After losing her job during the coronavirus pandemic, Shilletha Curtis was depressed, riddled with self-doubt, and yearning for something bigger when she met a hiker who introduced her to the Appalachian Trail. At first the idea of hiking 2,193 miles seemed impossible, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that the forest was calling to her—an invisible yet powerful spiritual invitation to the wild. In 2021, Shilletha embarked on the daunting goal to hike the Appalachian Trail in its entirety.
A long-distance hike presents many potential hazards—the arduous terrain, unpredictable weather, and, of course, safety concerns. As a Black queer woman, Shilletha looked to the Appalachian Trail hiking community for support and found herself sometimes ostracized from the predominantly white space both online and on the trails. But she's no stranger to climbing mountains in her life. After a lifelong struggle with treatment-resistant depression and PTSD, Shilletha was determined to not only confront the roots of her childhood traumas, but also to change the narrative about hiking while Black. Pack light is the triumphant story of a woman’s determination to prove that the Great Outdoors belongs to everyone.
