Meet Aubrey
#3 of 15
Trail Name: IRTHO
Hello! I’m IRTHO, otherwise known as Aubrey. I’m 20 years old and the 3rd oldest sibling out of the 15 of us, born and raised on a little farm in Paint Rock, Texas.
I had gastric sleeve surgery on December 15 2022, (roughly 2-3 months prior to the AT) and lost up to 100 pounds! My dad’s side of the family always struggled with obesity and I’ve also struggled with weight myself. I was never able to keep up with my siblings so I stopped trying to play with them (even though I really wanted to). Despite things like weight watchers, medication, other things I did and dr’s I saw, how much I ran and tried to work the weight off nothing really worked. So I lost all hope of me ever losing weight. My aunt had gastric bypass surgery done on her and lost a lot of weight which inspired me to begin the process of exploring bariatric options. She gave me hope again (if you see this thank you, aunt Abby)
We also used to play a lot of backyard football and, who knows, maybe I’ll finally be able to tag Grayson (my oldest brother) in backyard football when we play once we complete the trail. (it’s a goal of mine now)
Personally, I feel like the trail has given me so much more passion and insight for life. I would say I feel like it’s given me my life back, but I don’t really feel like I had a life before this. I worked the family business for years to help pay the bills but our life sorta revolved around trauma and survival for a very long time. My mom, siblings and I were all really super close but for years it was struggling to survive. Being on trail allowed us to be together in a better environment. For me, the trail has given me social skills I didn’t have even in dealing with customers from our 2 family businesses. I can relate to people, talk, have lots of self confidence, relate to others, and have friends from all types of life and every age group now. We’ve never really had extended family that has played an active role in our life. The trail has given us an entire extended family we’ve become close to that we’ve never really had.
Having been on trail 6 months I can now keep up with the fast crew. We have a slow crew and a fast crew. Before, I used to cry and get so depressed I could never keep up and thought there was no hope of being like the others and able to hang with them. But now I can keep up with the fast crew and I’m so so proud of myself. Like, that’s the most exciting thing so far. It’s the one thing I’ve wanted for so many years and it just makes me smile every time I think about it or do it. I’m so much happier and more confident in myself and my own abilities. I could’ve gone to the gym after my surgery but I feel like the trail has kept me accountable. I get up and don’t even have a choice. I have to hike every day. And hiking every day has led to me climbing mountains, bouldering and even rock walls like Webster Cliffs and what’s in the Whites I would’ve thought impossible and I couldn’t have ever even imagined doing before. I wouldn’t have ever done it alone. But I’m doing it with my family which has enabled me to succeed. There’s lots of self discipline and self control that goes into hiking the AT. I feel like I’ve finally accomplished those things and have so much more personal independence I didn’t have before.
The triple crown of VA while we’ve been on trail has been one of my most favorite parts. My mom and I backpacked it last fall when I was 250lbs. It was really difficult but I did it. I couldn’t wait to go back during our thru hike and see what improvements I’ve made. I was able to hike the entire thing without even falling behind and without getting discouraged. It was definitely one of the biggest milestones. Grayson Highlands was my other most favorite portion of the trail. We woke up to wild ponies with their heads in our tents. They had colts and surrounded our campsite. It was life changing. Once we finish the AT the first place I’ll return will be Grayson Highlands. It’s one of the most beautiful and favorite places for me.
How I got my trail name:
​
It was our first attempt at a 20 mile day and I was having a really bad day (mostly cause I just didn’t want to do it ) and I hadn’t liked my previous trail name, so I kept angrily repeating “I refuse to have one”. My mom (hot shower) thought about it for a long while then with laughter said “IRTHO! It’s Irtho. That’s her new trail name!” She had put all the acronyms together and that’s what I got. I like it though. It’s starting to grow on me and has a great story that says it all.
What are my plans for when I get off the AT:
I plan on buying this little race Miata Grayson has in the shop (I’ve been asking to buy it from him for years) I wanna go on lots of road trips, and do trail magic with it when I get the chance. (Smoky Bear inspired me to do that one and my family has always loved road trips ) I also wanna join soccer and rugby when I get back home and live a very active lifestyle because I can now!
​
For work, I may return to my job at VIR, where Canary also works. However, I’d really like to attend some college classes for digital animation in addition to working. Art and animals are my passion. Old school Disney animation is some of my favorite. I also have a love for cosmetology. So I’m working on lining everything up to take classes in cosmetology and digital art and animation. I want to take things from the trail that I have come to love and turn that into an animated trail story. Make the rabbits, frogs, snakes, bears, deer, salamanders, birds, owls, horses and other forest life we’ve seen come to life and tell their story.
My Bucket list:
​
Hike the Rocky Mountains of Canada. Maybe just keep going on the CDT and into Canada.
Road trip across the US
​
What makes you smile:
Animals - horses mostly but dogs, cats, anything that loves unconditionally.
We had lots of animals while I was growing up. They consisted of a few boar goats (the male was so mean!!!), 2 horses, 2 donkeys, lots of chickens (at one point we had 90 when Grayson was running his egg business), 6-7 dogs, 10-15 cats. At one point after our move to NC we had a Jersey cow and calf and 4 dairy goats. We now live in VA and still have 7 dogs. My mom finds it hard to say no to animals in need so they are all German Shepherd rescues except for the little brown one that hiked the first half of the trail with us. She’s a small golden retriever/dachshund mix, also a rescue. The neighbors dumped her and didn’t want her anymore so she just started living at our house and we kept her. Lots of people buy German shepherd puppies cause they love the idea of a German shepherd but they have no idea about the breed or what it takes to have one. Since we have lots of years of experience with them we sort of became a place people knew where they could go when other people dump them. So now we have 7! They’re all loved and live a very good life with us on 5 acres!
Where would you go in the world?
​
I’d like to visit Japan. I’ve never been there but love the culture and want to experience it in person. I’d also like to return to NYC. When my family and I visited NYC I fell in love with it and really wanna go back for awhile.
​
Fav food or sweet treat:
​
Cheese sticks and cheeze it’s!! And Trail magic!! Anything and everything trail magic. Current fav is green apple Gatorade and anything not tortilla and packaged pulled pork. lol
​
Who inspires the most?
​
Aaron Blaze, an old school Disney animator. I aspire to execute my art as well as he does. My siblings. To keep going and keep getting better and doing more.
Post Trail Update:
I returned home from the AT to get a job on a refuge farm and sanctuary.
It's a farm animal refuge dedicated to creating better lives for the victims of animal cruelty. I currently am assigned to the big barn and the care for the large pigs, which I absolutely love. My responsibilities also includes caring for and loving on sheep, alpacas, cows, donkeys, horses, goats, and emus. Reggie, the pot bellied pig, has become my crazily loved baby and, yes, I might've picked a favorite.
