Hiking the Enchantments: From Crippling Injury to Pristine Alpine Lakes
Meet Shelby Springer, backpacking aficionado
“I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life… and not, when I had come to die, discover that I had not lived.” - Henry David Thoreau
I don’t fear death. Actually, as an emergency veterinarian, death is a well-known acquaintance. I have seen death creep up slowly as well as strike suddenly. I have witnessed the wrenching sorrow of unexpected loss and the sigh of relief after a long battle ends in a peaceful passing. I have watched the light pass from a living creature’s eyes countless times and listened while a heart gives its final beat.
No, I do not fear death. I do, however, fear not having fully lived. I’m afraid to find myself on my deathbed with regrets. With actions not taken and words not said. I don’t want to reach my end knowing I had more to give.
Maybe, in part, this is why I love leaning into adventure. I feel most alive when I am 60 feet under the ocean watching a school of fish dance and shimmer in the turquoise light or when I am hiking through the mountains, humbled by my insignificance in the face of the towering peaks.
When it’s my time to leave this earth, I want to know I pursued my wildest dreams. I want to live a life of purpose and to continually embrace adventure. Our time here is so short; I want to feel and see and do as much of this human experience as I can.
Our guest today is someone who, like Thoreau insightfully said, is sucking the marrow out of life. As you will see, her brush with death may have changed her immediate plans, but she didn’t let it stop her from fully living and pursuing her dreams. She has taken life’s proverbial lemons and made lemonade. I take inspiration from her story and hope, like her, I can continue to design a life of meaning, purpose and badass outdoor adventures.
Welcome, Shelby! Tell us about the beginning of what has been a long road to hiking the Enchantments.
My name is Shelby Springer, and while I’d now call myself an aspiring outdoorsy adventure gal, I used to be a full-fledged, bonafide outdoorsy gal. The past four years have been some of the most challenging of my life, reshaping both my physical abilities and my relationship with adventure, while testing me mentally and emotionally.
On July 2, 2021, my life took an unexpected turn. I was t-boned on the driver’s side of my beloved 2015 Rav4 (RIP Patty, you were the best adventure vehicle there ever was!) in a serious car accident. Unfortunately, this happened on the same day I returned home from a two-week solo backpacking and camping trip through Montana and Idaho—the first of five major trips I had planned during a self-funded three-month sabbatical from my career in veterinary medicine. My goal had been to explore the western U.S., hiking and backpacking wherever my heart desired. Instead, I was suddenly faced with a totaled car, staggering medical bills, and an endless cycle of therapy appointments—trauma, physical, vision, occupational, massage, acupuncture, trigger point, chiropractic—the list goes on, but you get it. What a bust!
At the time of my accident, I had just quit my job. I was planning to use the time off to train for one of my biggest goals: backpacking the Enchantments in the Northern Cascades. After entering the permit lottery for four years in a row with no luck, I had decided I wouldn’t wait any longer. I was going to train hard and grab one of the available 24-hour day-use permits, and complete the hike in a single day. Two months prior, I had summited Mt. St. Helens solo for my 30th birthday, and I was in the best shape of my adult life. What could go wrong? Que: Car Accident.
Describe the challenges in the early stages of recovery.
In the aftermath of the accident, I initially thought I’d be down for a few weeks before bouncing back. I severely underestimated the extent of my injuries and was far more damaged than I anticipated (or was willing to admit). For months, I was in and out of the ER with excruciating pain from torn musculature in my neck and resultant disk and joint issues. I also suffered from a traumatic brain injury (TBI) that affected my vision, balance, memory, and even my personality (becoming easily frustrated, loss of context in conversation, random outbursts of crying, etc.). The early months were a haze of medical appointments and setbacks, and as time wore on, I realized this battle wasn’t going to be measured in weeks or even months—it would be years. It’s really hard when the mind is willing, but the body cannot follow suit!
Every adventure has its hardships. As you worked towards recovery, what personal limiting beliefs or external barriers did you grapple with along the way?
For nearly four years, physical therapy and appointments with my Physiatrist (pain doctor) were constants in my life. I’ve had so many times where I felt like this chapter of my life was closed, and then a single set back would put me right back to where I felt like I was sitting at square one.
Throughout this process, I had to become my own advocate. Although I’ve had a pretty wonderful team of medical professionals, it was a nightmare having to navigate the human healthcare system in America. I had to dictate my own medical care just as much as I had to keep my doctors all on the same page.
Also, I have learned so much about how to deal with car insurance companies, lawyers and how to advocate for yourself through the highs and lows of being in a car accident that was not your fault. Another tangent here we could dive into: buying a car. A lot of women have issues with buying cars because of general sexism. After the accident, I am vicious now when it comes to knowing the ins and outs of car purchasing (hit me up if you need support).
During this time, my relationship with the outdoors was put on the back burner as it was too painful to realize I couldn’t do what mattered most to me. Hiking, once my greatest passion, felt impossible. Instead, I turned to lower-impact activities to reconnect with nature in a way that my healing body could handle. I took up gardening, paddle boarding on calm waters, and finding other ways to keep movement in my life without pushing myself beyond my limits. It was hard, but I learned to allow myself enough down time to watch TV and binge shows and movies.
What did you learn about yourself from this experience? How has it changed you?
I think the journey I experienced from this event was not that of physical recovery, or even accomplishing my goal/dream hike in the end, but what I learned about my perseverance, my desire to keep moving each foot in front of the other, and my resilience.
