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Ayesha "Heaps"

@wilderbound

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Dirt Princess / @hikerkind Athlete /@ouncedesign @meadowphysics
👑👑👑 Pacific Crest Trail 16&18&22 / Heysen&Bibbulmun Track 24 / CDT 25
Now: PCT 26

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PACIFIC CREST TRAIL / DAY ONE / 32.5 MILES || My life is inside out and upside down. A month and a half ago I would have never known I would be laying there shivering on a picnic table at CLEEF staring up at the inky black sky at the cold bright stars the morning of my third hike of this trail.

I slipped out of my bag to the snores of other hikers, the fairy lights above had never turned off and I tossed and turned freezing in my bag all night worrying that this big beautiful thing I loved so much I didn't know how to do anymore. My pack was heavy and lumpy and familiar yet strange and I packed my things away in an order that made no sense, the other hikers began to rise on their big day too and we walked toward the monument in the cool morning air.

The monument was a blur and then we walked into the desert under the clouds, but then they dissolved with the heat and I was huffing up climbs feeling all sorts of feelings that I couldn't place, but also knowing full well I was at last finally home again, we reached Lake Morena at 2pm threw back soda and ice cream wound through the hills under the overpass and kicked dust onto the backs of our legs. The desert sun turned from bright white to golden, the trail dripped in honey.

I passed my new friends and felt fucking electric, basically running up the trail. Trail legs day one? How can this be. The evening turned dark and cool and on went the headlamps and at 32 miles from where we began a voice calls out to ask us if we would like to camp with them? Yes.

I threw my pad down, it's cold again and I shivered, looked at the boughs of the trees above. There are so many memories here. Waves of nostalgia crashing into me. The great cycle of death and rebirth is restarting, the chariot, the tower. All at once I remember being just a 26 year old girl who had no idea how much this trail would change her, 28 not knowing the tumultuous love she would find. Now here I was again. A 32 year old woman with a broken heart knowing one thing for sure. That I had to come back to the place that made me feel most like me.

And finally after everything had fallen apart I knew right then that everything was going to be ok. taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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4 years ago

PACIFIC CREST TRAIL | DAY 115 | I took my first step on that last day, looked up at the moody sky with eyes that were still curious and a heart that was still restless. Seven miles left, memorizing all the tiny beautiful details. Six, walking uphill in the patchy sunlight. Five, sitting in the dirt chugging cool water. Four, clouds of dirt sticking to the back of my legs. Three, two, and all at once it was real. .
Time stopped there in the clearing, at the foot of the monument - the wind made the little flags dance just for us. It wasn’t triumphant or prideful. It just was. I cried, but my tears fell silently. Last time I was here I touched the damp wood and for the first time, knew what I was capable of. This time I realized there was so much more I needed to learn. The months of freedom had slowly softened my heart. They had made me unafraid to expose the depths of my soul that I had protected so fiercely for most of my life.
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But I knew right then what I never understood before. That running away from my life to the trail could not sustain my happiness, but it bought me closer to understanding what would stoke it; friendship, generosity, an open mind, a vulnerable heart, the ability to look foolish for the things you care about. That you may fuck up harder than you ever thought possible, but some sort of redemption can be found in being honest about where you fall short. That an entire journey can be pieced together just one step at a time.
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I had made the journey of a lifetime twice, gained a scar, felt strong, been fearless, flexed my calves in the mirror, lost friends, made friends, lost love and found love, as fragile as it was. The sun had bleached my hair, the exposure had wrinkled my skin, the dirt on my ankles wouldn’t rub off for weeks, but this beautiful journey - this was mine to keep. Something I would carry with me forever - long after my tan faded.
My name is Ayesha, I turned 29 years old on a mountainside, my feet are sore, my heart is raw, I just walked the PCT for the second time and I have no fucking idea what tomorrow will bring. I am not anyone special. I just believed in myself, gained 9 stitches in my leg and walked a bloody long way taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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8 years ago

