On July 11th, Courtney Ley, of Shirley, Massachusetts is embarking on a rugged, 64 mile hike to raise funds and awareness for Friends for Health in Haiti.
Courtney heard about Friends for Health in Haiti from her friend Pamela Adams. Pam grew up in Haiti, which is where she met and got to know Dr. Katie Wolf. One day, Pam and Courtney were hiking in the New Hampshire mountains and talking about how people in Haiti walk up and down mountains just to get home. Pam commented that she never really understood hiking as a recreational sport! This struck a chord with Courtney and now she is planning the longest continuous hike of her hiking career to benefit Friends for Health in Haiti.
Courtney is planning to hike the Pemi Loop in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, not once, but twice! The Pemi Loop, rated the 2nd most difficult day hike in the U.S. by Backpacker Magazine, includes eight mountain peaks and an elevation change of 18,000 feet. It’s also notorious for it’s “knee-hammering” rocky trails and miles of exposed ridgeline. Courtney is currently spending her weekends doing 20-30 mile training hikes.
Bondcliff, the last peak in the Pemi Loop
Regarding the hike itself, Courtney says “I plan to begin the hike Friday night July 11th at around 8 p.m. Hike throughout the night and have completed a little more than half of the first loop, up and over 6 mountains and 18 miles before the sun rises on Saturday. I’d like to watch the sunrise from on top of South Twin Mountain, a 4,902 foot peak. From that point, I will be going over the last four mountains in the daylight and begin the second loop after 32 miles and 14-16 hours later. I will be camping after about 8 miles into the second loop at the base of the summit of Mt Liberty (4,459 ft) for about 4-5 hours, depending on how I feel at that point. From there, I hope to complete the last 40 miles through Saturday evening through the night and into Sunday morning. My goal is to have hiked all 64 miles by Sunday afternoon July 13th“.
Courtney in Alaska a few weeks ago
Courtney is 32 years old and works for an environmental consulting company. She has an extensive hiking background, having hiked up the 48 mountains in New Hampshire and half of the 46 mountains in New York’s Adirondacks. She climbed Mt. Ranier last year and just got back from a mountaineering course near Denali in Alaska. She is going to attempt to climb the Matterhorn in 2010 and she’s going for Denali in 2012.
Help cheer Courtney on! Leave a comment wishing her good luck.
If you’d like to make a donation to FHH in honor of Courtney’s hike, click to go to our PayPal donation page. Put Courtney’s name in the message field.
And stay tuned! Courtney will be doing a guest post about her experience when she’s completed her trek.
Good luck Courtney! Your energy is inspiring. Thank you for your commitment to Friends for Health in Haiti!
-Tracy in the FHH home office
Be safe & have fun, a great cause and commitment!
Can’t wait for Matterhorn, we’ve got it in the bag!!
Mom and I are so proud of you. Good Luck.
I’ll be thinking of you this weekend. Good luck and take lots of pictures!
Is anyone else having problems with the link to donate money?
Darren – sorry about that. I’m not sure what the problem was but I edited the links and they should work now. If not, the link on our website should work too http://www.friendsforhealthinhaiti.org
-Tracy in the FHH home office
Tracey – the link still didn’t work, but I will make my contribution through your main website.
Courtney,
I workout with your dad at AGL Resources. Our motto is, “Work a muscle!” Anyway, he told me about your hike this weekend. Best wishes. You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.
Paul Hailstone
You go Girl!! Awesome job Courtney and all for a very important cause. Thanks for bringing this organization’s efforts to our attention.
I had problems with the link too but will donate on the main website.
I couldn’t work the link either but I made my pledged donation via the mail site. $2 a mile. Congrats, Courtney! I love you!!!
Hope things all went well, Courtney. Don’t know if it’s the same Courtney I’m thinking of, but it’s still an amazing trek. –Penfold
You go girl!!! I wish you all the luck in the world. I pray for your safety and enjoyment of the trip.
Gloria from Milwaukee
Would love to hear how your hike went! I found this article when doing an internet search for Pam Adams. We went to college together and were roommates for awhile too, but since it was before the internet, we lost touch after moving out of the area. Would love to reconnect with her if you could pass on the info. 🙂