Pain. Pain will always be the one thing that can test your limits, whether it be a minor inconvenience or something as significant as being told that you can’t carry your own purse for 3 months, let alone the pack you essentially stuffed your hopes and dreams into while walking across the most beautiful landscapes of the US. Pain will always be something I respect, and it will always be something that I fear. I cannot describe to you how bad the tunnel vision gets when putting on your own bra puts you into tears, or how defeating it is to not be able to walk your own dog for fear that he’ll see a squirrel and try to go after it and pull the leash.
I have the most respect for anyone who battles chronic pain and who gets up every day and still chooses to do the best that they can do in that one day. Some days, I hurt so bad that the thought of standing up hurt just as much as the thought of laying down. I remember there was a point in this journey early on where the pain medications I was prescribed were making me so sick, that vomiting them up with the severe neck pain I was experiencing really made me consider if life was worth living.
Speak to the importance of mindset, especially in dealing with setbacks or failures.
Little did I know that this car accident had set the precedent for my future life. It significantly derailed what I thought my life would be like. Upon reflection, however, I happen to quite like the side quests this little adventure has given me (aside from chronic pain, tingling/numbness in my arms forever, and a TBI incurred memory loss and personality change, you know… minor details). Because of the magnitude of healthcare I required to care for myself and the financial impact on me from that, I had to jump into finding a new job only after taking one month off.
So, I accepted the role that I am currently in. Since August 2021, I have been the Emergency Team Supervisor at a 24/7 Emergency and Specialty Veterinary Hospital, leading over 50 of the most incredible and badass veterinary professionals I’ve ever met. While this wasn’t the career move I had originally planned, it turned out to be one of the best things to come from this chapter of my life.
Also, since my recovery kept me sitting still for so long (and those of you who know me, I don’t do ‘slow’), I was grounded long enough to have been lucky enough to meet my current partner. We both knew from our first meeting that our future together was already painted in the clouds!
Tell us how it felt to finally complete the Enchantments!
HOLY SH*T YOU GUYS WE DID IT!!!
In March of 2024, I learned that I had scored a backpacking permit through the Enchantments lottery system. In September of 2024, my friend Sheryl and I thru-hiked the Enchantments trail! We did a 6 day-5 night trek through the whole core zone, and we absolutely LOVED it. We had some of the nicest weather, promptly followed up by some of the sh*ttiest weather, which gave the whole trip such a vibe to remember! We really made a dream team through the whole trek. Wake with the sun, do as we please, eat as much as we want (surprisingly we both brought way too much food), explore what piqued our interest, and test our physical resilience through it all! You can’t fully understand the beauty of an alpine lake's wilderness until experiencing it first hand. Photos of this trip will never do it justice!
And let’s be honest: a toilet with a view? Unmatched.
What advice do you have for another woman who wants to try out backpacking or undertake a similar trip?
Research, research research. Take as many wilderness survival courses you can get your hands on. And read, read, read everything you can get your hands on!
Nature is relentless, unforgiving, and does not care if you have a good day or a bad day. I grew up outside, hiking and being shipped to summer backpacking camp (thanks, Mom), so I have so much foundational knowledge to keep me safe out there. You need to know how to follow an off-grid GPS, but you also need to know how to safely read and follow a topographic map. You need to understand how to read the stars, tell time by the sun, and create shelter and fire from nothing. Do not take your safety and your well-being lightly, and always be prepared to save yourself.
I would also suggest that you get yourself into some self defense classes. Out of all of the things I have run into in the woods (bear, moose, cougar, elk, deer, coyote, squirrel etc.), the one thing that scares me the most is man. Please be well versed in self protection, self defense, and carry items that can help you protect yourself from a distance (bear spray is a good start).
What additional adventures are coming up next on the horizon for you?
Well, naturally, I entered the lottery system for the 2025 Enchantments backpacking season so that we can go back again and see everything all over again! After learning that I actually can still do this (aside from the few extra lbs and lack of being able to run a 10k as easily), I have my eyes set on other infamous trails in the area, as well as some of the more renowned international trails! My friends and I already have plans to complete the Incan trail in Peru during the summer of 2026!
Where can our readers find you?
My instagram is @shelby.spr but if you request me there, maybe send me a message first if I don’t know you! Stranger danger!
But also, please, for the love of all things outdoorsy, reach out to me and ask me anything! I’m an open book (if I can remember it… a continual reminder of the lasting effects of my TBI).
This journey may not have gone the way I originally planned, but looking back, I wouldn’t trade these experiences for anything. Adventure isn’t just about the trail—it’s about the resilience it takes to keep walking it.
In hospice care medicine, there is a common exercise to help patients come to terms with their life and impending death called a life review. It is a way to reflect on one’s life, add meaning, and grapple with regrets. The life review process becomes really powerful when we can do it before we are approaching our last day. What if we reviewed our trajectory now and made changes while we still could?
Imagine auditing your actions today and intentionally creating a life minimizing regrets. I’ve done the life review more than once to help illuminate my path forward. I encourage you to take some time and do one today, too. (There are numerous versions available online. Here is one example. For more reading, check out the book Taking Stock by Jordan Grumet). You never know what adventures may unfold after some thoughtful reflection.
My parting question for you today is this: what can you start doing now to eliminate your future deathbed regrets?
What a read, thank you for bringing us Shelby's story. Injuries are so incredibly frustrating, so to come back over the course of years and still maintain that passion and determination is incredible.