Project Popeye on the PCT

If you’ve been following my journey to the PCT at all, then you know I’ve been fundraising to help make this hike a reality. The money raised will help me cover the costs of hiking for 5 or 6 months but I want it to be more than that. I’d like to raise as much money as possible so that I have enough left over to make a sizable donation. Initially, I picked out Because I Said I Would as the non-profit I wanted to donate to. While I still think it’s a great organization and support their cause, I realized it just wasn’t quite the right path for me. I have decided that I want to raise money for the American Red Cross- and here’s why. There is absolutely nothing I can do to change the outcome of the car accident that took the life of one of the people who I was closest to in my life. However, if I can do something that might save someone from going through the same pain that I, and the rest of Trail’s family and friends, have been going through for the last two years, then that’s what I want to do. When I see or hear about a car accident now, it’s a much more personal thing. It’s no longer a matter of curiosity and wondering what happened. It’s now an awful sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, wondering if someone is about to start down the same path that I’ve been on for two years- and that’s learning to live without someone who you thought would be in your life forever. It is something that still plagues me on a daily basis and I hope that this hike and fundraiser will help me put a more positive spin on the situation. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood. Roughly 1 pint of blood is given in a single donation- which means it can take as many as 100 people to save one car accident victim. Giving blood seems like a small price to pay to save the life of someone you love- or someone you don’t even know. At the end of my hike I will be giving a donation to the Red Cross in memory of Trail Combs so please make a donation to my fundraiser and help me honor his memory!