Airman hiking 710 miles to honor wounded soldiers

Tech. Sgt. Stacy Trosine is on the journey of a lifetime. The Fairchild Air Force Base airman is hiking 710 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, much of it alone, in honor of three soldiers she served with in Afghanistan.

She started the trek on Aug. 8.

Trosine has been deployed seven times in her 18-year military career, including three stints in Afghanistan, but her most recent deployment affected her profoundly.

“I was embedded with the 466th EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) last year. I was deployed with the most amazing group of men,” she said during an interview before she left on her hike. “On one of the missions, three of our guys got blown up during an ambush.”

She paused and cleared her throat. “It was hard to deal with.”

Trosine returned home determined to do something to honor the wounded soldiers’ courage and sacrifice.

On her blog, she wrote, “I was in awe by everything that I have witnessed and got to know about these outstanding EOD techs.”

As an ultra runner (she runs races that are longer than marathon distance), she’s no stranger to pushing herself and testing her limits, and she enjoys hiking. “I’ve been an outdoors person for a very long time.”

She said her solitary runs and hikes helped her heal emotionally after her recent deployment, and that’s how she conceived the idea to hike the Pacific Crest Trail as a fundraiser for the EOD Warrior Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit organization that honors fallen EOD soldiers and provides assistance to wounded EOD soldiers and the families of wounded and fallen EOD personnel.

Trosine hopes to raise $3,000 during her hike. “I want to dedicate my hike and raise money to support these techs and their families,” she said.

Though she’s always loved the outdoors, the New Jersey native is fairly new to backpacking. “In 2008, I went backpacking for the first time. I loved it – the solitude – the beauty.”

The Pacific Crest Trail begins in Southern California at the Mexican border and travels a total distance of 2,650 miles through California, Oregon and Washington before reaching the Canadian border.

“When I retire, I’d like to hike the whole trail,” she said.

The trail gained attention following the success of the book “Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail” by Cheryl Strayed and the movie based on the book.

From her starting point in Elk Lake, Oregon, Trosine will hike through Washington and into Manning Park, British Columbia, where she’ll end her journey.

She plans to travel 20 to 25 miles a day and hopes to cover the distance within 36 days.

Trosine will be carrying supplies including a lightweight sleeping bag, food and a water filtration system. Friends and family members will leave supplies at designated points along the trail.

Her backpack weighed in at 16 pounds. “That’s the base weight, without food, fuel and water,” she said. “I’ll get lighter when I hike the entire Appalachian Trail in 2017.”

The conditions of the trail don’t daunt her. “I love roughing it,” she said.

As she makes her solitary journey, she won’t be truly alone. The thoughts of her friends who were wounded in Afghanistan are always with her.

“I feel like this is the least I can do to pay them back and say thank you,” she said. “I want to do this for the three of them.”