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
[email protected]
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 [email protected].
Katie Mitchell
Katie is the head editor of THRU-HIKING.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 anywhere in the world between Mexico and New Zealand. Katie has hiked the Camino Frances, Peaks of the Balkans, the Fisherman’s Trail, and extensively in the United States. If you have any questions or want to be a part of the team, reach out to her at [email protected]!
Jochem de Jong
Jochem is new to the team and becoming an experienced hiker quickly! He has hiked the Fishermen’s Trail, Laugavegur and a part of the Lycian Way in 2022. But his heart is with his camera and shooting the best pictures along the way. 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: [email protected] and maybe you can join us in the future!
Meet the ambassadors
Jannik and Thomas (Trekkinglife)
At Trekkinglife, it is all about trekking and hiking adventures, but most importantly, having a great time in nature. This can be on a long distance trail in Germany, a road trip through Scandinavia, or an outdoor week in the Alps. They try to combine the best of two worlds, and that’s why they call themselves “Body“ (Jannik) and “Brain“ (Thomas). You will understand when you follow their adventures. But when it comes to a cold beer after a long and active day, they’re all the same and enjoy it likewise!
Marco Koevoets
Marco travels all over the world and has become hooked on hiking. He has walked the Inca Trail in Peru, multiple hikes in the United States and several parts of the Sentiero D’Italia. He wants to cross the High Tatra in the near future and combines all of this with a busy job at a bank. Marco will visit Jordan soon and will most likely hike several trails in Germany next year. He’s always looking for hidden gems in Europe!
Hani
Hanka’s love affair with hiking began on the other side of the world – in New Zealand! She lived and hiked there for a year, just a woman, her van, and a backpack. Now, she’s home in the Czech Republic where she became a new mom in 2022. She wants to show other (future) mums that hiking with a baby is a new level of adventure! Her past trails include hiking thru New Zealand, Austria, Slovakia, Italy, Slovenia, Germany, Switzerland, and Tenerife.
Lisa
Lisa has been thru-hiking for about ten years, mostly solo. The reason Lisa thru-hikes is quite simple: she is at her most content when amongst nature, where the only cares she has are keeping warm, making sure she has enough food and water, and ensuring that she’s walking in the right direction! Of course, thru-hiking isn’t always as romantic as Instagram makes it out to be. So when she writes about the experiences, she always includes the bad times as well as the good. Learn more about Lisa’s adventures on her website.
Harry Rule
Harry is an avid solo thru-hiker whose passion is to find lesser-known or dormant trails, bring them back to life, and get people hiking! Harry has completed many long-distance hikes across Europe and Asia and can routinely be found in the mountainous regions of Europe seasoned with frequent trips to the Scottish Highlands. He has written extensively about hiking and his favorite trail (so far) is the Via Alpina Yellow. Harry plans to undertake the Great Himalaya Trail, the Via Alpina Red & The Hungarian Blue National Trail and when not hiking he can be found cold water swimming or foraging for food in the wild.
Liz Guerrero
Elizabeth, better known as Liz (or the Chick that hikes in skirts); Trail Names Hairspray & Adventure Chicken, is a Mexican-American Southern California native with a passion for the outdoors, hiking and backpacking. Over the past two years, she has thru-hiked the Trans-Catalina-Trail twice, completed the Lost Coast Trail, started section hiking the PCT, and climbed to the Roof of Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro. In 2023, she plans to continue to section hike the PCT, as well as thru-hike the High Sierra Trail, and hike in Peru.
Mathilde Fox
Meet Mathilde – born and raised on the stunning Reunion Island, she’s a nature enthusiast with a passion for exploring the great outdoors. When she’s not working, you’ll find Mathilde trekking along rugged mountain trails or pounding the dirt paths on her trail runs. With a 110km trail run on the horizon at the end of the year, she’s been training hard and pushing herself to new heights. This summer, Mathilde’s got some epic hiking projects lined up – from exploring the stunning landscapes of Reunion Island, to tackling the legendary GR20 in Corsica, the picturesque High Tatras in Slovakia, and the breathtaking Hardangervidda National Park in Norway. Mathilde’s always up for a challenge and ready to embrace new adventures – follow her journey and get inspired by her love for the outdoors!
Mathias Verschueren
Mats is a 31-year-old nature and photography addict living in Antwerp, Belgium. Besides hiking and climbing up mountains, he mostly spends his time as a father and a concert/event photographer! There’s something special about being up in the mountains all alone. Ever since he’s begun hiking, he’s made it a personal challenge to take it further, step by step. For instance, last summer he took a 2-week off-trail expedition hike in Greenland. This year, Mats will hike in Iceland, Norway, and France. You can learn more about Mats’ projects here.
Shanna Bussink (Rayu)
Rayu is a solo hiker at heart. She has hiked in the wilds of Canada, embarked on freestyling through Montenegro and Latvia, and has also hit the beaten track of Kungsleden, Rota Vicentina and the Jordan Trail, among others. She is a certified hike & survival instructor, and also runs the all-round preparation process for the Fjällräven Classic Sweden and gives workshops. Be sure to check out her website: hikenbeginthier.nl.
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.
