What have you been doing for the last two years?

Like most regular folks, you’ve been living a normal, everyday life, with work, school, home, family, friends, chores, shopping, weekends and recreation filling your time. But not Briana DeSanctis, the 40-year-old native of Farmington who instead has been backpacking across the United States from coast to coast, a monumental journey of epic proportions.

Since Jan. 1, 2022, DeSanctis – who goes by the trail name “Rocky Mountain High” – has been hiking the American Discovery Trail, one of the longest in the nation. The ADT stretches from the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware to Point Reyes National Seashore on the Pacific Coast of California, an extraordinary 6,800 miles across 15 states and the District of Columbia.

The American Discovery Trail ranges an incredible 6,800 miles across the U.S. from Cape Henlopen, Del. to Point Reyes, Calif. Briana DeSanctis photo

Sometime later this month, if all goes well, the gritty DeSanctis will hike through the streets of San Francisco, traverse the Golden Gate Bridge and cross the San Andreas Fault before reaching Limantour Beach on Drakes Bay. And there, stepping into the icy waters of the Pacific, the backpacking adventure will come to an end after some 750 days through forests, mountains, deserts, grasslands, cities and towns.

You might be thinking that after all this time DeSanctis would be happy to be done and headed home, but that’s not the case.

“It’s hard finishing. I don’t want to be done. But I can’t keep walking because I’ll drown,” she said wryly, referencing the big ocean that defines the trail’s end in no uncertain terms. As to home, well, she admits candidly: “I don’t have a home. I’ve been homeless for two years now. The trail is my home.”

The last few weeks of the hike hold plenty of challenges. The built-up environs of the heavily populated corridor from Sacramento through the Bay Area signals the end of the wild and remote landscapes. Campsites will be hard to find and so will cheap places to stay. And with busy roads and traffic, the walking is unlikely to be very enjoyable. Undaunted, DeSanctis plans to take the final stretch in stride per usual.

The American Discovery Trail has been a mostly solitary experience for Briana DeSanctis, who has spent some 750 days walking more than 6,800 miles across America from Delaware to California. Briana DeSanctis photo

Not connecting the trail dots across America was never an option for the determined DeSanctis, and when her trek is complete, she will become the first woman ever to solo thru-hike the entire ADT. All this on top of an Appalachian Trail hike from Georgia to Maine eight years ago. But unlike that popular long hike full of camaraderie, the ADT has been a supremely solitary experience. “There’s no one else out here. I am alone every day.”

DeSanctis’ mileage tally, including the Southern Route and Northern Route across the middle of the country where the trail splits – both of which she’s hiked– will easily exceed the 6,800 miles on paper. “I’ve gotten lost and gone the wrong way plenty of times. The ADT isn’t well marked in many places, and it’s surprising when you actually do see signs,” DeSanctis said. “The urban areas have been the hardest. I’ve done a lot of extra walking.”

The ADT is truly a journey of discovery, and while the sights and sounds of the natural world are wonderful elements of such a long walk, it’s most often the people that make the trip.

“I’ve met so many great people in the towns and along the road,” DeSanctis said. “Hardly anyone out here has ever heard of the ADT. I’ve tried to raise awareness of this trail that literally runs right through their backyard.”

The American Discovery Trail across the Colorado Rockies was a remarkably wild and scenic stretch of hiking for Briana DeSanctis, aka Rocky Mountain High. Briana DeSanctis photo

The beautiful basin and range terrain of Nevada was perhaps the favorite part for DeSanctis, even though it was one of the toughest sections with plenty of overgrown, washed-out and hard-to-follow sections of the trail. California’s Sierra Nevada and the Colorado Rockies were remarkably scenic and also ranked high on her list. In contrast, the Midwestern states in winter were gray, gloomy and depressing, and a real low point that tested her spirit and drive.

DeSanctis may have mastered the physical and mental challenges of the ADT, but the journey’s true impact may not be properly sorted out for some time to come.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever find what I’m looking for, but I’ve had a good time, a full experience of people and places,” admitted a retrospective DeSanctis. What’s next? “An easier hike. Something that doesn’t cause pain and scars. Maybe a pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago.”

Carey Kish of Mount Desert Island is the author of Beer Hiking New England, AMC’s Best Day Hikes Along the Maine Coast, and the AMC Maine Mountain Guide. Follow more of Carey’s adventures on Facebook and on Instagram @careykish

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