Back in 2011 I was approached by Curesearch, a nonprofit dedicated to eradicating children’s cancer, asking if I’d be interested in helping with a new fundraising program they were starting, the Ultimate Hike. The deal was this: I would lead a 12-week training program with the ultimate goal of hiking 28.3 miles on the Foothills Trail straddling the North Carolina / South Carolina line — that’s 28.3 miles all in one day. Along the way, they would vow to fundraise a minimum of $2,500 to help fight kids cancer. Hiking and helping kids? Who could refuse that!
One of the hikers on my second hike was Chris Morton. Chris and his wife, Candi, were casual hikers with a keen interest in Ultimate Hike’s mission: their 1-year-old daughter had a rare form of liver cancer and was undergoing treatment at the Duke Cancer Center in Durham, North Carolina. So motivated by the hike and Curesearch’s mission was Chris that he continued doing the hike after that first year. When I left as coach of the Triangle area after five years, Chris became my replacement.
Chris now has 20 Ultimate Hikes under his belt, and is gearing up to lead yet another group of hikers in the battle against childhood cancer. Chris joins us today to tells us about the Ultimate Hike, from his boots-on-the-ground perspective.
If you're intrigued by the idea of hiking 28.3 miles in a day and helping kids with cancer at the same time, go to the Ultimate Hike website for the Foothills hike for additional information and to find the time of the next information session. And, register by January 15 and enter the code HIKENC at checkout and save 50 percent off the $100 registration fee,
Don't live in the Triangle area of North Carolina? Training sessions will also be held in:
In the News
For more information on the MY TN State Park fundraiser, go here.
To find out when roads and trails will be closed as a result of the Mt Storm-Valley electricity transmission line project in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia, go here.
To learn more about the mission of the U.S. Forest Service, to here.
For information on the reopening of trails in the Lost Cove area of Wilson Creek in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest, visit the North Carolina National Forests Facebook page here.
Explore with us!
To learn more about the trips mentioned in today's podcast, as well as other hikes, trips and classes planed by GetHiking! and GetBackpacking!, go here.