Lisbon Falls Native Has Joined The Hiking Elite

It is true to date only 396 people have ever completed what they term the "Triple Crown of Hiking" What the heck is the hiking triple crown? Glad you asked.

You accomplish the Triple Crown by successfully traversing all 7,900 miles of the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail and Continental Divide Trail. And in September according to the Sun Journal that is exactly what Elysha Dyer of Lisbon Falls completed.

Elysha, now 28 told the paper that when she was younger she hiked a lot and thought to herself even then that it was what she wanted to do.

If you remember the  movie 'Wild' with Reese Witherspoon about Cheryl Strayed then you remember that hikers create a trail names for themselves and in Dyer's case the name she hikes under is “Yard Sale,” a nickname she came across during one of her hikes. Her story to the paper:

“I was drying my gear out after a rainstorm one day, and a hiker came through, saw my stuff hanging on the tree branches and said, ‘It looks like you’re having a yard sale,’” Dyer said. “After that, I decided to use that as my trail name. It makes sense, too. Whenever I get to camp, my stuff is strewn out everywhere.”

Elysha says she'll have to wait until next June to apply for her 'Triple Crown' certificate. She also tells how she is far from done taking on big hikes. Still in her sites is the Arizona Trail in 2020 and she also wants to do “some big mountaineering,” including hiking Mount Rainier in Washington or Denali in Alaska.She says her list has no end.

Best of luck to you Elysha, you are an inspiration.