K.A. Hrycik
K.A. Hrycik grew up in a small town in Western New York, where she could be found outside in the midst of one adventure or another, like catching frogs with her sister or snowboarding with her friends. The adventures progressed, and, at 18, she got in a plane for the first time … then jumped out. That evolved into a summer in Alaska, another summer on a tall ship in the Pacific, and time abroad.
It’s hiking trails that keep calling her to come back to America though. It could be a two-mile loop in her backyard or crossing the High Sierra in California. Her brother first introduced her to the idea of long-distance backpacking when he thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail. The idea turned into reality in 2012, when they hiked 1,600 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail together. In 2014, Hrycik returned to California to start the PCT at the Mexican border at dawn on a cool, May morning. Three and a half months later, in true hiker fashion, she reached the Canadian border dirty, smelly, tired, hungry, and with awe, pride, and phenomenal calves. She was hooked—to put it lightly—and including the PCT, she’s logged over 4,500 miles.
In addition to her travels, Hrycik received a degree in biology and a minor in art history from Vassar College, and enjoys including the intersection of science and art in her writing. She uses Western New York as her home base, where she tutors and teaches swimming. She sometimes even helps her brother renovate his Victorian house, after which Dane’s house in Hold For Hiker Trash is modeled—though she refuses to scrape paint.
She’s not exactly sure where she’ll be next, but she has people for “not exactly sure”, so she’s OK with that.
