Thru-Hike the Superior Hiking Trail

Annie Nelson learned how to build fires at Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. She grew up climbing the northwoods' trees and boulders, skipping stones into Lake Superior, and trying to swim in its frigid waters. She started backpacking solo in 2016. A year later, Annie thru-hiked the Superior Hiking Trail (SHT) for the first time. Since then, she has backpacked more than 2,000 miles. In 2019, she thru-hiked the SHT a second time while hiking a third of America's longest National Scenic Trail: the North Country Trail. (She made it 1,500 miles.) Annie is from St. Paul, Minnesota, and frequently travels to the North Shore. Thru-hiking the SHT changed her life. Her gratitude for that experience spawned a desire to help others successfully thru-hike the trail. Annie worked as a journalist for 10 years, and she hopes that her experiences as both a backpacker and a writer make for a useful, enjoyable guide.