Triple Crown Thru-Hiker

Jeremy Fillingim

Thru-Hiking | Long-Distance Adventures | Ultralight Gear

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Four trails. One long walk.

My name is Jeremy "NightWatch" Fillingim.

In 2016, I thru-hiked the 2,189.1-mile Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine and fell in love with hiking. Since then, I've completed the 2,600-mile Pacific Crest Trail in 2018, the 3,000-mile Continental Divide Trail in 2019, and the 1,500-mile Florida Trail in 2023.

2,189.1Appalachian Trail2016

2,600Pacific Crest Trail2018

3,000Continental Divide Trail2019

1,500Florida Trail2023

My Triple Crown Hikes

Short video of my hikes around the US.

Hikers walking through a broad mountain landscape

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Field Notes

Notes from the trail. What worked, what broke, and what I would do differently across 9,000+ miles of thru-hiking.

Long Distance Hiking

9,000+ miles across four thru-hikes.

Katahdin summit sign surrounded by backpacks

Appalachian Trail

Thru-hiked northbound April 16 – October 22, 2016. 189 days, 2,189 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

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Snowy mountain reflected in a clear alpine lake

Pacific Crest Trail

Thru-hiked southbound July 19 – November 16, 2018. 120 days, 2,653 miles from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.

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Mountains reflected in the still water of Green River Lakes

Continental Divide Trail

I thru-hiked the 3,000-mile Continental Divide Trail southbound from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, June 26 to December 3, 2019, completing the Triple Crown of Hiking.

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Rainbow over the Lake Okeechobee wetlands

Florida Trail

Thru-hiked 2023. 1,500 miles from the cypress swamps of Big Cypress National Preserve to the panhandle at Fort Pickens.

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Thru-hiked northbound April 16 – October 22, 2016. 189 days, 2,189 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Mount Katahdin, Maine.

Mountain view beside a wooden mileage marker

Hiker with arms out beside a summit sign

Directional shelter sign in a green forest

Thru-hiked southbound July 19 – November 16, 2018. 120 days, 2,653 miles from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.

Two hikers jumping beside a border monument

Hikers gathered around a table with food

I thru-hiked the 3,000-mile Continental Divide Trail southbound from the Canadian border to the Mexican border, June 26 to December 3, 2019, completing the Triple Crown of Hiking.

Hiker posing beside a stone border monument

Thru-hiked 2023. 1,500 miles from the cypress swamps of Big Cypress National Preserve to the panhandle at Fort Pickens.

Wooden directional sign beside a sandy path

Black Creek Trail sign selfie, December 17 2019

Field Dispatch • Endurance Run

Black Creek FKT

40 miles, 9:46:38, December 19, 2019, self-supported.

I'd just finished the Triple Crown in the fall of 2019, and I felt strong. I wanted to push my body hard and see what it could do against the clock. The Black Creek National Scenic Trail in Mississippi, 40 miles of pine forest and creek bottom, seemed like the place to try.

I hiked it through overnight, camped in the icy, frost-covered trailhead parking lot at one end, and then ran it back to my car on December 19 for the fastest known time: one way, self-supported.

Tent campsite with heavy morning frost in Mississippi pine country

The trail was in rough shape. It's supposedly cleared twice a year, spring and fall, but nobody had touched it since spring at the latest. Massive oaks were down across the path, and I had to crawl through them. Briars choked long sections. Twice the trail just disappeared into a briar thicket. It's blazed with white diamonds, but there are confusing stretches where I lost real time wandering around trying to find it again, even having hiked the whole thing beforehand.

Pine forest corridor along Black Creek National Scenic Trail

Two days before my run a big storm had blown through, so the creek crossings were sketchy and technical. The bridges are slippery most of the year. And Black Creek is always muddy. Rain just makes it muddier.

Flooded swollen river crossing in winter

At mile 34, I was running a sandy river bank about ten feet above the water when it gave out under my right foot. My legs were too tired to catch myself. I fell to a sandbar, almost into the river, and sprained my ankle badly enough that I walked the last five miles.

