Heather Anderson

With 28,000 miles to her name, 2019 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Heather Anderson has made history on America's most iconic trails. Anderson, who goes by the trail name Anish, is the only woman who has thru-hiked the U.S.'s mega trails — the Appalachian, the Continental Divide, and the Pacific Crest three times. This includes her historic Calendar Year Triple Crown hike in 2018 when she hiked all three of those trails in one March-November season, making her the first female to do so.

She also holds the overall self-supported Fastest Known Time (FKT) on the Pacific Crest Trail (2013) – hiking it in 60 days, 17 hours, 12 min, which broke the previous men’s record by four days and established the first female record. She also holds the female self-supported FKT on the Appalachian Trail (2015) in a time of 54 days, 7 hours, 48 minutes, and the Arizona Trail (2016) which she completed in 19 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes.

As a professional speaker, Anderson speaks regularly about her adventures and the lessons learned on trail. She is the author of "Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home," chronicling her Pacific Crest Trail record, and "Mud, Rocks, Blazes: Letting Go on the Appalachian Trail" about her 2015 AT record. She is also an avid mountaineer and peakbagger working on several ascent lists in the US and abroad.