Justin Lichter got his start in the world of hiking during his last quarter of college in 2002, when he decided to enroll in an outdoor education program through the Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­for­nia at Santa Cruz. The group spent two and a half months backpacking in southern Utah, with backcountry terrain serving as the classroom for students. He looks back on the experience as his big introduction to the outdoors.

The trip made such as impression on Lichter that by the following spring, he was prepared to set off with a friend he had met in that class on a six-month hike of the Appalachian Trail. Not only did he complete the traditional portion of the trail, but he hiked a portion of the International AT as well, from Mount Katahdin, Maine through Cap Gaspe, Que­bec. Since successfully hiking the AT, he’s become an established thru-hiker who has garnered the nickname Trauma, with an almost endless list of accomplishments, most of which are achieved aside his dog, Yoni.

• 2004: Pacific Crest Trail and half of the Pacific Northwest Trail, which took about five and a half months.
• 2005: Continental Divide Trail and Great Divide Trail, which took about five months.
• 2006: Eastern Continental Trail, which took almost a full year.
• 2007: Made a hiking route from Durango to Las Vegas (850 miles in about a month), hiked the Southern Alps in New Zealand from end to end (45 days), and swam unsupported around Lake Tahoe (seven days).
• 2008: Hiked the Hayduke Trail (850 miles in 45 days), hiked across Iceland (250 miles in 11 days), hiked in Scandinavia, and hiked the Long Trail in Vermont.
• 2009: Hiked 1,800 miles through East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania) in about two and a half months, and then hiked the Sierra High Route (220 miles in 11 days).
• 2010: Hiked 400 miles in the Canadian Rockies.
• 2011: Hiked from the easternmost 8,000-meter peak to the westernmost 8,000-meter peak in the Himalayas through Nepal and India (three months).
• 2012: Swam across Mono Lake
• 2013: Skied about 400 miles through the Sierra Nevada, hiked the John Muir Trail, and completed a traverse of Mexico’s Copper Canyon, which links all the major canyons in the region.

As for what’s proved to be the biggest challenge along the way, he said each has its own difficulties and they tend to build on one another. Overall, he said it’s being able to adequately prepare for the unknown. “When planning self supported hiking trips in Africa, Nepal, and India, the lack of information and unknowns have been difficult to plan for and have created logistics challenges,” he said.

Now 34, the California resident doesn’t have plans to stop. When he’s not hiking, he’s working as a ski patroller and spending his free time skiing, snowshoeing, mountain biking, or surfing. In short, he’s always outdoors.

In regard to the advice he gives to new thru-hikers, “Prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance,” he said. “Go out for shorter trips beforehand. Research and use your gear so you know if things fit and work properly for you, and what you like and don’t like about certain items. Thru-hiking is different from camping. You are carrying the gear with you day in and day out and that’s all you have. Weight, durability, and function are all really important.”

The Granite Gear-sponsored athlete even put his advice into a bit more formal state–his two books, Trail Tested: A Thru-Hiker’s Guide and Ultralight Survival Kit. Compiling knowledge gathered from his trips into texts was never something he really considered, but there came a point where it seemed like the best option.

“I realized that I had gained a lot of information and was getting asked a lot of the same questions during presentations and other events,” he recalled. “I decided it was probably the best way to help share the knowledge with people and hopefully let [them] enjoy the outdoors safely and responsibly. After all, the more people who enjoy the outdoors means the more people who are placing value on it, and [a better] chance for conservation.”

He said the writing process for the first book took almost two years, and it was initially self published. His idea for the book’s layout was very intensive, so it was almost like writing two books because when the text was finished, he went back to square one to figure out how to incorporate the information into the layout.

“Trail Tested came out in 2012. As the book was selling I had to decide if I wanted to reprint or find a publisher,” he recalled. “Falcon Guides was very excited about the book and I thought it was a better way to help get all of the knowledge to a broader audience. They republished the book about a year later. Ultralight Survival Kit was released in 2014 and was a much quicker process since I was working with Falcon Guides again and had a great support team.”

As for the future, Lichter said he plans to write more outdoor guides full of tips that have been gained through his number of trial and error experiences while adventuring.

But at the moment, he has a different task to focus on. This year, Lichter is taking on a challenge that hasn’t been successfully completed before—thru-hiking the PCT in winter. “This will be a highly variable trip and big challenge,” he said. “Since the trail will often be buried by feet of snow, the term trail is used loosely. It will be more like the PCT corridor. We will be hiking when we are on trail, but will also be using other means for travel when the conditions dictate. We will have snowshoes and ski kits waiting and be able to switch to those when needed.”

When his winter PCT hike is complete, he said he’s not sure where to head next. “I always have a list of ideas for trips that I would like to do, and then I see what floats to the top and becomes the most interesting after looking at timing, weather, and budgets,” he said.

As for what keeps him coming back to the trail time and time again, Lichter’s response was concise: “I like being outside and seeing new places under my own power,” he said. “I feel all of the views and experiences are that much more rewarding when you have put in the effort to get to that point.”

To learn more about Lichter, check out his website.

Images courtesy of Justin Lichter