Ericka Johnson

Save this for your next Utah road trip 👆
 Not a lot of trails make you feel like you are walking through a painting but Bryce Canyon’s Navajo Loop and Queens Garden Trail is genuinely one of them. Ericka called it the highlight of her road trip and we can see why! 

Full route on the Outbound app. Photo cred: @ericka.explores 
 #TheOutbound #EveryoneOutside #BryceCanyon #UtahHiking #OutdoorWellness

📣 We’re delighted to spotlight our next 2026 Hikership winner, Ericka! She’ll be taking on the Continental Divide Trail this year (in a very whimsical way). Ericka (trail name “Sparkles”) is a hiking guide currently based out of Salt Lake City, UT. Her love for backpacking began while working a seasonal job in Glacier National Park. Fun fact: Her first backpacking pack was $14 from Goodwill, complete with a sleeping pad that pretty much filled the whole thing! And during her first overnight solo, the soles literally came off of her thrifted hiking boots. Everyone starts somewhere and look at her now 🤩 This summer, Ericka will return to the places she learned to adventure by hiking the CDT SOBO—hoping to spread joy, biodegradable glitter, and whimsy along the way. Catch her on the trail ribbon dancing and writing haikus! Who says hiking a really really long time can’t be fun and whimsical? ✨ Tag along on her personal IG @ericka.explores (and here on the THRU-r channel) for updates as she hikes south on the CDT ⛰️

Dreaming up some summer adventures and looking back on all the roads that led me here. I’ve spent the last eight years working along the Continental Divide, and this year I’ll get to walk through all of my old seasonal stomping grounds— Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, the Winds, Steamboat, Copper Mountain, and everything between and beyond. I’m in the process of forecasting my timeline, and hope to meet up with friends old and new along the route! If anyone in Montana, Wyoming, or Colorado want to link up or camp out—let’s make it happen! I have some exciting art projects in the works to help fund the hike, and am hoping to partner with some organizations to raise money for future scholarships while I’m out there! Stay tuned ✨🥾

Five days of walkin through the beautiful protein shake that is the Paria River. Watching the walls grow higher as we traversed deeper. Swapping recipes and singing canyon songs into the echo chambers of the desert. Searching for springs and petroglyphs and giggling in the party tent. Stumbling upon bones and feathers, and marveling at all the remnants of time still shimmering in the morning sunlight. And basking in the luminous shade of the autumn Cottonwood trees. Dreaming of all the loved ones I wish I could bring to Buckskin in my backpack pockets, and weeping at every seep they may never get a chance to see. This privilege is not lost on me. I have a deep well of gratitude for my new friends— @connieloudavis , @classickfc , and Adriana— who made this trip so silly and special. Thank you for holding space for my sleepy, grieving butterfly being. And to @wildlandtrekking for making it all possible. It continuously inspires me to see how many beautiful, wild spaces we get to share with our guests. And it’s trips like these that remind me how precious an opportunity it is to be a guide. Thank you for another year of memorable experiences 🤍

Special moments from the John Muir Trail! 🥾 Stats: 17 days, 226mi, over 40k vertical gain. 🌲 New favorite trees: Sierra Juniper and Foxtail Pine 🍜 Favorite meal: Ramen in the rain tied with victory pancake the size of a pizza 🏔️ Communities that made resupply possible: @mtwilliamsonmotel and Mono Hot Springs It’s just like Sheryl Crow said, “Everyday is a winding road.” When my last scheduled guiding trip in the Sierra fell through, I decided to snag some spontaneous permits for the JMT- a trek that I’ve been dreaming about for the last decade. Not knowing if the Garnet Fire would smoke us out, if our resupplies would work with all the early season closures, or if impending storms would let us pass through the Sierra. So many of the days, Casey and I (aka Hot Purple and Sparkles) would call an audible to do a 20mi day or multiple passes to give ourselves the best shot at weather windows. It was incredible how much we could witness in a day. We put on ✨glitter✨ at all the passes and peaks we climbed (thanks for the fun vibes, @fireweed.driggs ) and ate an ungodly amount of nerd clusters (thanks for the recommendation, Oakley!!) How sweet life can be when a plan comes together and your body allows you to pull it off. Shoutout to Casey for the hot pink coban my left ankle sported for over 100mi and Medicine Cabinet for my Naproxen supply 💕 All in all, what a whirlwind of an adventure. I’m sure I left a piece of my heart out there in the Sierra, covered in granite dust and Sparkles. But I’ll be back soon 🌻