Expansive sandy riverbank along Black Creek

I'd picked some of the coldest days I could find, which kept most of the snakes down, but I still stepped around a rattlesnake on a pine knoll and nearly grabbed a water moccasin coiled on a limb at a creek crossing.

The briars shredded my shell. My OR Helium II already had thousands of miles on it; the thorns finished the job. The cheap Dance Pants I had on underneath held up well against the thorns. If you go, take as little gear as you care about.

For all that, it's a beautiful trail. There are 3 to 5-mile stretches where a wide path sweeps through the trees, and the hills are steep but short, good for running the downhills and making up time. I finished in 9:46:38.

Strava verification activity log for Black Creek FKT run

Jeremy in front seat of vehicle post-finish after 40-mile endurance run

Three moments of Jeremy throwing his backpack at the Appalachian, Pacific Crest, and Continental Divide trail termini

The North American Triple Crown

The North American Triple Crown means thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Crest Trail, and the Continental Divide Trail. That is 7,842 miles. As of the 2024 awards ceremony, the American Long Distance Hiking Association West has recognized 775 Triple Crown awards. For comparison, about as many people have been to space.

In April 2016, two of my best friends dropped me off in the middle of nowhere in North Georgia. A couple of years earlier, a friend had told me about the Appalachian Trail. Now I was taking my first steps on a 2,189.1-mile walk to Maine.

The terrain was steeper and rougher than I expected, and my 27 pounds of gear did not help. But I was excited by everything: every view, every bird call, every new mile. At Mountain Crossings, a store and hostel early on the trail, I was still struggling under that load. That is where I met my first Triple Crowner.

I had never heard of the Triple Crown. After pestering this poor, exhausted hiker with endless questions, he finally took pity on me and gave me my first-ever pack shakedown. I stuffed the hiker box to the brim and mailed a big USPS box home. My pack got lighter, and so did my worries.

From the moment I heard about the Triple Crown, I knew that was the goal. 189 days later I finished the Appalachian Trail. It was the most accomplished I had ever felt, and I knew I was not done walking.

In 2018 I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound, from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. 2,652.6 miles in 120 days. The trail was different from the AT. Long waterless stretches in Southern California. Snow in the Sierra. By then my pack was lighter and my legs knew what they were doing.

In 2019 I hiked the Continental Divide Trail southbound, from Glacier National Park to the Mexican border. 3,000 miles in five months. The CDT is the least finished of the three trails. Long stretches have no water, the route is not always marked, and you make your own way more than on the AT or PCT. Five months later I stood at the southern terminus. Four years after a conversation in a tiny hostel in Georgia, the Triple Crown was done.

Jeremy hiking toward cloud-wrapped peaks on the Continental Divide Trail

A narrow trail through red autumn groundcover and tall pines

Backpacks gathered around the Katahdin summit sign

Jeremy Fillingim outdoors with his backpack

About Me

My name is Jeremy "NightWatch" Fillingim. I'm a long-distance hiker and a Triple Crowner. In 2016 I thru-hiked the 2,189.1-mile Appalachian Trail northbound from Georgia to Maine, and fell in love with the trail life. In 2018 I hiked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound, in 2019 the Continental Divide Trail southbound — completing the Triple Crown — and in 2023 the Florida Trail. In 2019 I also set the speed record on Mississippi's 40-mile Black Creek National Recreation Trail (9 hours, 46 minutes, 38 seconds). For me, the miles are only part of the story. It's the trail family, the unexpected kindnesses along the way, and the quiet reflection that make the miles matter. You can follow along on Instagram at @jeremyfillingim.

Gear

Jeremy carrying his long-distance hiking pack

Why gear matters

Picking the right gear for a long hike while keeping things light makes a real difference in comfort, safety, and how far you can go without wearing yourself out or sustaining injury.

Everything on this page is gear I've actually carried on long trails — the Appalachian Trail, the PCT, the CDT, and the Florida Trail. Nothing here is sponsored, and nothing is here because a brand paid me. If it's on this list, I'd hand it to a friend at a trailhead.

Disclosure: this page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. It helps keep this site — and my hiking — going.