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...
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.
