It took me three years to acknowledge my experience as a Latina Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

It was supposed to be published in a hard-copy magazine in December.

Note: in 2019, 7.6% of thru-hikers on the PCT are BIPOC, 2% are Latinos, 40% are female. Latinas are less than 1% on the trail.

Halfway Anywhere.

It took 3-months of pouring my heart out only to find out at the last moment my article was pulled before it went to press. The reactions from the election caused my voice to be oppressed.

From that point, it took 5-months to find a publisher who could now host this article. Thanks, GGG!

It was an emotional rollercoaster.
I would question: will it ever get published? Do I have any intellectual rights over this article? What are the intentions of this publisher? Should I move it? Whom do I trust? Whom did I turn to consult to ensure it gets seen?

On top of that:
When I wrote my article, I cried several times as I relived these memories and recognized the implicit bias and stereotypes from backpacking the PCT. From November-March, I felt conflicted and ultimately felt my voice and story were oppressed. I had never felt this hurt in a long time. I cried for days, wondering what I could do or what I should do.

Once again, thank you to my allies who supported me and walked me through this process. My vision was to inspire people before their thru-hike. As time passed, I felt my vision and voice was drifting again all over again.

For a moment, I questioned myself and this piece, which is something no one should ever experience.

I didn’t understand how this inspirational piece turned to be the most challenging thing to get seen.
Thankfully it’s out there. Thank you to everyone who supported me to make sure this gets seen NOW when people are about to take off for their thru-hike or section hike. LMK what you think!

https://www.garagegrowngear.com/blogs/trail-talk/latina-thru-hiking-the-pct