Liz Thomas facts for kids

Elizabeth Thomas, born in 1987, is a famous long-distance hiker. She is known for completing very long trails. She even held a speed record for hiking the entire Appalachian Trail without help.

Elizabeth has achieved the "Triple Crown" of hiking. This means she has finished three of America's longest trails. These are the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. She also helped create new trails, like the Chinook Trail in Washington. Elizabeth works to support hiking. She is a leader in the American Long Distance Hiking Association-West. She is also an ambassador for the American Hiking Society. She writes about the outdoors for Wirecutter, a New York Times publication. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of Treeline Review, which reviews hiking gear. By 2018, she had completed 20 long wilderness hikes.

Early Life and Nature's Call

Elizabeth Thomas was born in Sacramento, California. She grew up in a typical suburban area. As a child, she felt a strong pull towards nature. However, she was not very active at first.

A first-grade trip to a short nature trail changed her view. It made a big impression on her. From then on, she often asked her parents to take her back to the trail. Elizabeth's mother grew up in Japan. In her mother's time, women did not often do physical activities. So, Elizabeth's love for adventure and physical activity became a way for her to express herself as a teenager. Her first long city hike was in Los Angeles. She walked a 180-mile route. It connected 300 staircases across the city.

Education and Environmental Studies

Elizabeth attended Claremont McKenna College. There, she joined outdoor clubs with other students. She also met professors who loved hiking. After college, she earned a Master's degree. This was in Environmental Science from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

During her studies, Elizabeth received a special award. It was the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship. She earned it for her research. Her work focused on long-distance hiking trails and how to protect nature. She also studied how trail towns help hikers.

Hiking Adventures and Career

Elizabeth had never been backpacking before 2007. Just one year later, after her senior year of college, she completed her first long hike. It was the Tahoe Rim Trail. She hiked it alone in six days. At that time, she had lots of experience with day hikes. She had also led a five-day trip in the Grand Canyon. But she had never spent a night alone in the woods.

Later, she completed her first major long-distance hike. This was the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail. In 2010, Elizabeth finished another huge hike. She completed the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail.

Elizabeth has worked with the American Hiking Society since 2010. She attended an event called Hike the Hill in Washington D.C.. This event brings together trail groups and politicians. They work to improve America's trail system. In 2011, Elizabeth hiked the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail. She walked from Georgia to Maine. She finished in 80 days and 13 hours. This set a record for the fastest female thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. However, this record was later broken by Heather “Anish” Anderson in 2015. Karel Sabbe broke Anderson's record in 2018.

In 2014, Elizabeth, Whitney La Ruffa, and Brian Boshart created a new trail. They pioneered the 290-mile Chinook Trail in Washington. In 2015, Elizabeth hiked the Sierra High Route. In 2017, she published her book. It is called Long Trails: Mastering the Art of the Thru-hike. In August 2019, she was featured in a story by Condé Nast Traveller. The story was about people who are changing how we travel. Elizabeth also gives talks at colleges and hiking clubs. She leads groups on urban hikes in 11 American cities. She also teaches an online course called Thru-Hiking 101 for Backpacker Magazine.