The Trek (March 10, 2025) by Caitlin Hardee

It’s every international thru-hiker’s worst nightmare: training for a long hike, saving enough money for the trip, and clearing your calendar, only to be stopped at the border and turned back before ever setting foot on US soil — let alone the trail.

Seasoned German thru-hiker and Trek blogger Annika “Ravenclaw” Ananias says that nightmare came true for her — and escalated to a horrifying degree when she attempted to enter the US to hike the Arizona Trail (AZT) last month.

Ananias had expected the journey to be routine, having previously come to the US on a B2 tourist visa in 2022 and 2024 to thru-hike the PCT and CDT, respectively. But upon reaching US passport control this time, she found herself detained, interrogated, and accused of intending to work illegally in the US.

Ananias says she was separated from her American boyfriend, shouted at and mocked by US border officials, and detained overnight in a cold, shared holding cell without access to medication. After 22 hours of incarceration, the hammer fell: despite having broken no laws and holding the same valid B2 visa under which she previously hiked the PCT and CDT, she was deported back to Germany and handed a five-year ban on re-entering the United States.

And all that on her birthday.

From Adventure Fairy Tale to Nightmare

This return to the States should have been a celebratory sojourn for a veteran of the long trails. In 2022, Ananias hiked the PCT and got to know her now-boyfriend on trail. In 2024, they hiked the CDT together. He spent the past three months with her in Germany, the maximum length of time a US tourist can stay in the country without a visa. Having run out the clock for him in Germany, the pair planned to spend a few months stateside, starting with a road trip to see a NASA rocket launch — a childhood dream for her — and then heading to the Arizona Trail. But it all fell apart at customs.

“We were separated without being able to say goodbye,” Ananias said. Now she’s wrestling with visa logistics for him to potentially rejoin her in Germany for a longer period of time. “The idea of entering the USA is dead for me, for the next few years.”

Documents viewed by The Trek indicate that Ananias was deported and banned from entering the US for five years on February 25, despite having a valid visa. US Customs and Border Patrol declined a request to comment for this story, citing privacy concerns.

On Monday, February 24, 2025, Ananias arrived in Miami on a flight from Germany. She held the same valid B2 visa under which she had entered the US without issue in the past. The B2 visa allows non-US citizens to visit the US as tourists for up to 180 days per entry and remains valid for up to 10 years. “Border inspections were taking an unusually long time and numerous travelers of various nationalities were being pulled aside,” she recalled.

When it was her turn, after answering the standard questions, she was asked to step aside and taken to a secure waiting and interrogation area. Others so selected included “a distressed young Spanish woman, two young Italian men, and several Germans, including an elderly couple and two men who were merely transiting to South America,” Ananias recounted.

Ananias said she had only ever visited the US for tourism and recreation, with no history or intent of working illegally or settling. But once in the interrogation room with a female officer, Ananias’ attempts to disprove any wrongdoing were brushed aside.

The officer asked how she had financed her previous stays in the United States; Ananias explained about her freelance work in Germany and additional financial support from her father and offered to show bank statements. “She refused to look at them and accused me of either being a millionaire or having worked illegally. She spoke in an aggressive tone, frequently interrupted me, and repeatedly raised her voice,” said Ananias.

The officer also allegedly disbelieved Ananias’ account of her long hikes in 2022 and 2024 and demanded proof, yet refused to review photos, blog updates or Instagram posts when offered as evidence. “Instead, she claimed that six-month stays were only permitted in emergencies, even though my visa allowed it. She threatened me, insisting to ‘tell the truth,’ as they would find out everything anyway.”

Ananias was escorted to retrieve her checked baggage for search, brought back to the waiting room, and re-interrogated by a second officer, who asked the same questions and accused her of overstaying her visa in the past — an allegation Ananias vehemently disputes.

Shortly after this second interrogation, “I was informed that I would be deported,” Ananias said.

With no details on how long she would be held or when her return flight would leave, she was permitted one quick call to her boyfriend before her phone was confiscated. “When I asked if I could at least send my boyfriend a quick message to let him know I would no longer be reachable, I was yelled at: ‘He already knows!’”

