Lauren Roerick "Longway" – Thru-Hiking the World: PCT, HexaTrek & Te Araroa

Lauren Roerick, known on trail as Longway, is a long-distance backpacker, filmmaker, and outdoor educator who has hiked across North America, Europe, and Oceania. From the Pacific Crest Trail to New Zealand's Te Araroa, and becoming the first North American woman to thru-hike France's 3,034 km HexaTrek, Lauren shares her adventures and the lessons they've taught her.

In this episode, she talks about stepping into the world of long-distance hiking in her 30s, navigating challenges on remote trails, making decisions in the moment, and learning to trust herself. Through her storytelling and filmmaking, Lauren inspires women to build confidence, resilience, and a deeper connection with the outdoors—proving that it's never too late to take that first step.

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Show notes

• Who is Lauren
• Long distance backpacker and film maker
• Currently in California, but normally based out of Vancouver, Canada
• Her early year growing up in a small city in Southern Alberta called Lethbridge
• Not getting into backpacking until her 30s
• Playing a lot of sports, being a gymnasts, playing rugby and doing jujitsu 
• What changed in her 30s
• A walk in the books by Bill Bryson - the classic thru-hiker read 
• Having the courage to take the step to make her dreams come true
• Why the first step is the hardest 
• You get one life….
• Being willing to sacrifice the other things 
• What's really important to you
• Support from family 
• March 2020 and being on the trail when the pandemic started 
• Moving in with her mum in Southern California for 4 months 
• Making the decision to leave the trail 
• Why it wasn't an easy decision to make 
• Heading back the following year (2021) and not knowing if she would get the chance to hike again
• Being made redundant after 6 months 
• Finding a southbound permit for the PCT at the end of June 
• Being drawn to hike on long trails 
• Making life long friendships and building community while hiking 
• Starting to document her hikes as soon as she started
• Vlogging for THE TREK
• Being a documenter - but not having experience in vlogging 
• Her biggest challenge while being on the PCT 
• The fires, the weather and needing t