Lo Phong La Kiatoukaysy (trail name Lil Buddha) was born in a Thai refugee camp, where his family fled the spillover of the Vietnam War along with many other Hmong people. They resettled in Kansas, where Lil Buddha got his first taste of the outdoors on vacations to Colorado. Many years later, he has logged over 40,000 miles on some of the longest routes possible. I met him in 2011 on the Pacific Crest Trail and our friendship grew. He spent 2021 thru-hiking the Continental Divide Trail (for his third time) to raise awareness for AAPI hate on the trail, and with the work, fundraising, awareness, and effort toward inclusion, Lil Buddha was an Outside Magazine 2021 Outsider of the Year!
I caught up with Mr. Buddha for an interview:
When did you start thru-hiking and why?
My first thru-hike was the John Muir Trail, late summer of 1995. I had just finished a summer job at a summer camp in Colorado, and still had several weeks before college fall semester. I decided to hitchhike from Estes Park, Colorado, to Yosemite Valley, California. It took three days to bum three rides out to California. In my early teenage years, I picked up a couple of books that introduced me to the vagabond lifestyle. “A Thousand-Mile Walk to the Gulf” by John Muir and “On the Road” by Jack Kerouac are fundamental inspiration points in my early life. I also read “The PCT Hikers Handbook” by Ray Jardine prior to hiking the JMT.
What brought you back to the CDT this year?
The CDT is one of my favorite long-distance thru-hikes in North America. I’ve been fortunate to hike it thrice now. Because of my repeat offender status, I was eager to take alternate routes off the CDT.
You did it a little differently this time. What alternatives did you take?
My route in 2021 had me trekking across Teton Crest, Gros Ventre Wilderness, part of the High Route across Wind River Range, Red Canyon near Lander, Wyoming, Killpecker Sand Dunes in Western Great Divide Basin, Red Desert on the Wyoming-Colorado border, Flat Top Wilderness, and finally Four Pass Loop before reconnecting to the CDT near Twin Lakes. I also hiked Nolan’s 14 High Route in Colorado, which connects 14 14,000-foot mountains in Colorado’s Sawatch Range. To date, Nolan’s 14 is one of my top five favorite North America high routes.
“Nolan’s 14 is one of my top five favorite North America high routes.”
Lil Buddha
What is your best wildlife interaction story?
On the Great Divide Trail, I inadvertently got in between two very large male grizzly bears fighting. The fight happened so quickly that I had no time to react or get out of the way. At one point they were less than 10 feet away from me. Luckily, the bruins were engrossed in warfare and didn’t even acknowledge my presence. That night I hung my food a half mile from my campsite. I slept maybe two hours.
How does it feel to win Outsider of the Year? Do you get recognized on the street? 😉
It means more: Earthlings get to read horrendous haikus about walking in nature—Lil’ Buddha, moi, señor Kiatoukaysy, haiku masta, Father Haus Buddha aka “Outsidiest Outsiders of the Year”
What would you like this younger generation of thru-hikers to know? What should we all be more mindful of out on the trails?
I’ll quote my trail dad Dharma here: “Don’t kid yourself—you’re just another fool stumbling around out in the woods.” I think that’s the best advice I’ve ever received or could pass on.
“Don’t kid yourself—you’re just another fool stumbling around out in the woods”
Dharma
What is next?
Hayduke Trail, spring of 2022!
