Community spotlight: Brad Hartman
August 13, 2021 at 3:48 p.m.
Community spotlight: Brad Hartman
By Cyrus Johnson -
Completing this trail is something only two people in history have ever done. Brad finished 1/3 of the Great Western Loop, deciding to end just before the Pacific Northwest Trail. Although his journey fell short of completing the loop, he did however complete the entire Pacific Crest Trail -something only one in five people are able to do who try.
Hartman’s first backpacking trip was spontaneous. The idea to start backpacking came to him over a beer at a bar with a few friends from the University of St. Francis. They concocted a plan to do a backpacking trip across Yellowstone Park. It would be a week long trip backpacking across the extreme wilderness and seeing everything the park had to offer. Before going on the trip, Hartman had to recover from a basketball injury. He tore his Achilles tendon just seven months prior to the trip. Dedicated, he powered through recovery to make it on the trail as planned. He said, “I knew I had people that were counting on me, so the Yellowstone trip was the catalyst to get myself back in shape and go on the trail.” This is a perfect example of the determination and ambition guiding this young man.
“I love being out in the middle of nowhere… and all you have is the preparation you put in advance, just what little you know about the area you’re in – then just going out and doing it. I just feel in love with that,”
Hartman said, reflecting upon his first journey through Yellowstone. I asked him what the highlights where from his first excursion. He said that his friend Dave, “came off the couch and onto the trail.” his friend Dave was unfit, however enthusiastic about taking the trip. “We started calling him Starfish. Because, anytime we would take a break he would drop his pack off and lay on the ground all spread out just like a starfish,” he described with laughter.
Nevertheless, Hartman said he was proud of how his friend powered through and made it all the way. After Yellowstone, he was hooked. From that point, he started dedicating all his free time to hiking. “Seeing where I was at then to where I am now was something I thought about a lot on this last trip.”
The idea to hike the big one wasn’t so spontaneous. Hartman prepared 31 care packages of food before embarking – almost four months worth of food. Each time he reached a town, the pre-postmarked box of food would be waiting on him. His parents, Gena and Randy Hartman, were responsible for mailing those care packages: he wanted to personally thank them. “There were a good chunk of people in the community that were following me online,” Hartman added. “Those comments of people reaching out and cheering me on, that always meant a lot to me.”
To best describe what he was eating, I think this excerpt from his blog does it justice: “While unpacking my food tonight, I discovered a small hole in my food bag where some little critter tried to eat my peanut noodles.... but upon closer look, the critter just took a little nibble and then must’ve scurried away. Maybe that says something about my dinner…” Planning out a seven month hike is a lot work. He saved money for over three years in order to take off work and fund the trip. According to Hartman, he put in over 400 hours in preparation.
I asked, why did he go into the wild? “I’ve always lived my life doing what people expect of me, going to the next progression of a career and kind of living life by the book. I was at the point where I wanted to do something big and do it for myself,” he replied.
Hartman was no babe in the woods. Before setting off on the trail, he had gone on 30 or more different backpacking trips. Due to this experience, he was now considered a veteran hiker, knowing all the tips and trades. According to Hartman, on the trails the regular backpackers all know each other; they see one another often, give shortcuts and talk about their experiences. After a while from this camaraderie, respect is grown, then nicknames are even given out. In trail culture no one goes by their original name, just their trail name. His trail name was Ninja. Of course, I had to ask why; he said it was because he dressed in a black hoodie all the time, and was very fast on the trail. Brad said he impressed the other hikers with how much ground he covered so quickly; it was probably in large part due to preplanning he would put into each hike.
His trek along the GWL started with the Grand Canyon. Hartman backpacked through miles of trail-less terrain through the treacherous mountains. “I literally had to map it all out myself,” he said. First he climbed down the mountain, then back up again on the western side. This tough trip through the Grand Canyon was the perfect warmup for things to come.
After the Grand Canyon, Hartman “shot off to the desert” as he puts it, most notably the hardly inhabited Mojave. Through the long voyage across the sand, he said he would take part in what he likes to call, “horizon walking.” Secluded in the desert, you have no idea which direction you are walking. He told me, the best way to do it is to pick out something in the horizon and just keep walking. One thing he didn’t plan for was Arizona recording the driest 18 months on record. Hartman didn’t learn this until he was already on the trail and heard the info from a few ranchers. He mapped out 70 water sources across the Mojave, but only two of them ended up having water. “What I ended up doing was looking up rancher’s houses through satellite images, then just going up and asking them for water,” Hartman said. “That was really the only option for me.”