Three cheers to another summer of the Llama Lloaf and Sandhill Crane, marked by an eternal dance with life itself. This last trip of the season in Yellowstone was crowned with giggling, mocktail creek hour, and a camp talent show. Where ear wiggling, some select bird calls from yours truly, dramatic storytelling, an incredible backcountry worm performance, and an eagerly awaited drill team routine were performed in blissful jest. The thing is… We can set the stage going into each trip. But it’s each individual who builds culture out there in the wilderness. One might say it’s luck… I think it’s something that no one can quite quantify. Except maybe in spirit points. Regardless of what power you believe in, there’s none like the human spirit searching for itself. We may find ourselves asking “Who am I?” so many transitions in life. And all I have to say to these shifts is this… Nike the shit out of life and just do it. Fear a little. Love a lot. Dance even more. Risk it for the biscuit. Dig a hole. Pee in the rain. Be goddamn liberated. And for heavens sake, put on a party shirt and disco once in a while. Because your biggest life is waiting for you to do something just a little bit extra… Whatever that may be 🌻

So this is 34, huh? A little lush and a lot of laughter. The year where ✨whimsy✨ mentality has yielded countless memories of deepening friendships, dancing like fools on an otherwise empty dance floor, teaching folks the freedom of flailing around some ribbon wands, and straight up weeping with joy. In this period of life I find myself squeezing so much meaning out of a moment that these days feel like infinity. Sometimes the immensity of life’s sweetness hits me so hard that it feels like dunking my whole heart in a backcountry river, and letting it flow like a leaf in the current. I find myself staring out into a sea of feral friends that I love to my core. And catching up with friends and family amidst long periods of being off the grid. And asking myself how I got so damn lucky. Somehow finally feeling a sense of belonging in it all. So cheers to another year of singing out ten seconds of all the songs that pop into my head. Swapping art forms with creative folks. Walking a whole lot in the wilderness. And learning to let my soul love what it loves in every passing moment, with nothing but whimsy on its wings.

Everyone has moments in life when they realize magic exists. When we decide to believe that the universe is working for us. When the sky opens up and shows us how far we’ve come. And I’m not going to lie, I lost that mentality for a while. I sold all of my mountaineering gear, gave up on climbing and skiing. Put all of my art supplies in storage. Hell, I even stopped dancing. I truly believed that the sparkle queen in me was packed out of the backcountry for good. But that’s the beautiful thing about whimsy. Whether we choose to see it or not, we are only one speck of glitter away from being reminded of our shine. We’re only one special experience away from giving us the perspective on how glorious it is to be alive. It’s about keeping an open conversation with curiosity, and choosing a path that moves our self-made mountains. It’s taking all of that balled up hardship in our hearts and letting it sift like sand through our fingertips. It’s understanding that responsibility does not always have to mean mundanity. And that boredom is our greatest asset to inspiration. Someone recently told me that a line divides femininity in the mountains. One side believes in bringing authenticity and joy to a supremely serious space. The other subscribes to proving our sense of belonging through safety and unmistakable success. But what if both could be true? I’ve seen women+ dial in and let loose on the summit. Blow bubbles while learning how to rescue their peers. Shatter glass ceilings with glitter on their cheeks. Naked lap the peak of a volcano surrounded by snow, clouds, and supportive cheers. This is where magic exists. Where all walks of life can join together in pursuit of something greater— bringing childlike joy to places that often make people feel left out. Whether that’s the outdoors, your career, family, or home— there’s room for self-expression everywhere. And don’t let anyone convince you otherwise! So. What whimsy will you bring into the world today? And better yet, who will you bring on your next adventure? Special thanks to @upwardtransitionsinstitute @hannah.matranga and @sierraabishop for paving the way for these experiences to exist 🤍

