Jennifer Pharr-Davis: 'Becoming Odyssa'

ON THE TRAILS
Jennifer grew up in North Carolina with two older brothers.  The Pharr family regularly took short day hikes.  “I felt at a young age that going into the woods was something fun,” says Jen.  After college, Jen wanted to experience an adventure.  “I loved being outside,” she says.  She decided to hike the Appalacian Trail (AT), which is 2,180 miles long and runs from Georgia to Maine, after college graduation in 2005. Jen, 21, saved all her money for the trip while she was in college, but says she was naïve. 

The longest she had ever spent in the woods was three nights.  “I started on my own and did everything wrong,” says Jen.  “But I learned lessons on the trail. It was a life-changing experience.”  Even her name “changed.” Trail names, an Appalacian tradition, are nicknames hikers use in lieu of their normal identities.  Some come to the trail with names in mind.  Jen did not.  She was a classics major and on the first four days of her hike, Jen says she compared the AT to Homer’s Odyssey several times.  So she decided to re-gender the name and call herself Odyssa.

She loved being in nature and says hiking in the woods for long distances (called thru-hiking) allowed her to feel connected to creation.  “It was a spiritual journey.  All the scriptures about creation came to life,” Jen says.  The trail also taught her to be happy with very little.  “You learn to value people for who they are not what they are.”  Jen says she has met interesting people on the trail.  “Some people you encounter for a day; others that you see more than that will most likely not be part of your life once you return home,” she says.  Over the course of her journey, Jen endured inclement weather, freezing temperatures, sleeping on the ground, running across animals, insects, snakes (even a rattlesnake), and moose, getting struck by lightening, and even ran across a “stalker” hiker.  She also saw majestic sceneries and sadly encountered a suicide on the trail.  Jen was glad to process this death alone on the trail where she could think and pray to the Lord.  After her journey, Jen thought, I’m never doing this again!”

BECOMING ODYSSA
Every year since 2005, Jen, who says she found her passion on the trail, has completed a long distance trail ranging from 300 to 2,700 miles.  She has hiked all over the US and on six different continents.  In 2007, she met Brew and they were married the next year.  For the first time, Jen didn’t want to be away from her husband for weeks or months at a time on the trail.  “I’m fortunate my husband is supportive,” she says.  Brew, a schoolteacher, has summers off.   Twelve days after they were married, Jen and Brew set out on the AT.  With Brew's support, Jennifer averaged 38 miles a day and they finished in 57 days. 

In July 2011, Jen returned to AT; this time Brew met her on the roadside so she didn’t have to carry so much in her backback.  “I had to depend on him for all my needs,” says Jen.   The record for the AT was held by a man who completed the trail in 47 days (thru-hiking is a male dominated sport).  With Brew’s help, Jen completed the trail in 46 days, 11 hours and 20 minutes.  “It was my responsibility to use my talents to my fullest potential,” says Jen, who averaged 46.9 miles at 3 miles per hour each day. 

Jen became a Christian at a young age during Christian summer camp.  “My hike in 2005 was the most defining spiritually because at that point I felt like my faith was still under the influence of my family.  On the trail, I felt like I got to read the scriptures and meditate and make my faith my own,” says Jen.  She had to look to God for all her provisions and protection.  “The amazing thing about the woods is that when you are taken out of your environment, you are turning straight to God.  There is no family or friends,” she says. 

Jen believes that the Lord left us His Word and the manifestation of His Word (creation).  “His love story manifests itself in nature. It’s a place of peace and rejuvenation,” she says.  As Christians, Jen reminds us we’re called to be stewards.  “We need to be stewards of the gifts He has given us.  We should protect and preserve creation.”