He made it through the desert then headed west into California, passing through Joshua Tree National Park. This scenery is referred to as, “where two deserts meet,” considering the Mojave and Colorado coming together inside the park. It’s characterized as a rugged rocky terrain with stark desert landscapes. It goes without saying, the area is truly tough for any backpacker who decides to go through it. Ninja made his way south across the 790,000-acre park in two days. After finishing, he connected with the Pacific Crest Trail about 200 miles north of Mexico.
While hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Hartman met a friend along the way. His trail name was Sandman, real name is Logan. Sandman got his trail name for obvious reasons – he spent a lot of time in the desert, specifically the Colorado and Mojave. According to Ninja, the only person that could keep up with him was Sandman. “I was going more miles per day, than any person I met … until I met Sandman,” Hartman said. Having a friend to hike with was paramount because he said the weeks, then months, of seclusion is sometimes the hardest thing to deal with on the trail.
As mentioned, he successfully completed the PCT 2,653-mile hike. From the Mexican border all the way to Canada. Each year, the PCT has 4000 attempted hikers but, less than 20% will finish.
After completing the PCT, the Great Western Loop turns right at the Canadian border and continues on the Pacific Northwest Trail. He continued with his buddy Sandman for 120 miles on the Loop until they reached a town called Oroville in Northern Washington. It was from there, he decided to end his 109-day hiking trip and rejoin civilization. Hartman had worn himself out hiking and was ready to get back to his everyday life. It was a vacation for him, albeit a tough, grueling one. Vacations sometimes end early. The accomplishment of completing the Pacific Crest Trail was satisfaction enough. He hitchhiked his way into Oregon, then caught a flight home to Indiana.
There is no way I can ever do Hartman’s story justice. If you would like more detail regarding his journey, please visit his blog website online. The pictures and stories are very entertaining. Google search: Brad Hartman backpacking and it will show up in the results.
In closing Hartman said this: “I hope this inspires people to follow their dreams. My dream was hiking, everyone has something in the back of their mind that seems impossible that seems too big… just follow goals and you’ll never be happier.”
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
Completing this trail is something only two people in history have ever done. Brad finished 1/3 of the Great Western Loop, deciding to end just before the Pacific Northwest Trail. Although his journey fell short of completing the loop, he did however complete the entire Pacific Crest Trail -something only one in five people are able to do who try.
Hartman’s first backpacking trip was spontaneous. The idea to start backpacking came to him over a beer at a bar with a few friends from the University of St. Francis. They concocted a plan to do a backpacking trip across Yellowstone Park. It would be a week long trip backpacking across the extreme wilderness and seeing everything the park had to offer. Before going on the trip, Hartman had to recover from a basketball injury. He tore his Achilles tendon just seven months prior to the trip. Dedicated, he powered through recovery to make it on the trail as planned. He said, “I knew I had people that were counting on me, so the Yellowstone trip was the catalyst to get myself back in shape and go on the trail.” This is a perfect example of the determination and ambition guiding this young man.
“I love being out in the middle of nowhere… and all you have is the preparation you put in advance, just what little you know about the area you’re in – then just going out and doing it. I just feel in love with that,”
Hartman said, reflecting upon his first journey through Yellowstone. I asked him what the highlights where from his first excursion. He said that his friend Dave, “came off the couch and onto the trail.” his friend Dave was unfit, however enthusiastic about taking the trip. “We started calling him Starfish. Because, anytime we would take a break he would drop his pack off and lay on the ground all spread out just like a starfish,” he described with laughter.
Nevertheless, Hartman said he was proud of how his friend powered through and made it all the way. After Yellowstone, he was hooked. From that point, he started dedicating all his free time to hiking. “Seeing where I was at then to where I am now was something I thought about a lot on this last trip.”
The idea to hike the big one wasn’t so spontaneous. Hartman prepared 31 care packages of food before embarking – almost four months worth of food. Each time he reached a town, the pre-postmarked box of food would be waiting on him. His parents, Gena and Randy Hartman, were responsible for mailing those care packages: he wanted to personally thank them. “There were a good chunk of people in the community that were following me online,” Hartman added. “Those comments of people reaching out and cheering me on, that always meant a lot to me.”
