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Adventure Hiking

High Fashion on the Pacific Crest Trail

Photographer Tommy Corey spent the summer shooting Hiker Trash Vogue, a photo project featuring thru-hikers as models—minus wardrobe changes and plus a lot of dirt

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Image
(Tommy Corey)

Earlier this summer, I found myself 369 miles from the southern end of the Pacific Crest Trail with eight other hikers. We were all taking a rest day, so I suggested we use the time for a photo shoot. I had set out on the thru-hike several months earlier, with the goal of photographing my fellow hikers as I made my way north. On that day, I had hikers model with their propane cans, sleeping bags, water filters, and backpacks. It was the start of what would become Hiker Trash Vogue, a photo project that features PCT thru-hikers posing as high-fashion models—minus wardrobe changes and plus a lot of dirt. Over the course of the trip, I photographed hundreds of hikers. Here are a few of my favorite portraits.

Photo (from left): Nick Johnson, Sam Martin, James Fell, Ayesha Cording, Katie O’Brien. Trail names: J-Man, Dang, Neo, Heaps, McGyver; Mile 824.7.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Tanya Wood

Trail Name: Blue
Mile 1,816.2

I met Blue, from New Zealand, near Crater Lake. She had run into a branch the day before, and I thought she looked like such a badass that I asked if I could take her photo.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Andrea Crary and Michael Coston

Trail Names: Cheezit and Monster
Mile 1,995.2   

I ran into this couple for a second time in Sierra City, a small town in Northern California, where we had a fun, loose night of drinking tequila and whiskey next to one of the best swimming holes on the entire trail.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Nick DeLangis and Tiahnna Willms

Trail Names: Dirt and Cookie
Mile 2,106.8

I met this couple at the start of my hike in the desert. I ran into them again 1,500 miles later and snapped this photo. We were all nearly unrecognizable because of the weight we’d lost.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Ian Sherrow (left) and Connor Hoffman

Trail Names: Gummy and Hiker Box
Mile 1,441.6

Wildfires blanketed much of the PCT in smoke this summer. This was a rare moment when the ashy light actually enhanced my shot.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Ben Storey

Trail Name: Ice Breaker
Mile 1,653.4

I was obsessed with the “Got Milk?” advertisements as a kid. So I bought some heavy whipping cream from a town Northern California and created my own hiker-inspired dairy campaign.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Jeff Bashaw and Freddi Wicker

Trail Names: Jefé and Firefly
Mile 1,912.6

There’s a lot of lichen in Oregon. Turns out the stuff makes a really nice shawl.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Nick Valdez

Trail Name: JFC
Mile 1,684.1

JFC feeling wild and free the day before we reached the Oregon border.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Christian Duran and Brandon Holmes

Trail Names: Mowgli and Huck
Mile 702

Mowgli and Huck cool off after a 702-mile epic through the desert. The next day, we started hiking into the High Sierra.

Processed with VSCO with av4 preset
(Tommy Corey)

Rob Van Hoofstat and Ellen Cottyn

Trail Names: Mule and Olaf
Mile 478.2

Mule and Olaf, a couple from Belgium, pose for my very favorite photo. We didn’t hike together much, but they remain two of the most memorable people I met this summer. We found the wedding dress that Olaf’s wearing at a trail angel’s house, then went into the manzanita forest for one of the first Hiker Trash Vogue shoots.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

From Left: Dylan Tonkin, Tyler Gatlin, Paul England, Alex Lowing, Nicole Gatlin

Trail Names: Pickle, Ritz, Easy Company, Blue, Snocket
Mile 1,017.9

This photo was followed by a memorable night on the PCT: veggies and chicken kabobs roasted over the fire for dinner and more laughing than I can remember ever doing.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Rachel Coffey

Trail Name: Pony
Mile 1,615.8

Pony, from Australia, came back to the PCT this summer to hike a 600-mile section she skipped last year. She posed with a blue-sky backdrop—a small, clear window in a sky that was otherwise obscured by smoke from the Redding fire.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Trail Name: Red Back
Mile 1,615.8

Red Back (who never gave me her real name) traveled from Australia to complete the PCT.

Image
(Tommy Corey)

Tommy Corey

Trail Name: Twerk
Mile 2,166

A self-portrait after being stung by a wasp. I had just crossed Bridge of the Gods, signifying that I was near the end of the trail.

Filed to:
  • Hiking and Backpacking
  • Photography
  • Style
  • Thru-Hiking

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