Who is Julia Patten?
Bluey Merino has followed Julia through so many of her hiking adventures, we thought it was time to introduce her properly to our community. Julia is an avid hiker whose passion for the outdoors has brought her all around Australia to some of the most beautiful walks our country has to offer.
A passion ignited over 15 years ago
Julia’s passion for hiking kicked off in her early 20’s when she first began end-to-end and multi-day hiking trips while living in Western Australia. Ever since then, she’s been hooked on the crunch underfoot and the wild skies above.
A love for the remoteness of hiking
With a love of quiet trails and wildlife, Julia particularly enjoys the birdlife of dawn and dusk she witnesses during her hikes. She loves watching the playful birds when she's moving quietly, before they've realised she's there. The adventure of carrying everything she needs and travelling from base to base in rural, outback, and remote locations is what motivates her to continue hiking.
The best hikes under her belt so far
Julia’s most recent adventure was completing South Australia’s 1,200km Heysen Trail: a trek that consisted of over 59 days of section hiking. Before she completed that journey, when asked about her most favourite hiking trails, it was a tie between Frenchman’s Cap and the South Coast Track in Tasmania.
The ultimate advice for fellow hikers
- Hike your own hike!
- There is no such thing as bad weather, just inappropriate clothing.
A reflection on gratefulness to stay motivated
During each of her hikes, Julia often thinks about the hikers before her who have been on the trail and perhaps given guidance for her to be there; or the people who previously called the land she’s on “home.” She feels very fortunate to be allowed safe passage and a healthy body to sustain her adventures - hiking has, above all, taught her “gratefulness.”
When Julia is traversing a particularly challenging trail, she stays motivated by reminding herself that, “Your hardest day is excellent resilience training.”
Upcoming adventures & bucket list hikes
Julia’s next outdoor adventures include heading to the Bay of Fires in Tasmania before she jets off to go skiing in Japan. After that, she has some mountains she’s keen to climb in Victoria and is building up the courage to tackle the Western Arthurs Traverse in Tasmania - as this would be her ultimate hiking adventure.
Follow along the journey…
You can follow Julia's adventures on Instagram: @juliajpatten. We’ll also keep you updated about her hiking adventures in more Bluey stories to come!