There are hardly any limitations to enjoying hiking. But what if we told you that you can get paid if you enjoy hiking and even become a professional hiker?

Hiking has quickly garnered a reputation for being a great recreational activity that is great for improving both your mental and physical health. So it was only a matter of time that, with increasing demand, people started to pursue hiking as an actual career and do it professionally.

So yes, thanks to the internet and social media, almost anything can be done professionally and earned, even hiking. There are many professional hikers that you can find on social media platforms, arranging hiking trips, taking groups for hiking, etc., and making a good living out of it.

However, while being effective, interesting, and practical, working via social media channels might not be for everyone. So if you are really passionate about hiking and wonder if any professional hikers can lead as inspiration for you, then you have come to the right place.

As we take our love for hiking very seriously, we have done a fair bit of research and can assure you that there have been plenty of professional hikers. In fact, there have been many famous hikers ahead of their time in the history of hiking. Let’s take a look at a few.

Who Are The Most Famous Professional Hikers?

Hiking is a well-loved activity for one reason or another. So it is not surprising that many people have been going on multiple hiking expeditions almost all of their lives. In fact, even before hiking became popular, there were people who had dedicated their life’s objectives to it.

So while some might have been passionate, others were seeking a thrill – there have been hikers who made a lasting impression on the hiking culture and led by example for people who would like to pursue hiking as a profession:

Andrew Skurka

Andrew Skurka is a National Geographic Adventures 2007 Awards winner for Adventurer for the Year. Apart from being a passionate hiker for his personal gains, he is the world’s frontman when it comes to ultra-long distance hiking.

Back in 2005, Skurka emerged as a brilliant hiker when he made his name by hiking almost 8000 miles on a sea route. In eleven months, he covered the hiking journey, traveling from Quebec to Washington.

Today, despite already having conquered so many feats under his name, he still continues to hike and makes a living by doing guided tours, hiking long-distance trails for brands, designing hiking gear, and even conducting public speaking sessions about his experiences.

Buddy Backpacker

While you may be out here second-guessing your stance towards hiking as a career, this cute little fella that goes by the name Buddy Backpacker has dominated the hiking culture for good. His real name is Christian Thomas, but he is better known as Buddy Backpacker.

The surprising feat under his name is that he first covered the Appalachian Trail, hiking the entire length of it when he was just 5. Backed by his parents, Buddy was unstoppable after that and went on to cover the Pacific Crest Trail within just two years’ time.

Today, even though he is taking a much-needed break from hiking to focus on other priorities of his life, Buddy Backpack hasn’t quite put down the backpack for good at all. In fact, you can check out his blog to retrace his hikes till he comes back anew, as he has a long way to go.

Heather Anderson

Known as the “Anish” of hiking, Heather Anderson is one of the top hikers and is celebrated for being among the fastest hikers to cover long-distance trails on foot. Being a female is like another crown in her jewel because it just adds her to another rare group of achievers.

Her impressive credentials include the fastest known time, i.e., the FKT, as well as the AT and PCT records for The Appalachian Trail, The Arizona Trail, and The Pacific Crest Trail – making her the only female hiker to have accomplished this in a fairly young age bracket.

With her recent milestone of hitting 8000 miles for the Triple Crown, she bagged yet another title of becoming the sixth person and first woman to complete it twice in a calendar year. She has set up social media platforms where you can keep a tab on her adventures.

George “Billy Goat” Woodard

George Woodard, or Billy Goat as he is famously known, is one of the hiking community’s oldest and most reputable hikers. With a whopping 50,000 miles under his name to date, it is surprising for many that he started his trail tales somewhere around just 1988.

Having accomplished so much over the years hasn’t exhausted Billy Goat at all. He is a living legend for keeping his no-nonsense preaching personality and an unruly hair and beard to reinstate that.

Safe to say, if you pass him on a trail, you will recognize him as even after his bypass surgery in 2014, he hasn’t slowed down even a bit. 12 plus years down the line and many more to go, Billy Goat is definitely a completion for generations to come.

Jennifer Pharr Davis

If the past decade was to be attributed to a hiker, it would simply go to Jennifer Pharr Davis without any competition. She is known for some of the most noteworthy fastest known times for many famous trails.

With her first breakthrough hike being on the Appalachian Trail in 2005 – she hasn’t looked back and continues to carry on with her adventures with even more enthusiasm. You can read about her particular experience in her book Becoming Odyssa.

Nowadays, you can find her actively documenting her experiences to her vast social media following on Instagram and Facebook. With any adventure up on her calendar, she updates her audience and has them join her in fun virtually.

