After being diagnosed with cancer in 2020, Rebecca Sperry underwent years of treatment all while being in graduate school, working part-time, and hiking over 1,000 miles mostly in the White Mountains National Forest of NH. You may know her as a Hyperlite Ambassador or from her wonderful articles and think-pieces on thru-hiker culture or from her honest updates about hiking through cancer, but wherever you know her from Iโm glad youโre tuning in with us to learn more of her inspiring story.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The full recorded interview can be found here @appalachian.trail on Instagram. All photos courtesy of Rebecca Sperry.
What first inspired you to get into hiking solo?
One day in 2015 I wanted to go hiking and my husband didnโt feel like going. So, I decided to try going solo. I hiked Mount Major which is not that large of a mountain in New Hampshire, but I did it solo. I got hooked mostly because I think hiking solo as a woman was really empowering for me.
From there, I started doing a couple of other hikes that summer and then I stopped once it got colder. In 2016, I found what was then called โAppalachian Trialsโ and became enamored with the idea of doing a thru-hike and the idea of being a long distance backpacker. I never ended up doing anything over 3 days, but I really fell into the thru-hiking community from my mindset and my connection with The Trek. I love it, I love hiking, I love being outside and I love hiking solo. It is probably my favorite thing in the world.
So, are the White Mountains basically in your backyard? You seem to spend a lot of time there.
The White Mountains are about 90 minutes north of me, so theyโre basically my backyard as far as Iโm concerned.
In regards to your 52 weeks of cancer treatment, on your blog where you logged over 100 hikes during that time, you write, โI experienced more life in the last year, while in treatment, than any other year of my life.โ Can you explain what you meant by that?
I think that the thing thatโs difficult about cancer is that you canโt understand what itโs like to go through it until youโre going through it. I think thereโs a huge connection there with thru-hiking too. You go through this really crazy experience out there in the wilderness and you become kind of a different person - youโre transformed. For me, hiking and pushing my body physically while going through that cancer treatment, I think I filled more time up throughout the day during then than I ever did before in my life. Which is kind of crazy cause I was sick for the vast majority of the year! But I think I knew just how important it was to be active and continue to use my brain because of the effects of the treatment. So I just pushed myself to think and move way further than I normally would have because I didnโt want to have those horrible side effects.
Do you think that helped alleviate some of the physical side effects of your treatment?
The big thing with chemotherapy that the doctors will tell you while youโre in treatment is that theyโre really trying to make you sick. The particular drug I was on affects your gastrointestinal and skin and hair, which is why you lose your hair. But what you can do to kind of alleviate some of the side effects of being exhausted, anemic, and feeling all-around horrible is exercise. I asked my oncologist about my hiking capabilities, and they told me to do as much as I could handle and Iโd know when to stop. It helped a LOT. Even if I was just on the treadmill for 20 minutes, I felt better. My brain felt better. I really think the main reason I came through chemotherapy and was able to get back to life a little easier was because of how much I exercised through treatment.
In your writings, you say โEveryone faces cancer in their own way. Some choose to do every single thing possible to ward off a recurrence. Some people choose to not do treatment at all. Then, there are the rest of us, somewhere in the middle, just trying to find our way and make decisions nobody should have to make.โ Would you say that hiking made it easier to process and make those decisions?
It was very difficult because at first, I didnโt want to do chemo. Then they sat me down and told me this would kill me. So when you have somebody sit there and tell you that, you kind of come to terms with it or you donโt. I did research and I listened to the doctors.
I actually chose to not continue my hormone therapy treatment - I was supposed to continue another 4 ยฝ years - and a huge factor that played into that decision was that the medication they had me on was affecting my ability to hike. My stamina, endurance, and quality of life were affected, but Iโm doubling my risk of recurrence because Iโm choosing to not continue. Itโs been rough - Iโm not going to say itโs been easy.
Iโve been โdoneโ with treatment technically for 2 months now, which is great because Iโm feeling stronger. Iโve come to terms with it. At first it was really hard and I felt like a quitter and that I couldโve continued. But thereโs people everywhere that choose to stop treatment and none of them are weak or incapable - theyโre choosing for a reason, too. So Iโve come to terms with it.
