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UPDATE:

Completed – 18 hours, 31.5 miles, and over 9000 feet of elevation gain. 

Rule # 1 – When you want to challenge yourself on a hike and need support always invite stronger hikers than yourself.

I am so grateful for my amazing hiking friends Shannon Glorioso and Mike Mazzucco who not only hiked this incredible hike with me but also helped raise money for mental health awareness by sharing with their friends and family.

They knew it would be a slower hike than they are used to after the week before our first possible hike weekend I rolled my ankle doing a 17-mile trek with my son. I did R.I.C.E. all week long and the weather was too perfect on 7/24/20 to not give it a go. I was slower but I was determined. Just before Mt. Lafayette, approx. mile 9, I felt a burning on my lower right leg, the opposite leg from the previous sprain. I thought my boot was too tight. I looked and my leg was swollen just above my boot and I assume I pulled something, and my veins were now popping out. Each step moving forward I had to place both my feet as flat as possible to avoid pain. This is an exceedingly difficult task on the Pemi loop as it is strewn with rocks of various shapes and sizes. The day was too beautiful not to push on. Unfortunately, we never even thought that something may have stung me. We realized this at the end of our hike when the swelling had subsided, and my leg was appearing bruised with a very tender spot. Shannon and Mike were supportive, patient, and made me laugh along the way, just the things I needed to push on and complete this epic hike.

I am truly blessed with grit, grace, and gratitude.

 

Thank you to all that donated to Hike for Mental Health, I have hope that the future will bring change to our attitudes and understanding of mental illness.

 

I chose to join a hike with HIKE for Mental Health to help stamp out the stigma of mental illness and conserve wilderness trails.

Would you consider making a donation, leaving a message, or sharing this page?

This is my story:

I had planned to hike the Pemi Loop in just one day this year but then the Covid-19 global pandemic hit. I considered postponing it a year, even though I am not getting any younger. I just learned of this organization “Hike for Mental Health” and realized I needed to turn my one-day Pemi hike goal into a fundraising event to bring awareness to mental illness.

I am sharing this fundraising page with only people that already know me and know that I have become very aware of mental illness in 2020. I remember reaching out to my hiking friends during this difficult time and saying that the Pemi hike was on. My body may not be in as good of shape as I would like it to be taking on a hike like this but my mind is ready. The goal is under 24 hours and I am positive I can do that.

The hike will be taking place one day between 7/24/20 and 8/7/20 weather permitting.

Thank you.

Deb (and her awesome socially distant hiking friends)