

Her hiking and backpacking accomplishments, as well as her influence as an outdoor role model, are remarkable and momentous.

She had trail support from legendary ultra-runner and former AT and Pacific Crest Trail speed record holder David Horton, as well as veteran AT expert Warren Doyle and Davis' husband, Brew Davis. To break the record, Jennifer hiked an average of 47 miles a day, camping along the trail.

Her goal was to hike the entire 2,180-mile faster than the current overall speed record of 47 days, 13 hours and 31 minutes, which she did in 46 days. Jennifer hiked from Katahdin, Maine to Springer Mountain, Georgia. Jennifer is the first woman to hold the overall title. In the summer of 2011, Jennifer topped her own 2008 Women's Endurance Record for the fastest thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, making her the overall record holder for both women and men. She has hiked and traveled on six continents some of the highlights include Mount Kilimanjaro, the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and the 600-mile Bibbulmun Track in Australia. Since then, Jennifer has hiked more than 11,000 miles on six different continents, with North American hikes including the Pacific Crest Trail, Vermont's Long Trail, and the Colorado Trail, and completed three thru-hikes on the Appalachian Trail. At age twenty-one, Jennifer hiked the entire Appalachian Trail as a solo female and fell in love with long-distance backpacking.

Jennifer Pharr Davis grew up in the North Carolina Mountains, where she developed a love for hiking at a young age. And she learns that the Appalachian Trail is more than a 2,175 mile hike: it is a journey that will change a person forever. As she travels along the ridges of the ancient mountain chain, she realizes that she isn’t walking through nature-she realizes she is part of nature. With every step she takes, Jennifer transitions from an over-confident college graduate to a student of the trail. But even at her lowest points, it provides enduring friendships, unexpected laughter, and the gift of self-discovery. The trail becomes a modern day Odyssey that tests Jennifer’s faith in God, humanity and herself. The next five months are the most physically and emotionally challenging of her life-coping with blisters and aching shoulders, hiking through endless torrents of rain and a blizzard, facing unwanted company and encountering tragedy. Through inexperienced and unprepared, she feels drawn to the Appalachian Trail and sets out along on the long-distance footpath that stretches 2,175 miles from Georgia to Maine. After graduating from college, Jennifer isn’t sure what she wants to do with her life.
