This is the story of Kisha Jarrett as she sets out on a mission to thruhike

the Pacific Northwest Trail during the summer of 2021, the first fat Black woman with Lupus to do so. Her goal is two-fold. Firstly, to prove to herself that she can do the hardest thing she’s ever tried. Secondly, to insert herself into a mostly white, male and able-bodied outdoor narrative and upset the status quo. For months, she trains, packs, meets with experts and doctors. She and her team study the trail and learn about the excruciating work that goes into preparing for an endeavor of this magnitude. Kisha heads out. We witness a celebratory kick-off in Glacier National Park. Then, on the very first day, Kisha has to stop. She has ripped tendons in both of her feet, is in indescribable pain, and still has to get back out to safety. It takes two days to get out and back home to Portland, OR.

Kisha is heartbroken, unsure how to process. What does it mean to not accomplish something you’ve set out to do, something you’ve told the world you would do? She has surgery and finds herself with a cane, wearing medical boots. She is still determined to hike the trail. This is a close-up raw glimpse into what it means to be a fat Black woman with chronic illness in physical and mental recovery. She speaks directly to the camera, keeping a video diary as she decides what is next. Why was the full thru-hike so important, is it still? Kisha realizes that she’s been trying to fit herself into a narrative that was not designed for her. Rather than continue to set herself up for failure, she has to define what success looks like for herself. Kisha turns to a small but thriving community of unlikely outdoors enthusiasts from historically marginalized communities, folks without historic access to nature and outdoor recreation. They are BIPOC hikers, fat hikers, and hikers with chronic pain and disabilities. They embrace Kisha, giving advice, sharing stories, and eventually sharing hikes.

As her community expands, Kisha learns to see her failure as a fresh start. In the woods, she learns about the many paths that these unlikely hikers have taken. These many conversations help create the context for Kisha’s journey. We weave together first person narratives from the community, dispatches from “unlikely hikers” on trails across the country. Kisha realizes this story is no longer just hers, it belongs to the community. Able to hike again, Kisha decides if she still needs the thru-hike to feel accomplished or if there is a new trail ahead of her. Kisha learns to let go, deciding she doesn’t HAVE to hold herself to exterior standards of success. She decides that, for Kisha, finding success in the outdoors means finding JOY. With a new team of hiking partners and a new object ahead, Kisha heads off into the woods, where they all belong and deserve to be.