We are about to begin our 8th season of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail and raising funds through our Scouting Dollars for Scholars Campaign. During those previous 7 seasons we’ve covered more than 2100 miles of the trail. We’ve finished all of California and all but a 25 miles section of Oregon that was closed last year due to fires. We’ve also raised more than $25,000 to help scholars in the Fullerton Community. This year the Scouts will join us to cover a section of Oregon from Timothy Lake to Bridge of the God’s on the Columbia River. We will walk across that historic bridge between Oregon and Washington. And in the process, we hope to raise $5,000 to benefit the Fullerton Kiwanis Charitable Foundation. These funds will provide needed scholarships to worthy scholars to allow them to attend college. While we won’t finish the entire trail this year, the plan is to finish next year. Check back for an end of season report.
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The old adage of a trip of 1000 miles starts with a single step has new meaning as we cross that magic mark on our goal to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail. We ended 2019 with almost 1,100 miles completed. Today we stand at 1,174 miles finished. Early this Summer we will cross the ½ way mark of this 2,659 scenic trail. By early Fall we should be about 100 miles short of the California/Oregon border. While that will be a significant milestone, it will mean so much more if we can continue to raise awareness and money to support the great work of the JOYA Scholars. The work these students do to prepare themselves for College and lift their families and communities is a most remarkable accomplishment. We are proud to partner with the JOYA Scholars to bring the tutoring, mentoring, SAT/ACT prep and parent academy to help these students achieve their goals. Please consider making a gift to the JOYA Scholars through this website. It will encourage us and the Scholars as we pursue our goals.
The old adage of a trip of 1000 miles starts with a single step has new meaning as we cross that magic mark on our goal to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trail. We ended 2019 with almost 1,100 miles completed. Today we stand at 1,174 miles finished. Early this Summer we will cross the ½ way mark of this 2,659 scenic trail. By early Fall we should be about 100 miles short of the California/Oregon border. While that will be a significant milestone, it will mean so much more if we can continue to raise awareness and money to support the great work of the Joya Scholars. The work these students do to prepare themselves for College and lift their families and communities is a most remarkable accomplishment. We are proud to partner with the Joya Scholars to bring the tutoring, mentoring, SAT/ACT prep and parent academy to help these students achieve their goals. Please consider making a gift to the JOYA Scholars through this website. It will encourage us and the Scholars as we pursue our goals.
This is the beginning of our 4th backpacking season since we started the PCT and Scouting Dollars for Scholars.
In addition to our longer summer trips we have completed many day hikes, weekend backpacks and shorter multi-day backpacking trips of the PCT. We’ve covered virtually the entire section of the PCT from the Mexican border to Tehachapi and most of the sections from there to Lake Tahoe. In total we’ve hiked over 850 miles or approximate 1/3 of the PCT. This summer (beginning July 20, 2019) our plan is to cover an additional 200 miles. This will fill in some of the sections we are missing near Lake Tahoe. Because of some very generous people we have raised awareness of the JOYA Scholars and approximately $10,000 for their program. We hope that you will follow our progress, this summer, on the PCT and more importantly, support the JOYA Scholars. When I was 14 years old, a WWII veteran and Jr. High Science teacher named Howard Genrich took his two sons and me on an almost month long backpack of the John Muir Trail (JMT). I credit that experience with giving me my life long love of the outdoors and backpacking. Howard’s son, Dan, and I have remained friends and continued backpacking together in college. During that time we talked about hiking the relatively new Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT is the longest scenic trail in the US running 2659 miles from the Mexican border near San Diego to the Canadian border in Washington State . . . but then life happened and the dream was postponed. In 2006, my than 17 year old son David, myself and a group of scouts and scout leaders from Fullerton Boy Scout Troop 93 made the same trip of the JMT. It was a tremendous bonding experience for my son and I and our Scout friends. Something I will always cherish. In 2016, three Scout leaders and three Scouts left Fullerton to begin another 241 mile backpack of the John Muir Trail. But we had an additional goal of raising awareness and funds for a group of students named the Joya Scholars. Three weeks later our group of six finished the trail in Yosemite Valley. Due to the generosity of some very special people we were able to raise $4,116 for the Joya Scholars. That money provided mentoring tutoring and SAT/ACT preparation that resulted in several students graduating this June and being accepted to Fullerton College, CSUF, UC Riverside, Chapman University and similar colleges. The dream of completing the 2659 mile Pacific Crest Trail has not died. It was only postponed. In preparation for this summer's backpacking season our adult leaders have completed a 50 mile portion of the PCT beginning at the Mexican border. Combined with our 220 miles of the JMT (part of the PCT) we have almost 300 miles of the PCT completed. Starting July 22, 2017, the same crew from last year will complete a 75 mile portion of the PCT from Sonora Pass to Echo Lake. Throughout the fall and winter months additional segments of the PCT will be backpacked over weekend trips. How long will it take to complete all 2659 miles? I don’t know. I just know that we will continue to backpack one step at a time until that journey of 2659 miles is completed. We will dedicate this section hike of the PCT to building additional awareness and funds to support the Joya Scholars. Will you join us in the journey and donate to Scouting Dollars for Scholars? Larry Bennett |
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