About the Thru-Hiking Team
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Meet the team!
Thru-hiking.com
Thru-hiking.com is founded by a group of enthusiastic hikers and supported by dedicated ambassadors. The information on the website is continuously updated and improved weekly by all of us. Check in often for new thru-hikes, articles, and blogs.
Would you like to add something, ask a question, or collaborate with us? Don’t hesitate to contact the Thru-Hiking team at
info@thru-hiking.com
Meet the team
Elmar Teegelbeckers
Elmar is the founder of THRU-HIKING.com and an enthusiastic hiker. You can wake him at any hour up for the most beautiful trails, preferably in the mountains or desolated areas. He has walked the Annapurna Circuit, Laugavegur, Fishermen’s Trail and dozens of other trails in the European Alps. Elmar recently completed the Slovenian Mountain Trail and works at the NKBV and for THRU-HIKING.com. Reach him at info@thru-hiking.com.
Katie Mitchell
Katie is the head editor of THRU-HIKING.com and hiking-trails.com and the manager of our community portal. That is, when she’s in range! She can mostly be found on the trail or working from a remote place around the world. Katie has hiked the Camino Frances, the Peaks of the Balkans, the Fisherman’s Trail, and extensively throughout Europe and in the United States. If you have any questions or want to be a part of the team, reach out to her at katie@thru-hiking.com.
Jochem de Jong
Jochem is THRU-HIKING’s photographer and creative lead. His heart is with his camera and shooting the best pictures along the way on each trail. Many of the pictures you see on THRU-HIKING.com are shot by Jochem. Check out his website for more stunning content.
Chris König
Chris works as an outdoor photographer and can regularly be found in nature with his camera and tent: the higher the mountain, the better. He is always on the lookout for the balance between real emotion, atmosphere, and lively action. Next to his passion for photography, he organizes workshops in countries such as Iceland and Kyrgyzstan.
You?
Help us out! THRU-HIKING.com is founded by a group of enthusiastic hikers and supported by several volunteers. Do you enjoy thru-hiking, and do you want to build a community with us? Do you like writing and exploring new trails? Send an e-mail to: info@thru-hiking.com and maybe you can join us in the future!
Meet the ambassadors
Anna Heupel
Hi, I’m Anna. I work as an outdoor photographer, author, and content creator with a deep love for life in motion and time spent outside. Growing up in Germany’s Rothaargebirge made me a true middle-mountain person at heart, so I feel most at home among misty forests, rolling hills, and wide, quiet landscapes. Through my work, I combine photography with outdoor adventure, creating visual stories in beautiful natural settings together with brands and inspiring people. But even off camera, you’ll usually find me on a trail somewhere hiking, exploring, and breathing in fresh air. I’m especially drawn to long-distance hikes in low mountain ranges. For me, being outdoors means freedom, clarity, and feeling truly connected to the nature around me.
Daphny Raes
Daphny (@explorewithdaphny) is an outdoor photographer based in the Netherlands and combines her passion for photography with her love for the mountains.
She spends a lot of time hiking for work, documenting landscapes and long-distance routes, and often hikes solo as well.
Over the last few years, she has hiked all over the world in remote places like Madagascar, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Last summer, she wildcamped the Scottish Skye Trail, spent a full month in the Swiss and Italian Alps, and climbed Kilimanjaro, constantly pushing herself out of her comfort zone.
This coming summer, she will set out on her biggest adventure yet, hiking the 750 km Alpe Adria Trail solo.
Louise Tynan
I’m Louise, the face behind irishgirlexplores. I’m a hiker from Dublin, Ireland, with a focus on encouraging people to spend more time outdoors.
Through photography and storytelling, I share experiences on hikes big and small, from the Pacific Crest Trail in 2024 to local walks on the coastal path in Devon. My goal is to open people’s eyes to the beauty of nature and, even if they can’t get outside, to inspire and spark curiosity.
I want hiking to feel accessible and worth prioritising, especially for those who didn’t grow up with access to it, like me.
As an ambassador for Hiking Trails, I’m proud to support a platform that celebrates hiking culture while educating and motivating people to step into nature, whatever distance that may be.