Ananias maintained her outward composure, suppressing any visible signs of stress and remaining polite. However, she later recalled overhearing officers in the background making dismissive remarks about her, allegedly saying: ‘She doesn’t give a shit,’ according to Ananias.

“At this point, I was utterly exhausted,” said Ananias. The water fountain in the waiting area was out of order, so she purchased a bottle of water from a vending machine. She was interrogated a third time, fingerprinted, photographed, and asked about her health status and medications. The officer then delivered the verdict: Her visa had been annulled and she was banned from entering the United States for five years.

“I was then taken to another room where my entire baggage was searched. The officers mocked my medications, saying, ‘It’s like a hospital!’, and tossed my belongings around,” she recalled. “All of my personal items were confiscated, including my shoelaces, glasses, watch, and hoodie because it had drawstrings. I was allowed to keep my down jacket and the small blanket I had taken from my Lufthansa flight.” She was searched against the wall and placed in a holding cell with the young Spanish traveler. Though not a hiker, she told Ananias that she had encountered similar accusations during interrogation.

Her experience in holding is etched into Ananias’ memory. “The cell was freezing. There were only four stone benches, an open toilet, and two thin mattresses that barely insulated against the cold floor. Only one thin blanket was available,” she said. “We tried to sleep but repeatedly woke up shivering.”

Despite previous assurances, Ananias has said her prescribed medication was never provided, leading to increasing discomfort and stress. “After hours, we were finally given water and a pre-packaged, microwaved meal. The air conditioning was briefly turned off, allowing us to sleep for a short period, before it was switched back on.”

Throughout the detention, Ananias says she and her cellmate were not informed of the time or of how long they had been held. Finally, almost 24 hours into the ordeal, she was escorted to the gate by a Homeland Security officer, given back her belongings, and accompanied onto the plane.

Now back in Germany, Ananias is working through the trauma of the experience, which she described as “degrading, arbitrary, and deeply concerning.” She summarized: “My right to a fair entry assessment was violated, I was detained without evidence, deprived of my freedom of movement, and treated inhumanely. The confiscation of my personal belongings and medications, along with the disregard for my medical needs, represents a severe violation of my fundamental rights. I was falsely accused of working illegally, subjected to humiliating treatment, and ultimately deported without any justified reason.”

The legal mechanism behind Ananias’ harrowing experience is known as “expedited removal.” Created in 1996, the statute grants broad powers to low-level border officials to unilaterally remove non-citizens from the United States without a hearing in front of an immigration judge. Both the scope of its application and the incidence of its use have increased in recent times.

On January 21, 2025, the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designated expedited removal to apply “to the fullest extent authorized by Congress.” When an individual is deported from the United States under expedited removal, the government typically also imposes a ban on re-entry, which can last anywhere from five years to life.

Expedited removal cannot be appealed under the independent judiciary, but can be contested within the department by an individual or their lawyer through the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. As Ananias’ evidence was not properly reviewed in interrogation and her medical needs were ignored in holding, in theory she has strong grounds for review of the decision. However, it is a lengthy, complicated process, with the burden of proof on the individual.

In light of her traumatizing experience, Ananias said she would likely not attempt to contest the ban and would steer clear of the US as long as the current climate on border security holds, for fear of going through the same thing again. “I had entered the United States multiple times without issue in the past, yet this time I was treated as a criminal,” she emphasized.

A conclusive pattern of arbitrary detention and deportation is difficult to prove, but Ananias’ case is by no means an isolated incident. Current immigration policies have increasingly made themselves felt, not only for immigrants actually hoping to build a life in the US, but also for tourists.

Ananias points to the case of Jessica Brösche, a German tourist and tattoo artist accused of wanting to work illegally in the US because she attempted to enter with her tools. Brösche maintains that she merely wanted to give her friend a tattoo. At time of publication of this article, Brösche has been in detention since January 25.

“Like me and the Spanish woman I was incarcerated with, she was a European citizen and held valid travel documents,” Ananias said. She suspects that travelers’ freelance or self-employed work in their home countries may be seen as a red flag, leading to accusations of criminal intent without evidence of wrongdoing.