To best describe what he was eating, I think this excerpt from his blog does it justice: “While unpacking my food tonight, I discovered a small hole in my food bag where some little critter tried to eat my peanut noodles.... but upon closer look, the critter just took a little nibble and then must’ve scurried away. Maybe that says something about my dinner…” Planning out a seven month hike is a lot work. He saved money for over three years in order to take off work and fund the trip. According to Hartman, he put in over 400 hours in preparation.
I asked, why did he go into the wild? “I’ve always lived my life doing what people expect of me, going to the next progression of a career and kind of living life by the book. I was at the point where I wanted to do something big and do it for myself,” he replied.
Hartman was no babe in the woods. Before setting off on the trail, he had gone on 30 or more different backpacking trips. Due to this experience, he was now considered a veteran hiker, knowing all the tips and trades. According to Hartman, on the trails the regular backpackers all know each other; they see one another often, give shortcuts and talk about their experiences. After a while from this camaraderie, respect is grown, then nicknames are even given out. In trail culture no one goes by their original name, just their trail name. His trail name was Ninja. Of course, I had to ask why; he said it was because he dressed in a black hoodie all the time, and was very fast on the trail. Brad said he impressed the other hikers with how much ground he covered so quickly; it was probably in large part due to preplanning he would put into each hike.
His trek along the GWL started with the Grand Canyon. Hartman backpacked through miles of trail-less terrain through the treacherous mountains. “I literally had to map it all out myself,” he said. First he climbed down the mountain, then back up again on the western side. This tough trip through the Grand Canyon was the perfect warmup for things to come.
After the Grand Canyon, Hartman “shot off to the desert” as he puts it, most notably the hardly inhabited Mojave. Through the long voyage across the sand, he said he would take part in what he likes to call, “horizon walking.” Secluded in the desert, you have no idea which direction you are walking. He told me, the best way to do it is to pick out something in the horizon and just keep walking. One thing he didn’t plan for was Arizona recording the driest 18 months on record. Hartman didn’t learn this until he was already on the trail and heard the info from a few ranchers. He mapped out 70 water sources across the Mojave, but only two of them ended up having water. “What I ended up doing was looking up rancher’s houses through satellite images, then just going up and asking them for water,” Hartman said. “That was really the only option for me.”
He made it through the desert then headed west into California, passing through Joshua Tree National Park. This scenery is referred to as, “where two deserts meet,” considering the Mojave and Colorado coming together inside the park. It’s characterized as a rugged rocky terrain with stark desert landscapes. It goes without saying, the area is truly tough for any backpacker who decides to go through it. Ninja made his way south across the 790,000-acre park in two days. After finishing, he connected with the Pacific Crest Trail about 200 miles north of Mexico.
While hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, Hartman met a friend along the way. His trail name was Sandman, real name is Logan. Sandman got his trail name for obvious reasons – he spent a lot of time in the desert, specifically the Colorado and Mojave. According to Ninja, the only person that could keep up with him was Sandman. “I was going more miles per day, than any person I met … until I met Sandman,” Hartman said. Having a friend to hike with was paramount because he said the weeks, then months, of seclusion is sometimes the hardest thing to deal with on the trail.
As mentioned, he successfully completed the PCT 2,653-mile hike. From the Mexican border all the way to Canada. Each year, the PCT has 4000 attempted hikers but, less than 20% will finish.
After completing the PCT, the Great Western Loop turns right at the Canadian border and continues on the Pacific Northwest Trail. He continued with his buddy Sandman for 120 miles on the Loop until they reached a town called Oroville in Northern Washington. It was from there, he decided to end his 109-day hiking trip and rejoin civilization. Hartman had worn himself out hiking and was ready to get back to his everyday life. It was a vacation for him, albeit a tough, grueling one. Vacations sometimes end early. The accomplishment of completing the Pacific Crest Trail was satisfaction enough. He hitchhiked his way into Oregon, then caught a flight home to Indiana.
There is no way I can ever do Hartman’s story justice. If you would like more detail regarding his journey, please visit his blog website online. The pictures and stories are very entertaining. Google search: Brad Hartman backpacking and it will show up in the results.
In closing Hartman said this: “I hope this inspires people to follow their dreams. My dream was hiking, everyone has something in the back of their mind that seems impossible that seems too big… just follow goals and you’ll never be happier.”
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092