Life Update! This past month in California was all things magic and healing. Showing up to a new field office sight unseen to guide in Yosemite was everything I hoped it would be and more. I met some incredible guides and friends who brought me into their world of the Sierras (shoutout @sassy.backpacker , @guidecarm , and @austinbeeler !) I loved it here so much that I’ll be back to guide Yose in September! After my work trips, I was able to check Half Dome and Clouds Rest off of my bucket list before heading down to backpack 60 miles of the PCT with a badass friend of mine. @mjwalth and I sang and danced and siesta’d our way through the desert for a few days. My given trail name is “Jukebox” for the sheer amount of 10sec songs I sing while hiking 😅 This experience solidified my dream to thru hike the Continental Divide Trail next year! Looking back I hiked, ran, and backpacked over 170mi in the 25 days I was out here! I’ve spent months training for something special later in June, and this was the first time I truly felt capable of taking on big objectives again. The whimsy is SO BACK and I’m excited to share what comes next 🤍

Healing is not a linear process, and progress is far more valuable than perfection. It’s been a year since I started working through the first major injury I’ve had as an outdoor adventurer— since I started to break through previously imagined limitations only to arrive back at the starting line. I’ve been relatively quiet about what this experience has been like. So here are some major lessons I learned in those months of stillness: 🌻 Identity cannot be solely wrapped up in how you perform in your respective art forms or activities. 🌻 Never lose sight of your loved ones when pursuing a larger than life goal. 🌻 There are no mistakes, only lessons. 🌻 It’s okay to outgrow versions of yourself that don’t fill your cup anymore. Though painful, it’s a part of life. 🌻 Making time and space for the unknown is just as important as planning for your dreams. 🌻 Practice consistency over intensity. 🌻 We are never truly back at square one. In a year of reflection I have learned that even in our darkest moments, there is always a glimmer of whimsical light waiting for us to dance again, love again, live again. When we were young, we thought our lives would be over after reaching these kinds of road blocks. Now we’ve learned that we can persist through almost anything that comes our way. Reaching for a new lens to see the world through is never easy. We keep our old lenses stacked on the bedside table of our hearts within arms reach at any given moment. Which one will we look through today? And what kaleidoscope of experience will the world have to show us? There’s only one way to find out. 📸: Photo from my first ever trail marathon in the Alice-Toxaway-Imogene Loop in the Sawtooths, October 2023.

Things I walked away with from this trip: a burn on my middle finger, a beautifully carved wooden ring wonderfully stuck on my other middle finger, a new story for every stone in the canyons, an invitation to learn more about coconuts in Hawaii, a dozen interesting books to read, another dozen meaningful conversations about the curiosities of life, a humbling lesson about packing lunch bowls, so much sand in my ears, and eleven new badass friends from a myriad of places. I tend to count myself pretty lucky in this world, but this trip took the cake. It taught me that there’s beauty in leaving space for the unknown. There’s wonder around every corner. And a wild amount of swear words to learn in other languages. Cheers to a group of women who took the deep dive on Death Vallley, and here’s to hoping for a reunion trip 🏜️

As the sun rises over the valley, I allow my mind to comb over the fine details of this last month. Moments where I put myself out there and told deeper truths than I’ve ever shared before, times when I bit my tongue at diminishing comments, scenarios I told myself I would handle better this next time around, and so many bridges crossed when said I’d get to them. And as the beaming coral pinks of the clouds transform into a golden wave across the sky, I get curious about what kind of woman I’ve become— what kind of woman I would like to be. I’ve watched my own ray of sunshine act as an alchemy for another’s darkness, I’ve also seen my shadows consume the brightness of possibility with doubt. I’ve witnessed myself refuse to stop trying something I know I haven’t been successful in, and coached myself on how to accept help gracefully. Life is fluid that way. And as I pack a bag for my last guiding trip of the season, I think back to the beginning. When I arrived at a warehouse surrounded by the blanket of a billion stars with no expectations and a whole lot of ‘why not’ energy. I remember the guests who gave me thoughtful cards and taught me how to take a lasting mental picture; women who shared haikus they wrote on our trip and danced together on trail; people who cried with me as we said our all too soon goodbyes. And as the sun rises to meet the horizon and bring with it another day, I steep in gratitude for everything this path has brought to me. Friendships that make my core shake from laughter, love that holds me in all my complexity, strangers that remind me to see everything through a new lens, and the comfort of finding home. So here’s to my last handful of nights spent sleeping out in the desert with a wonderful group of women. May it be whimsical and full of little magic 🏜️