Hike For Mental Health - Fundraising Hike

Hike description:

Starting at Elk Pen parking lot, we'll follow the Appalachian Trail northbound through Harriman State Park. This day hike has 3 different lengths, making it suitable for all levels of hikers and even for those who have never hiked or would like to bring kids along to make them participate in this healthy, fun and noble cause.

There will be tons of things to see along the way: Island Pond, the Lemon Squeezer, an abandoned mine, plus all the beauty of the spring foliage and wild life the Appalachian Trail has for you to enjoy.

When you RSVP, please specify 'beginner', 'intermediate','advanced', 'volunteer' or 'supporter'.

Beginners Group:

beginners will start the hike at 10 am from the Elk Pen parking lot and hike north on the Appalachian trail for 1.1 miles until you reach Island Pond. This is a perfect spot to take a break. Then you'll continue .6 mi to the Lemon Squeezer. The Lemon Squeezer is a very interesting and fun rock formation, but could be challenging. Going through it is totally optional. At the Lemon Squeezer you'll take a trail blazed "red on white", to the right of the A.T. and make a loop back to the parking lot for a total of 5 miles. This group will have a guide and a sweeper, meaning that nobody will be left behind.

Intermediate Group:

this group will start the hike at 9:30 am from the parking lot and hike 4 miles to one of the oldest shelters on the trail, Fingerboard Shelter. This will be our break spot before retracing the AT south, back to the parking lot for a total of 8 miles. Along the way you'll find Island Pond, the lemon squeezer, an abandoned mine and beautiful views. This group will have a guide.

Advanced Group:

This group will follow the same route to Fingerboard Shelter. From there, we'll backtrack to the Ramapo-Dunderberg (red) trail and follow it to Bald Rocks Shelter, catching a few scenic views along the way. We'll then continue on the Ramapo-Dunderberg trail all the way up Tom Jones Mountain, catching some more scenic views. Finally, we'll head back down the way we came, then follow the white trail, then red trail all the way back to the parking lot. This is roughly 12 miles with some great views and relatively challenging terrain.

Volunteers:

Their job will be to inform people and direct them to the right group, among other simple tasks, on the day of the event.

Supporters:

supporters don't necessarily need to attend the hike. You can still RSVP to let us know that you'll be helping sponsor a hiker.

Meet Susan Letcher on this hike !!!

Beginning in 2000, Susan Letcher and her sister Lucy began hiking the Appalachian Trail barefoot from Katahin in Maine. After reaching the southern terminus of the AT on Springer Mountain in Georgia, these Barefoot Sisters turned around and headed north again, eventually completing a yo-yo thru-hike of the AT.

Unbeknownst to the Barefoot Sisters, Tom Kennedy, one of the founders of HIKE for Mental Health received his inspiration for hiking the AT from these two lovely women. He was reading everything he could find on the Appalachian Trail and, several years ago, his very intelligent Kindle recommended The Barefoot Sisters Southbound . He was immediately captivated and could not put the electronic device (Kindle) down until he was finished. He was happy to discover there was a second book, Barefoot Sisters Walking Home, and when he had completed it, he went back and re-read both of these books, and still claims they are the best two books written about hiking on the AT.

Susan is hiking in May on the Island Pond Loop Hike to support the other hikers and HIKE for Mental Health. (Consider signing up and claiming the opportunity to meet this barefoot AT yo-yo hiker. You won't be disappointed)

YOU COULD ALSO HELP US BY SHARING THIS IN YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKS.

http://photos3.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/e/5/1/2/event_184618642.jpegWant to make a difference with your hike? We partner with HIKE for Mental Health, a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit in New Jersey, to raise funds to prevent, cure, and treat mental illness. Click here to learn more (http://www.hikeformentalhealth.org/?p=3084).

Our Mission

Hiking on backcountry trails helps many people re-connect with nature and with places within themselves that get obscured in the daily hustle and bustle. A few days in the solitude of the trail re-grounds them and helps preserve their mental health.

For people battling mental illness, however, the path to mental health is rarely so simple. Mental illness affects 1 out of 4 families in the United States, leaving those who suffer from it and their families searching for answers, cures and treatments that will allow them to experience the simple joy of living.

The mission of HIKE for Mental Health is to

Increase public awareness of the challenges and suffering faced by those afflicted by mental illness and their families. Increase public appreciation for and responsible use of wilderness trails. Raise funds, principally by coordinating fundraising wilderness hikes, for distribution to nonprofit organizations committed to (a) preventing and alleviating the pain caused by mental illness or (b) maintaining and preserving wilderness trails. In distributing its net proceeds, HIKE for Mental Health will direct

Eighty percent to scientific research to prevent, cure, or treat mental illness and Twenty percent to help preserve wilderness trails. In 2012 HIKE for Mental Health has selected The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (http://bbrfoundation.org/) (BBRF) as its principal beneficiary. Support for wilderness trails will be split between the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (http://www.appalachiantrail.org/) (ATC) and the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference (http://www.nynjtc.org/) (NYNJTC). These organizations are top-notch, well-run nonprofit groups that, like HIKE for Mental Health, know how to get the most bang for their buck.