Lyla Harrod -Divide to Crest Route: 3,000 miles from Crazy Cook to Cascades

About the speaker • Lyla “Sugar” Harrod is a sober, queer transgender woman with over 13,000 miles of long distance hiking experience. She is the first transgender woman to complete the Triple Crown of long distance hiking. Lyla has set Fastest Known Times including the women’s unsupported FKT of New Hampshire’s 48 4,000 footers. Lyla is also the founder of Trail QTs a mentoring program for queer and trans first-time thru-hikers and advocates publicly for trans rights within the hiking community and beyond.

About the presentation • This past summer, Lyla created and hiked a route connecting the southern end of the Continental Divide to the northern end of the Pacific Crest Trail called the "Divide to Crest Route". It wanders over 3,000 miles through the vast deserts, forests and mountain ranges of some of the most rugged and remote terrain in the American West. Lyla will share about the beauty, joys and hardships of this experience and dig into some of the unique cultural dynamics she experienced.

This event is free; bring a dish to share at the potluck and a cash/Venmo donation for the speaker.

The sunrise hike • On Sunday morning, Lyla and Fireside Chat director Philip "Finding Philip" Carcia will hike Mount Moosilauke via the Gorge Brook Trail for sunrise. Anyone is welcome to join, however, the hike is unguided; participants must have prior experience hiking 4000’ers in winter and be prepared to hike solo if needed. Hiking start time from trailhead is TBD.

To attend

Doors open at 6 pm. Bring a meal if attending the potluck from 6-7 pm. The presentations run from 7:30 to 8:30 pm followed by Q&A 'til 9 pm. Arrive early; seating is limited. To attend:

1) Book a stay at the Notch on the night of the presentation, park in the main lot.*

OR

2) Show up anytime after the doors open to the public at 6pm. Bring a meal to share for the 6-7pm potluck dinner. VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: If you are NOT a guest at the Notch, you must park on Lost Valley Road (not Lost River Road!!!) behind the hostel's picket fence and walk through the backyard. In the event of a snowstorm, no street parking is allowed so members of the public may need to walk or shuttle in from town.

OR

3) Tune in via Instagram Live; we'll be streaming from our account @NotchHostel.

*Note: If our overnight accommodations fill up, please don't let that deter you from joining us for dinner and the presentation. These talks are open to the public. There are other local hostels like the Barn Door Hostel in Rumney, or the Coho Hostel over in Conway, that may still have space.