It's a shared dream for many, visiting all 50 United States. Not everyone does it, and not everyone tries; but plenty would love to make the attempt. Tiffany Slaton, a fit and healthy person, wanted to try. So she prepared both herself and her supplies, and she made plans.
April 24, 2025 was the last day that people reported seeing her, her e-bike, and the little trailer she had full of her camping supplies to trek into California's Sierra Mountains. Among other items, she had a tent, two sleeping bags, and her Lectric e-bike. In recounting her story, we learn that she also had food, water, a knife, and a lighter. You know, the kinds of supplies you'd expect a well-prepared person to have on a journey like this.
The journey was only supposed to last a few days, and Slaton had told her parents and friends where she was going and how long she planned to be there. Since she's very much the type of person to stay in regular contact, they of course got worried when she didn't contact them.
By mid-May, they got Fresno County officials involved, who organized an intensive five-day search of the area where they believed Slaton would be.
They found nothing, according to SFGate, and everyone was worried.
And then, Slaton appeared. Amazingly, even though the trek ended up lasting weeks longer than she'd planned, her quick thinking, skills, and unique training saw her through. Once you watch this video, you'll understand that Tiffany Slaton is a certified badass.
Learning that she made it is one thing, but hearing Slaton tell the story in her own words is something else entirely. Early on, she fell and hit her head, which she says knocked her out for a good two hours. She also had to splint one of her legs, and pop something back into place so she could keep going.
Obviously, in our modern era, with all our electronic devices (and an e-bike), those things didn't keep their charge beyond a certain point, and were useless. Over time, she says she also lost her tent, as well as both of her sleeping bags. But thanks to the archery training she'd taken back home, as well as her deep foraging knowledge, she was able to find enough food in the wild to survive. Snow melt also helped with water, which is always a concern if you're stranded in the wilderness.
Eventually, she found her way to a resort that was closed for the season, but whose owner had left a cabin door open in case just this sort of thing happened. That way, a lost person or people could at least take shelter.
We have no idea if Slaton has any plans to write about her experiences, or if anyone's making a movie about it. But here's hoping she does.