Marina Ollé Hurtado
Hey! I’m Marina, and I’m usually either out in the mountains or sharing what I’ve learned along the way.
I grew up spending loads of time in nature with my parents, so hiking has always been part of my life. Besides hiking, I’m into pretty much any excuse to be outside (rock climbing, skiing, mountain biking), which is exactly why I left Barcelona and now call Andorra home.
I didn’t do my first hut-to-hut hike until my sister talked me into Carros de Foc in 2018… and that was it! Since then, I’ve done at least one hut-to-hut hike every year, all in the Pyrenees. Even though it’s “just” one mountain range, it somehow keeps surprising me every single time. Some favourites so far have been Alta Ruta de los Perdidos and Coronallacs (I’m a huge fan of alpine lakes!), but I also love discovering quieter, lesser-known routes like Travessa dels 3 Refugis.
Nicola Whitbread
Nicola Whitbread is a U.K.-based hiker chasing long miles and big skies. She loves the simplicity of carrying everything she needs in a backpack, the challenge of solo hiking, and the bliss of reading a book in her tent after a long day of hiking.
She finds confidence, freedom, and peace on the trail, and it is very much her happy place.
In 2026, Nicola will be hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and other, smaller, long-distance hikes in the UK, like the Cambrian Way.
You can follow Nicola on Instagram @nicola.navigates.
Ryan Hosegood
Ryan is a Canadian (also American, but he likes to say that’s through a technicality) thru-hiker who has left corporate America to complete 7 hikes on 7 continents. Oblivious to the world of thru hiking, but an avid hiker of daily peaks, a chance encounter on the top of Mt. Whitney with a PCT hiker from Montreal in 2022 changed his views on hiking. A quick 48-hour binge of what the PCT entailed and the thought of “I’m going to do that one day” set him into a spiral of discovering what else existed in the world of thru’s and eventually the goal of 7 on 7. Ryan has since completed the PCT and is currently tramping Te Araroa, documenting every step of the way, and while he’s known as just Ryan on the TA, the PCT has him branded as Bubbles, aka Bubs.
Timothy Larsen
Hey! I’m Tim, and I’m psyched for adventure and telling stories. My current favourite way of going on adventures is thru-hiking (although you might find me trail running or rock climbing from time to time). Born and raised in South Africa, I only discovered the exciting world of thru-hiking in 2024; and on the spur of the moment, when feeling particularly lost in life, I booked a one-way flight to Georgia to hike the TCT in autumn 2025. After three epic months alone, fighting through snowstorms and terrifying shepherd dogs, I decided that this was the life for me! I have 7,000km of hiking planned for 2026 (if my visa arrives, I’ll be hiking Europe’s newest trail, The Wolf Trail) and even more in 2027! See you out there!
Meet the contributors
Rhana Aarts
Rhana has traveled extensively over the past years and has lived abroad for several periods of time. She likes to go on (solo) hiking adventures with her tent and backpack for one or more days. She has walked the Pieterpad and the Tour du Mont Blanc and wants to walk the Te Araroa in New Zealand. In her daily life, she is busy getting her doctoral degree and in her free time, she writes for THRU-HIKING.com.
Joël Wüstehube
Joël discovered hiking for himself through landscape photography. To discover lesser-known places, he has embarked on various long-distance hikes in Germany. Since then he has gone on several hikes in Europe and published videos of his trips and the things he learned on his youtube channel. For THRU-HIKING.com, he writes articles and provides us with photos from his hikes. You can find more of his work on his website.
Juliette Bolen
Juliette is a very sociable and sporty girl, who is passionate about hiking and mountains. She’s trekked Tour du Mont Blanc, GR57, a large part of the famous GR5 in France, and also does winter trekking. In her spare time, she climbs and bikepacks. She is studying in Finland, where she’s immersing herself in Arctic sports and writing her thesis on how she can encourage young people to get out on the trekking trails. She loves to write and contributes to THRU-HIKING.com with pleasure! Her ultimate dream is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail in America.