Bill Irwin

Not everyone’s hike journey is purely for a challenge or to meet fitness requirements. In fact, for some, it is a pilgrimage – a spiritual journey through time that brings them closer to God. And Bill Irwin was no stranger to that feeling.

He is the first-ever blind person to have hiked the infamous Appalachian Trail. Along with his guide dog taking him through and putting up as much support, Irwin didn’t give up and kept it for eight months until he finally made it.

He is known to be a challenger for even the ones with eyesight, but you can read about Irwin’s journey as he went on to become a better version of himself in his book titled Blind Courage. The story shall soon hit the screens too.

John Mackey

Yes, the famous CEO of Whole Foods has other impressive dips under his name, and the most surprising one is his love for hiking. The successful businessman doesn’t back down from trailblazing in his office and certainly not when hiking trails.

Back in 2002, when Whole Foods hit a rough patch, Mackey didn’t get discouraged. But rather than worrying about it, he distracted himself and put his mind to his one true love – hiking. And as they say, the rest is history - what a turnaround impact it had on his life.

Even today, Mackey is a force to be reckoned with and carries both his passions side by side. He has hiked the AT twice and organizes regular hiking projects for his employees to keep the team’s enthusiasm active.

Dale Sanders

As people lovingly call him, Dale Sanders, or Mr. Greybeard, is officially the oldest hiker to have walked the AT. But what seems to be so profound is the fact that he isn’t the hiker doing it in the early days. In fact, he accomplished the feat ever so recently in 2017 at the age of 82.

The fact that gives people the most motivation is that he started to practice his love for hiking in that same year. In addition to this, he has also paddled the entirety of the Mississippi River for 2300 miles – talk about the inspiration for life.

As of recently, you can follow him on his Facebook channel, where he makes sure to share his adventures with his fans. He has garnered quite a following given his stark resemblance to Colonel Sanders of the famous fast-food chain, with people calling him Healthy Sanders.

What Are Some Ways You Can Make A Career From Hiking?

We have come up with interesting ways you can take up hiking as a career. From getting paid to explore new trails to revisiting old ones on a recurring basis with other people, let’s look at hiking from a professional perspective.

Start a YouTube Channel

One of the easiest, most effective ways of starting a career around hiking is to open your very own YouTube channel.

For starters, it won’t even require that much effort from your side, as you can simply record your hikes and trail adventures and post them in their raw, organic form.

When the channel starts gaining traction is when you can move towards editing your videos and investing in quality cameras to keep up.

Make an Instagram/ TikTok/ Facebook Page

Sometime back, we may have suggested this as a second step or something alongside the YouTube channel, but nowadays, people are thriving off of simply social media accounts.

Thanks to TikTok, short-form video content has become exceptionally popular and has allowed independent creators to have entire personas being sold simply with 5 to 10-second videos.

So put on your creative hats and make a TikTok or an Instagram channel to post your short-form content, videos, and pictures over there and earn through it.

Create a Blog

One of the easiest and fool-proof ways of making your name shine in the hiking culture is the old-fashioned way of having a blog.

You can acquire a website and start journaling your journey, adventures, and experiences and let other people take notice as you work your way through.

You can earn through the viable channels of affiliate marketing, Google ads, and third-party ads and even connect your social media channels to it.

Write For Publications

Some hiking enthusiasts are not as extroverted to put themselves out there. So the best way for them to earn while remaining in their comfort zone is to write for publications.

There are many hardcover magazines, online magazines, blogs, adaptive books, etc. You can find mutual hiking interests with the readers and creators and write for them.  

Although this is not a considerable career choice for the long term, you can still make a significant amount for it being a temporary career.

Conduct Group Hiking Adventures

Although this may take away the singularity of the hiking experience for some people, conducting group hiking trips and adventures is great for a long-term hiking career.

You can use the online platform to gain attention and following. Interested people shall contact you once the business takes off and gains positive reviews from your customers.

You can then offer the service pertaining to your liking and even hire other personnel to take different groups while you work on the back end of managing the business side of it all.

Find Sponsorships

If you are an active hiker who often hikes in groups, conducts hiking trips, or has an online profile connected to your passion for hiking, you can easily find sponsors for yourself.

There are many brands that make sporting gear specifically targeted toward hikers. If you are popular enough, those brands will not take their time to track you down.

You can have a great time earning through these gear sponsorships while you simply enjoy what you do best – hiking!

Become a Hiking Guide

It takes significant experience and not just a love of hiking to take up this job. That’s why even though fairly obvious, we have placed this option last.

You can’t become a hiking guide based on your personal experiences. It would take professional coaching and licenses to become an official hiking guide for people.

However, the effort is simply worth the result as you get to earn a living through your favorite activity, which doesn’t even feel like work but a passion project.