Wander Women: Kristy & Annette — From Retirement to the Triple Crown of Hiking & a Life of Bold Adventure

In this episode of the Tough Girl Podcast, we meet Kristy and Annette—two inspiring women who completely transformed their lives after retirement. In 2015, they sold everything they owned, bought an RV, and set out to live life on their own terms. What began as a “retirement gift” hike on the Colorado Trail quickly evolved into a bold new chapter of full-time adventure.

Since then, Kristy and Annette have completed the Triple Crown of Hiking—the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail—and spend each year splitting their time between life on the road and life on foot.

Together, they share their journey of choosing freedom, rejecting fear, and expanding the limits of what life after 50 can look like. This episode is a powerful reminder that it's never too late to chase your dreams, explore the unknown, and live life unapologetically.

If you’ve ever felt the urge to change direction, embrace the outdoors, or reclaim your time and energy for what truly lights you up—this conversation is for you.

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Show notes

• Annette - working as a teacher and school Librarian 
• Deciding to retire in 2015 
• Doing a lot of backpacking trips before retirement 
• Giving themselves the trip to do the Colorado Trail as a retirement present
• Getting hooked on long hikes
• Travelling and hiking full time since them
• Growing up in California and being outdoorsy, but not getting into travelling and hiking until moving to Colorado as a senior in high school 
• Loving the South West of America
• Hiking the Appalachian Trail and having a blast!
• Meeting Kristy, born in Washington, USA before moving to Colorado at 8 years old
• Growing up adventuring and spending time in the mountains and woods
• Going to college on a basketball scholarship
• Always being active 
• Really enjoying the backpacking and spending long periods of time in nature as she’s gotten older
• Working as a mental health therapist and working with children who had early trauma
• Making a change in 2015 and deciding to end that chapter 
• Thinking that life is a gift and it goes by really fast and wanting to live it up while they can
• Wanting to do all of the hard things
• Wanting to write a new chapter and try new things
• Selling everything they owned and buying an RV
• Deciding to walk more long distan