Absolute Creatures: A Zine About Thru-Hiking the Pacific Crest Trail

By Sarahmarie Specht-Bird in Hiking

84 pages, published 3/2/2023

The story of a long hike on a beautiful trail with cool people. Absolute Creatures is 84 pages and 25,000 words about my 2022 thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. Told through the lens of my “tramily,” or “trail family,” the zine is a brief but beautiful romp through mountains, desert, snow, heat, wildfires, and the most beautiful sunsets. Includes art by Amelia Cleveland and 11 pages with full-color photos from the trail.

Absolute Creatures is a zine about my 2022 thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail. It is organized into five major sections of writing, one for each member of my original tramily, or trail family. Although we didn’t all hike the whole trail together, I see these five people as the foundation of my thru hike. I wanted to write something to help me process to trail and to honor the people I shared the journey with.

In between each of the major sections is a “tidbit”—a little extra. There’s a top 10 songs of the PCT list, some silly quotes, and a glossary of hiking terms.

This zine is 84 pages, including 11 pages with full-color photos. Art by Amelia “Patches!” Cleveland.

You can purchase the zine at the link above. There is a digital version and a print version. All print copies come with a free digital copy.

Enjoy!