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On top of the world: Patton hiker prepares to climb Mount Kilimanjaro

By Patt Keith 5 min read

A 2019 National Geographic Adventurer, Heather Anderson of Patton is training for her next big hike: Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa in February.

A Michigan native who moved to Patton in 2019, Anderson is an accomplished thru hiker. Known by her trail name "Anish," Anderson has completed the Triple Crown -- the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Continental Divide Trail -- three times each. Additionally, she has seven fastest known times (FKTs) to her name, including setting the overall self-supported records on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2013 and the Appalachian Trail in 2015.

She's also a motivational speaker and the author of four books. Since 2001, Anderson has logged 47,000 foot miles.

Her love of hiking ignited in 2001. Then a religious studies major at Anderson University in Anderson, Indiana, she'd taken a summer job at a hotel on the south rim of the Grand Canyon.

"While I was there, I went on a hike with coworkers and just fell in love with it. From there I decided I wanted to do more and more of it," she said. "Then that was it until I started the Appalachian Trail two years later. I just figured it out along the way."

She started her first Appalachian Trail trek the day after her college graduation.

"I handed my parents my diploma, got into a car with a couple of friends and we drove all night down to Georgia. I started walking the next day."

In 2019, she became the first woman, and fifth person, to complete the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail, the 2,600-mile Pacific Crest Trail and the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail -- all between March and November. The feat earned her National Geographic Adventurer of the Year.

According to the American Long-Distance Hiking Association-West's website, only 521 people have accomplished the Triple Crown.

Today, at age 42, Anderson is preparing to climb the tallest mountain in Africa -- Mount Kilimanjaro -- one of the high-

altitude hiking world's seven summits.

She's preparing by running 50 miles a week, doing strength training five days a week and daily yoga.

"I keep myself in shape and ready to hit the trail. I mean, nothing can really get you ready to walk day in and day out for 8 to 10 hours a day, but having your body be at a certain level of fitness allows it to adapt to that a lot faster and better than if you were just coming off the couch," she said.

Since moving to Pennsylvania, Anderson has enjoyed the region.

"Pennsylvania is really surprisingly beautiful as far as the amount of trails and the access to trails," she said. "When you hike through on the Appalachian Trail, you see just tiny pieces of Pennsylvania. I didn't realize how much forest and state and public lands and trails were here. I have really enjoyed exploring all the trails that Pennsylvania offers."

She has especially enjoyed the Allegheny Front Tail, a 42-mile loop, and Standing Stone Trail, 85 miles to the Mid State Trail in the north. Her all-time favorite is the Glacier Peak Wilderness Trail that winds for 450 miles through the northern Cascade Mountains of Washington State.

Hiking has provided Anderson with many blessings, such as a professional motivational speaking career, and has also shaped her view of herself.

"Doing these trips has taught me that I'm much stronger and more capable than I ever would have thought," she said. "They have taught me to be self-reliant, how to trust my own decision-making skills and taught me a lot about my body and what it is capable of and how to listen to it."

She's faced hypothermia, high water crossings and more on her record-setting adventures, but for Mount Kilimanjaro, she'll face the additional adversary of altitude. Hiking at over 19,000 feet poses a risk due to reduced air pressure and changes in air pressure. She'll be part of an eight-day climb and will participate with a guide company. The opportunity for the Kilimanjaro trip came about through her role as an ambassador for a water filter company. She is participating in a clean water initiative with nonprofits to bring water filters and clean water to people in Uganda for several weeks preceding the climb.

Her product ambassador roles and professional speaking engagements have taken her throughout the world, including as a participant in a multi-stop speaker series through the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

She recently published her hiking memoir entitled "Bonus Miles." She previously published "Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home" in 2019 and "Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail" in 2021, as well as a how-to guide, "Adventure Ready: A Hiker's Guide to Planning, Training, and Resiliency," co-authored with Katie Gerber in 2022.

Anderson discovered her love of writing while in high school, so being an author of hiking-related books combines her two greatest passions. She also enjoys public speaking.

"I really enjoy it. It's always fun to get up and share my experiences," she said.

The enjoyment found in doing is one of the messages she imparts to audiences, new hikers or anyone learning something new. Often, people let a lack of knowledge or skill stop their pursuits prematurely.

"It's good to keep getting out there and exploring," she said. "If you really enjoy it, then keep doing it. ... I didn't know what I was doing when I first tried hiking but I knew I enjoyed it. You know you can get better the more you do things."

The Anderson file

Name: Heather Anderson

Age: 42

Residence: Patton; Michigan native

Career: Motivational speaker, author

Next big adventure: Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa in February

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