Kate Hoch
Contributing Writer
Bio
Kate Hoch is a thru-hiker, climber, mountaineer, and outdoor writer based in the Pacific Northwest By trade, she’s a mechanical engineer who designs and builds machines to test fitness equipment. She’s put this engineer’s mindset to work when refining gear choices over the years, honing in on details, learning about the nuances of material and design choices.
When she’s been unable to find what she want in gear, she uses her engineer’s mind to MYOG (Make Your Own Gear), either modifying existing gear to include features she wants, or in the case of her current long distance backpack, taking her favorite elements of several different packs, and combining them into her dream pack built from scratch.
Kate has backpacked and thru-hiked 10,000 miles, including the entire Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail, the Trans Catalina Trail, San Diego Trans County Trail, Three Sisters Loop, the Wonderland Trail and California Riding and Hiking Trail.
She’s also hiked multiple off-trail routes including the Hayduke Trail (including Buckskin Gulch to Lee’s Ferry), Oregon Desert Trail, and Sierra High Route. She also has multiple mountaineering ascents of Cascade Volcanoes including Mt. Hood and Rainier.
Kate has been on the executive board of ALDHA-West (American Long Distance Hiking Association - West) for the past 8 years. As part of our five annual pre-backpacking season educational events (called “Rucks”), she’s conducted many pack shakedowns and been a panelist on lightweight gear forums. She’s shared her knowledge and expertise with hundreds of new backpackers. Running these events also keeps her on top of the newest available options for all kinds of backpacking gear.
Instagram: @dropnroll
Website: www.drop-n-roll.com
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