Hiker Spotlight: Renae Gupta — Walking Across America for a Purpose
Renae Gupta left a geology career in Alaska last November feeling unfulfilled. Now she's walking 6,800 miles across America — and raising money for causes she believes in every step of the way.
Renae Gupta isn't hiking the American Discovery Trail because she needed a new challenge. She's hiking it because she needed a new direction.
At 34, Renae spent the last several years working as a geologist in Alaska's mining industry — a demanding career that, by November 2025, had started to feel like the wrong kind of hard. So she did something most people only think about: she walked away and started planning something bigger.
"I felt unfulfilled, with the need to do something more," she says. That "more" turned out to be a 6,800-mile fundraising walk across the United States.
Renae is no stranger to long miles. In 2025, she completed the Colorado Trail, punching her ticket into the thru-hiker community and confirming what she already suspected — her legs and her resolve are trail-ready. The ADT is a different beast entirely, but she's coming in with the right foundation.
What sets Renae's hike apart is its purpose. She's walking with a fundraising mission spread across organizations doing work she believes in — from land conservation and national parks to Indigenous economic development and immigration advocacy.
Renae Gupta
Westbound
Began Febuary 26, 2026 - Cape Henlopen, DE
Support Links: ImHikingAmerica, Instagram, GoFundMe
She is documenting the journey on Instagram and through a GoFundMe, building her platform as she goes. It's new territory for her, but then again, so is walking across a continent.
We're glad she found us. 🥾