The Amazing Raw Food Hike-a-thon:
A 3000-mile fundraising hike along the spectacular Continental Divide 


 Doug Walsh on top of the Grand Teton in Wyoming

 

The idea for the Raw Food Hike-a-thon started with two emails 6 months apart that I sent out to hiking friends about various hiking adventures. Somehow, magically, these emails were also sent to Cherie Soria at Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. I am a 2001 graduate of the LLCAI Raw Chef Training, but to this day, I have no idea how Cherie got a copy of these emails. When Cherie got the second ‘accidental’ email, she responded that “this must be happening for a reason and we should talk.” I wrote and told Cherie about my desire to walk the 3000-mile Continental Divide Trail (CDT) on raw foods in the summer of 2005, but I wanted to do it for something bigger than myself. When I found out that Living Light has expansion plans for an event center for the raw community, but needs financial support to make it happen, the Raw Food Hike-a-thon was born.

The CDT is a 3000-mile trail that travels across the backbone of the continent from Mexico to Canada along the crest of the Rockies. This trail traverses the desert in New Mexico and Wyoming with long waterless stretches and 100 degree F temperatures. The 800-mile section in Colorado averages over 11,000 feet in elevation with snow, sub-freezing temperatures, and lightning dangers. I’ll start at the Mexican border in New Mexico on April 22, 2005 (Earth Day) and finish 5 months later at the Canadian border in Montana. Along the way, I’ll average around a marathon a day as I hike the trail to Canada before the snow flies in the fall. More information on the CDT can be found at  www.cdtrail.org. 

Doug Walsh is a former Colorado Outward Bound Instructor with years of backcountry experience. He has climbed the highest 100 peaks in Colorado and most of these hikes have been accomplished on a diet of 100% raw foods. He also hiked the 2650-mile Pacific Crest Trail  (www.pcta.org) in 4 ½ months in the summer of 2001 on raw foods. Doug has been a vegan since 1988 and a raw foods vegan since 1996. He is a 2001 graduate of Cherie Soria’s Living Light Culinary Institute Chef Training Program.

The Hike-a-thon’s primary goal is to spread the message of the raw food diet to the world. We intend to achieve this goal in two different, yet connected, ways. First, we want to raise money for a permanent building for the Living Light Culinary Arts Institute. The time has come for a permanent location for the world’s foremost raw culinary arts school that would also serve as an event and conference center for the raw world. This permanent location would facilitate much larger numbers of students at LLCAI, who would then become the next generation of teachers of raw food cuisine to the world.

Living Light Culinary Arts Institute has a vision of creating a center that will serve as an exemplary raw culinary arts school and event center to host the raw community. We have always seen ourselves as a bridge -- one that invites in all raw food enthusiasts without judgment about how raw they are or what kind of raw food diet works best for them. We are here to bring together various factions of the raw community so they can live their truth and share it with the world. The Raw Hike-a-thon will help to put raw food in the forefront of the news and assist us in creating the center we believe is long overdue -- a place where people from around the world can come and learn about the raw food lifestyle from the leaders of the raw world.

Second, we want to use the Hike-a-thon to spread the message about the fantastic benefits of the raw food diet. Walking a marathon a day at high elevations for 5 months on raw foods is hard to discount. Clearly, Doug is getting all the nutrition from raw foods he needs to thrive. The Hike-a-thon will provide an exciting story that the media cannot ignore and will thus spread the message of the health-promoting benefits of raw foods. It is our hope that people who read about Doug in the paper will become interested in learning more about the raw food lifestyle.

We are thinking big, and thus need help to maximize our success. One way you can help is by financial contributions. We are asking for Hike-a-thon donations/pledges of 1 cent to 1 dollar per mile.  Donations will go toward Hike-a-thon expenses with the remainder going to support the new Living Light Center. We will recognize everyone making $/mile donations on our website as a “Hike-a-thon Angel”. Anyone wishing to help Doug by making donations of gear, food, or money for shipping boxes of food and supplies to resupply points will be recognize as a “Trail Angel” on the website. A gear “wish list” can be found on our website, as well as a list of Doug’s favorite raw trail foods.

Finally, and possibly most importantly, if you can't donate money -- you can donate time. This project is too big for us to do alone. We need volunteers to coordinate the many different aspects of our action plan (see below). All volunteers will be recognized prominently on the website. If you've been looking for something to devote several hours of your time to each week that will make a huge difference in the world ­-- something that will help spread the message of raw foods and sustainable living to people across the globe --­ take a leap of faith and volunteer to head a committee. Make Doug’s pledge your own ­--make your life stand for something bigger than yourself!

Here is a partial list of volunteers needed to make this a success:

The Hike-a-thon Director:
Is responsible for overseeing the committee of Volunteer Coordinators and Managers. This is a key position, since they will coordinate the activities of many people. They must be computer literate and have good writing skills so they can help edit press releases and articles. Experience that could be helpful would be event coordination, project management, good leadership. They must be a good self-starter, with good time-management and organizational skills, since the “buck” stops here. Doug will work closely with this person, but won't be able to help much once the hike begins.

Hike-a-thon Accountant:
Helps with pledge activities. Keeps the database of people who have made pledges. Opens an account and keeps records of pledges. Distributes funds as needed for Hike-a-thon media expenses.This position requires good accounting skills. Works closely with the Hike-a-thon Director and Doug.

Media Coordinator:
Writes press releases, talks to media, helps Doug with interviews, sets-up a media conference in Boulder, Colorado (with Doug). Requirements include good writing skills, tenacity, likeable personality, good people skills, good organizational skills, passion for raw foods and the healthy-promoting benefits, good knowledge of raw nutritional science (so they can answer questions posed by the media). Works with The Hike-a-thon Director, Doug, and the Web Master

Food Drop Coordinator:
Responsible for making sure that food is shipped to locations along the way for pick-up. Responsible for coordinating donations by sponsors and others who want to provide food stuffs for the Hike-a-thon. Works with Doug to establish a route for food drops. Keeps accounting of expenses and provides them to the Hike-a-thon Accountant. Good organization skills are required along with exceptional management skills.This person is responsible to make sure that the food is at the receiving site when Doug arrives there (hungry)! This requires a very responsible person. Works with The Hike-a-thon Director and Doug

Web Master (Designer/Manager):
Design and manage the website from start to finish, so people can go there, read about the trip, follow the adventure (digital photos and e-journal will be sent by Doug every few days). Create a story page as well as a place where people can sign-up to make pledges and become donors and sponsors. This must be someone who will not “drop the ball” and is committed to staying with it for the next 8 months! Works with The Hike-a-thon Director and Doug, as well as the rest of the committee.

Trail Angel Coordinator:
This person actively seeks out corporate Trail Angels (companies who make donations of food and supplies for the trip). Distributes donated food and gear to Food Drop Coordinator and any donated monies to Hike-a-thon Accountant. The Trail Angel Coordinator will work closely with the Hike-a-thon Director, Doug, and the Web Master

Hike-a-thon Sponsor Coordinator:
Actively seeks out corporate Sponsors and manages follow-up. Communicates information for all $/mile corporate donations to Accountant. Requirements include good writing skills, tenacity, likeable personality, good people skills, and good organizational skills. Works with The Hike-a-thon Director and Doug.

If you are interested in volunteering to help Doug with this amazing adventure or sponsor him with donations of equipment or food, contact him at: 808-264-2487 or email dougwalsh64@hotmail.com.  Check-out www.rawfoodchef.com for more details, pictures, and a complete list of the supplies and trail foods Doug will need for the Amazing Raw Food Hike-a-thon: A 3000-mile fundraising hike along the spectacular Continental Divide.