After her car goes up in flames, Vika Carmichael finds herself stranded in Northern Washington at a Victorian house that hasn't seen upkeep in longer than she's been alive, owned by an eccentric, foul-mouthed artist whose goal of reconstructing the old house is to aid Pacific Crest Trail hikers. The Pacific Crest Trail-or PCT-is a continuous footpath that stretches 2,660 miles from the Mexican border in Southern California to the Canadian border in Northern Washington. In Hold for Hiker Trash, Vika, a recent college graduate, found comfort in her reputation as a "perfect student," but her knowledge of art history is hardly applicable in the foreign culture of long distance hiking or in the reconstruction of a 140-year-old house. Vika is immersed in the company of the backpackers as they join to help Dane, the artist, and his mother, the affectionate Grandma Peach, strip the house before they can build again. Will Vika be able to find common ground with her new hosts and the rugged hikers who visit the house, or will she be left on the outside looking in?