Innovation & Tech Today – May 2019

SUMMER 2019 | INNOVATION & TECH TODAY 31

PRESENTED BY

TC: I think it makes us more open to the
world around us. When you put yourself in
vulnerable situations people can see the
authenticity in you more. I think it connects you
better to other people, if that’s your goal.

The people you meet on the trail just never
compare to the friends you make in real life,
because of what you go through, and because
when you are out here you’re just this raw,
stripped-down person. You can’t hide who you
are on the trail. You’re tired, you’re sore, you’re
irritable. But you’re also extremely happy. You’re
extremely proud of yourself for making the
miles you said you were going to do that day.

We go through this wide range of emotions in
this short six months and it completely changes

your life. And you experience that with so many

other incredible people from around the world.

I think that’s why, as thru-hikers, you become so

incredibly close with people. You’re spending so

much time with each other and we’re not just on

our phone the whole time. We’re sitting around

a campfire, we’re walking together, we’re having

emotional conversations.

That vulnerability is what really finds us. And

it’s really hard to take back into your real life.

You learn how to be present on trail.

It’s funny when you get back in your real life,

you start to kind of lose it and you have to

remind yourself how to continue to be this raw,

emotional person that you learned to be on trail.

I&T Today: Can you tell a difference

between photographs you took on happy

days versus those from days you were feeling

low?

TC: Yeah, so the PCT is separated in five

different sections: Desert, Sierra, Northern

California, Oregon, and Washington.

Washington is the last section, so we only had

500 miles to go. I was so proud of myself for

making it that far. I was also so incredibly ready

for it to be done because my body was starting

to hurt. But, I was also so sad it was ending.

So, Washington was this incredible, insane mix

of emotions I had never felt before. It’s

something I can’t even describe. The only way

Corey remarked that his subjects

sometimes became frustrated

with him for stopping to capture

photographs. Ultimately though,

he says the photos helped

people to see their own beauty

and encouraged subjects to feel

glamorous even in their most

primal state.