I understand youโve since adopted a section of trail in the Whites National Forest, can you tell me a little about what that process is like, getting involved in trail maintenance in that way, and what duties or responsibilities that carries?
So thereโs a local - I feel like everything goes through local channels up here - thereโs a local up here whoโs involved in trail maintenance and I talked to him years ago about adopting a trail. He said he managed the trail that went through the Whites National Forest and that Iโd need to get on their Facebook Page where they listed the sections that were available. So, I had a section years ago. Then, last spring, I decided I wanted to give back to The Whites because of how much I had gotten out of them and saw Cedar Brook Trail was up for adoption. The guy who worked for the National Forest in that section of The Whites connected with me and walked me through the process. It really wasnโt that difficult.
I love exploring the different ways hikers have gotten into trail maintenance. So what kind of trail maintenance activities do you do in your section?
First, I attended a new volunteer training. They show you places you can borrow tools at caches hidden in different parts of the White Mountains and how to do all the basic things. After that, I was a Level One Maintainer. I go out and do โbrushingโ to clear the corridor, clear any debris that I can physically pick up and move, clear water bars, and remove some small blowdowns. They usually donโt want you doing anything bigger than your wrist and youโre not allowed to use a chainsaw or axe unless youโve been officially trained, which I have not. I could theoretically do blazing as well, but my section is in the wilderness which means itโs not allowed there. I love going out with tools to play in the woods, and as a woman I feel itโs kind of empowering and not something that I ever would normally do (and I donโt own a house) so itโs really fun to be in charge of this section of forest. Iโm supposed to head out there at least once in spring and once in fall.
A follower of mine recently sent me an article of yours, โRemaining Relevant in the Outdoor Industryโ. In this you write about the important role hiking plays in your mental health but that, โthe pressure to do something Instagram-worthy now that Iโm technically done with cancer treatment is still thereโ. How do you use that pressure in a positive way, and what advice would you have for someone in this industry struggling with the pressure of social media?
I like being held accountable and being public about what Iโm doing because it challenges me to remain active. Iโm actually pretty lazy and not a very athletic person, so when I donโt feel like getting up in the morning I can use that added pressure to get up and go do something. Over the years that has definitely helped me continue being active. In terms of navigating it, Iโve had to learn a lot over the last year that I didnโt realize at first about being public with my life. Learning to navigate the difference between a friendship and a business relationship with people was unexpected and has been difficult for me. I had to learn to not take it personally and just because I dipped into this personal subject with someone, that didnโt mean we had more than a business relationship.
I also feel like there is a lot of pressure to keep hiking and keep doing and keep posting and remaining relevant. I think there are a lot of people who only do one thru-hike and then thatโs it and theyโre good and theyโre moving on with their life, and then thereโs the pressure from social media to continue being active in that role. They say โwhatโs nextโ, or theyโll click the unfollow button. Maybe thatโs a sign itโs time to take a step back from social media.
Okay, this one is mostly for me the next time I visit NH. What are some of your favorite peaks in the Whites that youโve summitted?
I recommend that if you're thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, just take a right when you get to the Guyot Campsite and go straight until you hit The Bons. Itโs technically 3 peaks and itโs equivalent to Franconia in terms of views and is in the middle of nowhere - and if you come back to hike it itโs a 20 mile day with about 5,000 feet of climbing. Iโll say Isolation is another great one, and depending on what trail you take, is about 14 miles total and it has a really good view of The Presidential Range.
Before we officially wrap up, Rebecca, are there any shoutouts youโd like to give or anything youโd like to touch on?
Iโd love to thank the hiking community. Itโs been a really tough year and a half and everyone has been really wonderful in supporting me. I feel grateful to be a part of this community.
Rebecca Sperry
@sockedinhikes
Oats Hikes
@oatshikes
Katie "Oats" Houston (she/her) is a freelance outdoor writer and content creator based in Austin, TX. After being bit by the thru-hiking bug in 2019 on the Appalachian Trail, Katie has since got the Colorado Trail and Lone Star Hiking Trail under her belt with a bucket list of many, many more in her future. She enjoys any opportunity to write about her adventures, good trail ethics, and trail stewardship and currently works as the Social Media Lead for The Trek. Check out her adventures with Thru the husky at her website and Instagram.
