Hiking the Crucible | endurance hiking the Waterloo-Pinckney for a good cause
www.thesuntimesnews.com | September 23, 2019 | Link to ArticleOver 200 participants turned out for the first-time event, The Crucible, which saw the participants hiking along the Waterloo-Pinckney Trail for a good cause.Event founders/organizers Juston and Carrie Schotte said The Crucible is a self-supported endurance hike to raise money for charity.They said proceeds will benefit the Semper Fi Fund, which provides immediate financial assistance and lifetime support to combat wounded, critically ill and catastrophically injured members of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Endurance hiking is defined as any day hike of at least 20 continuous miles along backcountry trails. Aid stations were set up at every four to six-mile intervals where volunteers were posted with logbooks. Participants were given a tee-shirt at the start of the event and received a patch if they completed within the 12-hour time frame.They said they chose 22 miles along the Waterloo-Pinckney to, “represent the average number of veterans lost every day to suicide.”“They deliver the resources they need during recovery and transition back to their communities, working to ensure no one is left behind,” , the Schotte’s said of Semper Fi Fund.Close to $7,000 was raised by The Crucible.By: Lonnie Huhman, lhuhman@thesuntimesnews.com