Hiking for a cause

What: Pledge an amount per mile hiked by Sarah Marble in support of the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit organization formed to benefit and assist wounded veterans and their families.

Where to donate: www.hikefor.com/Sarah/PCT/2016

The thought of hiking 2,665 miles is daunting, but also thrilling, enticing and something Sarah Marble has dreamed about since she was a student at Sequim High School.

Now, as she prepares to graduate from Santa Clara University in June, Marble is readying to embark on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Although her longtime personal desire to hike the infamous trail stretched between U.S./Mexico and Canada borders is the driving force, Marble’s reasons for doing the hike extend far beyond her own. With every mile hiked Marble will be raising money to support wounded veterans and their quest toward a life of normalcy and joy.

“I’m linking my hike to the Travis Mills Foundation, a nonprofit charity started by one of the five surviving quadriplegics from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” she said.

The foundation assists military families and veterans through longterm programs. Foundation officials are working “to create a retreat for veterans, focusing on those who have been wounded in combat, relearn how to do the things they enjoy like hiking with a prosthetic leg and just generally help them heal,” Marble said.

Any monies raised by Marble will be used to further plans to open the retreat located in Maine by summer 2017.

As a Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet with a goal to become an Army physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, hiking to support a military and medically rooted charity “brought in every aspect I wanted to,” she said.

Beginning at the southern start of the trail mid-June, Marble plans to hike north in hopes of reaching Canada no later than Thursday, Nov. 3. Marble’s window to hike the trail is restricted by a scheduled ROTC drill the first weekend of November.

“My biggest worry is we won’t have very much time,” she said.

To do the hike in its entirety and to allow for a few days of rest while on the trail, Marble estimates she’ll have to average about 25 miles per day. Although a semi-seasoned hiker, Marble’s backpacking experience is limited.

“I’ve done a lot of walking around with a heavy backpack with ROTC but I haven’t really backpacked that much, so I’m just going for it,” she said.

“Fortunately,” a friend from school with a lot of backpacking experience is set to accompany her on the journey, she said. “Hopefully, he’ll be able to fill in any knowledge gaps I have.”

Timing and experience aside, Marble is excited for the challenge, adventure and the chance to meet fellow hikers, yet still gain distance from society.

“I want to push my limits,” she said. “You learn a lot about yourself when you just have time to think, especially when you have isolated time where you’re not really getting a lot of input or distractions from other people, so I am really looking for to that aspect, too.”

Following in the footsteps of many backpackers that have earned a “trail name” as a long-running tradition for those that hike the PCT, Marble also is excited to earn her trail name, she said.

While “plodding along,” as she puts it, Marble plans to start studying for the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) and already has downloaded audio books to help prepare.

“I might as well,” she said.

Nearly ready with only resupply boxes needing packed and sent to the right locations, Marble is eager to begin the hike of lifetime.

“Every time I take a step I’m going to be thinking, ‘What is going to be possible with that?’ Maybe it will be lunch for some guy that lost his leg and is learning to do the things he enjoys again.”

Marble is raising funds for the Travis Mills Foundation through the online fundraising tool HikeFor. Visit www.hikefor.com/Sarah/PCT/2016 for more information and/or to pledge support. Assuming Marble will complete her 2,665-mile goal and including her own pledge of 15 cents per mile, a total of $5,996 has been pledged.

“It would be really awesome to make it $10,000,” Marble said. “That might be too bold, dream big.”

Reach Alana Linderoth at alinderoth@sequimgazette.com.