PCT DAY 120 || SEPTEMBER 1ST || Hours melted away as I propelled myself down the trail. I discovered I was just six miles away from Canada. Six miles! I began to run as fast as I could. Five miles! I was jumping over roots. Four miles! Sliding over wet rocks. Three miles! Thick mud splattered up the backs of my legs. Two miles! I'm crawling over, under and around blow downs. Then just one mile, the tears began again. They flowed freely down my cheeks. Then the rain stopped and with it time stopped too. Then I was there, in the clearing staring up at the weathered monument. Its little flags dancing in the wind. The world was silent and I reached out to touch it. It was real. I was here. Just me and the end of everything. The journey of 2650 miles was over.
I sat down with my back against the wood, my head in my hands quietly sobbing. Waves of realisation crashing into me that it was all now slipping out of my hands. This perfect world was fading away. The one where for a moment I could be exactly the person I wanted to be. The one where my clothes were filthy, dirt was smeared on my face, my hair tangled and it didn't matter. Nothing mattered because I knew that I had found some sort of pure happiness that I had never felt before. The trail had stolen my heart and filled it to bursting. I'm not sure what exactly I was searching for when I began at the Mexican border, but I had found something magnificent. I will never perfectly explain what this trail meant to me, but I can tell you that the journey was bold, it was brave and it was so damn beautiful.
May 4th - September 1st.
- Heaps x taken in Pacific Crest Trail Northern Terminus by @wilderbound

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10 years ago

Pacific Crest Trail Episode Five | The torture and the beauty of the Range of Light. #ultralight #thruhike #thruhiking #mexicotocanada #pct2026 taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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a month ago

Episode Four | The end of the desert and the start of something completely different and beautiful @hikerkind #ultralight #thruhike #mexicotocanada #pct2026 #thruhiking taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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3 months ago

PACIFIC CREST TRAIL EPISODE THREE | a masterclass in things falling apart, narrated by someone wearing a very good fleece @hikerkind #pctig #pct2026 #pacificcresttrail #thruhiking #ultralight taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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3 months ago

Meet the Ultralight Alpha Midlayer.

Most fleece keeps you warm when you stop and overheats you when you move. Our first active insulation layer fixes that:

→ Polartec® Alpha™ Direct 90 insulation regulates body heat as your output changes.
→ Crossbody paneling adds core warmth where you need it most.
→ At 4.9 oz, it packs down smaller than a Nalgene.

Plus, 2026 Hikerkind Athlete @wilderbound has worn it every day on her fourth PCT thru-hike.

Limited quantities available now at the link in bio.

📷: @jtasker by @wilderbound

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4 months ago

Some fabrics have earned their reputation on the trail. Polartec® Alpha™ Direct 90 fleece is one of them.

Years in the making, our Ultralight Alpha Midlayer launches 6.23.26. Visit the link in bio for first access to this limited release.

🎥: @nikomargaros by @wilderbound

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4 months ago

Coming soon: A hiker kind of fleece.

The Ultralight Alpha Midlayer drops 6.23.26 with limited quantities. Link in bio for first access.

🎥: @nikomargaros by @wilderbound

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4 months ago

Pacific Crest Trail episode two, before the injury that would change the start of my hike. Sweet moments with new friends after a long day of rain, crackling fires, magic bananas and trying our hardest not to melt our shoes. The desert would be so different, but I didn’t know that yet. #Pct2026 #pacificcresttrail #thruhiking #thruhiker taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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4 months ago

Episode one. Campo to 27.5 miles into the unknown, the same unknown I’ve walked into four times now and somehow it never gets less exciting or less terrifying. This is PCT number four, ten years after the first time I stood at this monument with absolutely no idea what I was doing. I still don’t, but at least @hikerkind helped my fit look cute. This is just the beginning x ❤️#thruhike #ultralight #pct2026 #pacificcresttrail taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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4 months ago

Back and FORTH forever and ever 💛💛💛💛 @hikerkind #pct2026 #mexicotocanada #thepacificresttrail #theappalachiantrail taken in Pacific Crest Trail by @wilderbound

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5 months ago