Traveling with Tonya

09/07/2026

OK, it is all officially official, so announcement time...

This is a hard one. For the first year since thru-hiking, I will not be returning to the Appalachian Trail in 2027 as a Ridgerunner / Basecamp Coordinator. 😢🥾

Without getting too deep into personal finances, the bottom line is the bottom line. 2025-2026 has been rough with RV and car repairs, emergency vet bills, and my own medical bills ... all of that plus the periods of time off without pay between 3 annual jobs, and hauling the RV from MT to AZ to GA and back to MT is crazy expensive with gas prices ... so financially, I had to make a tough choice.

I will be storing the RV in Montana from fall through spring, to return to Glacier next May/June, and remaining out west to work only one seasonal job during that time. The job does include housing, and they have approved Zoby to be with me, in a single room.

This will be my first real winter in 25 years, lol, so I may have lost my mind ... but I will be spending it at about 8,000 feet in the Rockies, working at Beaver Creek Resort near Vail, Colorado. ❄️🏔⛷️🏂

Beaver Creek will pay for my training to get my Class B CDL, which I am thankful for, and that also allows me future opportunities to potentially work in other National Parks as a Tour Guide where a Class B is required. I will then be spending the season shuttling snow bunnies, skiers and snowboarders through this truly lovely area of Colorado. 🚍❄️ Now I, of course, will be hitting the trails and hiking as much as I can in shoulder seasons and lower elevations, lol🥾 ... we shall see if I actually enjoy hitting the slopes or not (I have never snow skied!)

To all my Georgia Appalachian Trail Club and Appalachian Trail Conservancy friends and colleagues -- I will deeply miss you, and it is your friendships that make it so hard to not be there again. I will miss the AT, the class of '27 nobos, and doing classroom presentations. It will be a very odd spring to not be ingrained in the excitement of the AT thru-hiker season kicking off.

But... if anyone wants some time on the slopes, come on out. I'll join you après-ski for hot chocolate in the lodge, lol! ☕️⛷️❄️

07/12/2026

I have debated posting this due to the fact I have heard this incident resulted in a fatality, although that has not been confirmed. However, I believe the skills of our Search and Rescue pilot(s) and NPS Rangers working together here should be recognized and applauded.

**This is not confirmed** What I have heard is rockfall from the Highline Trail hit an open-air roofless Jeep (we did see the Jeep), resulting in serious injury, or fatality, to a passenger. While quite rare, this does happen, and is also why I always tell my guests not to stand or drive under the waterfalls, like the weeping wall, along Going to the Sun Road. Rocks can come down at any time, especially with water. While that was not the case here - just a freak accident - this does serve as a reminder that rockfall is common along the road.

My tour today was stopped right up front to seeing the *I believe* Two Bear Air Rescue helicopter landing on the road. (If not, please someone direct me to whom was called out.) It was gusty with winds, this is on a curve in the road with steep cliffs all around, multiple mountain peaks, and several cars and an ambulance in the road. Watch the pilot effortlessly land this chopper precisely in the middle of all that. Kudos!! 👏

My sincerest condolences to the family if indeed a loved one was lost today, and prayers to all, no matter what the outcome. 🙏❤️

12/31/2025

Here's an idea for your 2026 New Year's Resolution: Take care of our public lands.

This video is what I encountered at Joshua Tree National Park - trash everywhere. Instead if just complaining about it, I took the time to clean it up. 🚮🗑

I'm not posting this for accolades, but rather for education. Our beloved public lands - be it a National Park, a National Forest a Natl Scenic Trail or BLM lands - are getting trashier and trashier.

Public lands are not landfills.

Pack it in, pack it out.

This includes picnic areas and parking lots, which are some of the worst areas I see, and what is shown here in this video. BLM and National Forest lands are literal dumpster sites in many locations I have traveled to disperse camp.

We gotta do better, people. We are destroying the very lands we go to enjoy.

It's not just trash, either.

Learn the 7 Principles of Leave No Trace. Stay on trails, don't cut switchbacks, don't pick wildflowers, don't ignore fire bans and learn the 4 Ds of safe campfires, dispose of your gray water properly, stay clear of wildlife, be considerate of others hiking and camping... these are just some things I educate people on around the country via my jobs and simply as someone who cares enough to protect our lands.

So in 2026...
Go to leavenotrace.org and educate yourself.
Pick up after yourself.
Pick up after others.
Let's do better. ❤️🚮

12/27/2025

Last night I was messaging with someone who didn't realize the VOTES RE-SET every day .... and most importantly that they do EVERY ROUND. 😬😮

Yup, with each round, all your previous votes are tossed, and the counter goes back to zero.0️⃣0️⃣

So your previous votes got me into the next round -- thank you!! -- but each round needs a vote again, and really, each day does, to keep me in position to move forward.✔️

8️⃣ I am currently in 8th place.
1️⃣🥇I need to be in 1st to make it to the finals.

Should I make it there, and somehow should I win, I get $25k, but more importantly, Glacier National Park Conservancy gets $25k. And with their current donor match program, that becomes $50,000 for Glacier! ❤️👏🎉

🙏 So please...
Please...
Take one minute to vote today.
To share this and ask others to as well.

🥰 Thank you!

America’s Favorite Photos: Discover your new favorite photos!

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas!! 🎄🥰❤️

Please vote today, I need to be in 1st to move on to the Semi-finals! 🙏✔️

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17s6S1Ku5e/

America’s Favorite Photos: Discover your new favorite photos!

12/22/2025

Back in July when I entered this photo into a competition, made it to the semi-finals, but did not win.

Well...

The staff of the competition selected it as one of the "STAFF PICK'S" to be entered into the ANNUAL competition at year-end!

This means I have a chance at winning $25,000...
And, better yet...
Glacier National Park Conservancy will also win $25,000!

Aaand, Glacier Conservancy is in the middle of a DOUBLE MATCH donor marathon going through the end of the year, which means this could be $50,000 for them!!! 👏🎉💰

You can vote every day, and TODAY your vote counts double! If I make it through this round to the next round, votes count double on that first day as well.

Please vote, and please SHARE!
Let's get Glacier Park Conservancy $50,000!!
AmericasFavoritePhotos.com/v/rnzj4k

12/22/2025

Remember back in July when I entered this photo into a competition, made it to the semi-finals, but did not win?

Well...

The staff of the competition selected it as one of the "STAFF PICK'S" to be entered into the ANNUAL competition at year-end!

This means I have a chance at winning $25,000...
And, better yet...
Glacier National Park Conservancy will also win $25,000!

Aaand, Glacier Conservancy is in the middle of a DOUBLE MATCH donor marathon going through the end of the year, which means this could be $50,000 for them!!! 👏🎉💰

You can vote every day, and TODAY your vote counts double! If I make it through this round to the next round, votes count double on that first day as well.

Please vote, and please SHARE!
Let's get Glacier Park Conservancy $50,000!!

America’s Favorite Photos: Discover your new favorite photos!

12/12/2025

An epic day in the Grand Canyon yesterday! 🥾🙌

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1MJLfr4R6u/