5-Month Appalachian Trail Trek Is Novel Destination

Shelley Hurtado summited Mt. Katahdin in Maine

as part of her trek on the Appalachian Trail in 2017.

Shelley Hurtado’s backpacking trek on the Appalachian Trail will be the Novel Destinations program at the library Friday, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m.
The mother of two and a wife of 23 years, Hurtado is a commercial and residential Realtor in Coeur d’Alene.
“I grew up along the coast in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California and often went camping with my family any time we could get away,” she said.
Graduating from the University of California San Diego in 1988, she lived in San Diego until relocating with her husband to Coeur d’Alene in 2000.
“In January 2016, I decided to do something truly epic to celebrate my upcoming 50th birthday in June, 2017. I chose to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail heading northbound from Georgia to Maine,” Hurtado said. “I have never done anything like this in my life!”
After a lot of research and accumulating gear, she began her adventure on March 1, 2017.  Five months later she had hiked through 14 states and nearly 2,200 miles to summit Mt. Katahdin in Baxter State Park, Maine. She completed the through-hike on July 30, 2017.
Novel Destinations is sponsored by the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Foundation to provide area residents the opportunity to share their photos and stories from trips around the world. Anyone with a program to share is encouraged to contact the Library Foundation at 208-769-2380 or by email at  cdalibraryfoundation@gmail.com.