205 Courtland Place, Asheville, N.C.
Tears streamed down the face of Christine Martens ’07. Forcing herself not to peer into the valley several thousand feet below, she plunged ahead along the steep, snowy terrain of Washington’s Cascade Mountains. It was July 2014, and Martens and her husband, John Haffner, were less than two weeks into their thru-hike of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), which traverses the western U.S. from Canada to Mexico.

What She’s Doing:
Martens scaled back her career as an instrumentation engineer to part time so she could work with Blue Ridge Hiking Company in North Carolina, guiding trekkers on day hikes and longer excursions.

In addition to the PCT, Martens — trail name “Dormouse” — and her husband, “Dirt Stew,” have hiked the length of the 2,179-mile Appalachian Trail and New Zealand’s 1,865-mile Te Araroa Trail.

What She’s Learning:
Intense pain Martens experienced while hiking led to a late diagnosis of congenital hip dysplasia, and she underwent three surgeries between 2015 and 2017 to reconfigure her hips. That experience and her arduous hiking excursions have proven to her that her mind and body are capable of enduring extreme challenges.

What She Loves:
Martens enjoys solving problems, whether it’s an engineering-design dilemma or assessing the optimal amount of supplies for a long-distance hike. Her dream engineering job would be with a hiking gear company.

Martens loves introducing others to the joys of nature. “The more people I can get to experience the natural world, the more people there will be who care about it, and the more likely these things will be preserved for generations to come.”
— Theresa Gawlas Medoff ’85