earlier this month (our poles included), before the world started spinning slower. 

Currently, they are bunkered down like most of us. And while there is a lot of mayhem in the hiking world, specifically for thru-hikers, all we and the Strawbridges can do now is wait it out. 

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In the meantime, if you're in search of some wholesome family hiking entertainment, I'd highly recommend their BackPacker Radio episode and YouTube channel. 

It's important to remind ourselves that while humanity pauses, nature continues to be and to be beautiful.