Jennifer Pharr Davis, who holds the unofficial record for the fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) – 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes – will speak at Shenandoah University on Thursday, April 2.
Davis will talk at 7 p.m. in Halpin-Harrison Hall, Stimpson Auditorium, about her experiences walking the Appalachian Trail, something she has done more than once. Her presentation is free and open to the public.
Davis hiked the AT in 2005, and in 2008, she set the record for the fastest Appalachian Trail hike by a woman (57 days and 8 hours). She went back in 2011, and set the unofficial record for the fastest AT thru-hike, in which she trekked 47 miles per day for 46 days.
She has logged more than 12,000 miles on six different continents, including thru-hikes of the Pacific Crest Trail, the Colorado Trail, Vermont’s Long Trail, numerous trails in Europe and the Appalachian Trail.
Davis has written two memoirs about hiking the Appalachian Trail, and she is the owner and founder of Blue Ridge Hiking Company in Asheville, North Carolina, which offers guided hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 2012, she was named one of National Geographic’s Adventurers of the Year.
Her new book, “Called Again,” chronicles her record-breaking AT hike and has been called “an inspired exploration of the meaning of commitment” by Kirkus Reviews. She has been featured in The New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” The Daily Beast and the CBS Early Show.
Questions? Contact Shenandoah Outdoor & Adventure Recreation Coordinator Alice Morgan at suoutdoors@su.edu.