As thru-hiking season begins, countless hopefuls from abroad are about to attempt to enter the US to hike long trails. Many have given up their jobs and housing, completely rearranging their lives for this dream.

In the PCT Germany Facebook group, where Ananias shared an abbreviated account of her ordeal, hikers reacted with horror. Many expressed trepidation about their imminent hikes, while others planning hikes in subsequent years second-guessed their US plans altogether. In a general discussion in another Facebook hiking group, Ladies of the JMT, international hikers reported feeling conflicted about visiting the US under the current administration, or making plans to hike elsewhere.

Ananias emphasized the importance of having all documentation about personal finances, the hike itself, ties to the home country and ideally a return ticket on hand and ready to show border officers, but also cautioned that these things may not be enough, as the officers wield practically unlimited discretionary power over the process and may not be inclined to consider evidence.

If Ananias’ experience is echoed by others, the uncertainty may lead hikers towards long trails like New Zealand’s Te Araroa, Canada’s Great Divide Trail or France’s HexaTrek, rather than risk the disappointment and discomfort of a dust-up with Homeland Security. This represents a loss not only for the hiking community, but also for local economies.

The reality is that relatively affluent international hikers bring an infusion of foreign-earned, saved-up income to small trail towns in the US, each spending thousands of dollars in American businesses, many of which desperately depend on the thru-hiking economy.

A huge part of that thru-hiking economy comes from overseas. Germany alone, with the exception of the core pandemic years, reliably represents the largest national contingent of hikers on the western US Triple Crown trails each year, after US citizens. In the most recent editions of Halfway Anywhere’s representative PCT and CDT surveys, Germans made up 6.6% and 6.5% of respondents, respectively. This author remembers days on her 2022 PCT thru-hike when every single hiker encountered spoke German.

Collectively, non-US hikers in 2024 made up 37.8% of respondents for the PCT, and 33.5% of respondents for the CDT. On The Trek’s most recent AT survey, German and foreign hikers in general made up a much smaller contingent, but then, the AT is a particularly American brand of sufferfest.

Without those foreign hikers, trail towns and the US economy in general would only take a hit. Nor can the enrichment provided by a diverse international hiking community be quantified solely in terms of dollars spent. “It is the people,” filmmaker Elina Osborne famously said, summarizing the magic of thru-hiking.

Who among us has not known and cherished hikers from another culture, in our bubbles and trail families? Who has not learned a foreign phrase, had their eyes opened by tales from another country, and perhaps visited those hikers in their home countries afterwards? If international hikers stay away — or are forced away — we are all poorer for it.

Jaime Tarne, trail angel and former mayor of Etna, California, emphasized that the town welcomes all hikers. “Everyone I know enjoys talking to hikers and exchanging stories with them, and hikers from across the world bring a part of their world with them to share,” she said. “Hikers are our biggest tourists in our rural mountain town, and do help our businesses — restaurants, coffee shops, grocery store, hardware store, hamburger stands.”

Tarne has hosted and given rides to hikers from Australia, New Zealand, England, Norway, Germany, South Africa, Peru, and other countries. “International hikers are part of the PCT experience,” she said. “It would be a much dimmer experience as a trail angel if they were not allowed to walk this world class and famous trail.”

The PCTA and other prominent trail organizations recently visited Washington, DC, to raise awareness of conservation and trail maintenance issues in conversation with representatives. While public lands and funding for conservation are under assault, perhaps the hiking community needs to add border policy through the lens of thru-hiking to the laundry list of topics for that next email or phone call to our elected officials. To address mismanagement and injustice, it must first be brought to light.

Disclaimer: The events described in this article are based on firsthand accounts provided by Annika Ananias, a German hiker who was denied entry into the United States and subject to an expedited removal process. The Trek has reviewed official documents related to the incident. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency has declined to offer an official response regarding this specific case. Immigration policies and enforcement actions vary based on individual circumstances, and readers should be aware that this account represents one hiker’s personal experience.

 

To read the article online, complete with photgraphs and other details, please click here.