Peterborough native Greg Carter put his life on hold for six months to hike the Appalachian Trail. The Appalachian Trail stretches about 2,200 miles from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. Passing through 14 states, the trail contains over 464,000 feet of elevation gain/loss, which is enough vertical footage to summit Mt. Everest 16 times. For many, this would seem an impossible feat, but for Carter, it’s another exciting journey of self-growth.
Carter, who hit the trail on March 12, is not just doing this hike for himself, however. Carter has partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Network to raise $50,000 in charitable donations. The Wildlife Conservation Network is an organization “that protects endangered wildlife by supporting conservationists who ensure wildlife and people coexist and thrive,” according to their website.
The idea to hike for charity originally came from Carter’s sister, Kaitlynn, who had heard about wild horses in the U.S. being round up, sold and slaughtered.
“To me the Wildlife Conservation Network is more widely applicable,” Carter said. “I found them through charitynavigator.org, which is a site that rates charities. They ranked very highly, five stars, fiscally responsible. I reached out to them. I picked $50,000 as the goal. A few days later it was made official.”
As for where that money specifically will be allocated, that is up the Wildlife Conservation Network.
“They [Wildlife Conservation Network] asked me, ‘Is there anywhere, in particular, you want it to go, any specific animal?’ That’s really not the important thing to me. It will go to a variety of different animals and conservations. They’re [endangered animals] beautiful and having a hard time with civilization, population growth and about anything else you can think of,” Carter said.
Carter’s hope is that through his trek on the Appalachian Trail he can bring awareness to a worthy cause and help support the organization’s goal in conserving wildlife. However, he also hopes that he can gain a level of personal growth and appreciation for everyday comforts that many often take for granted.
“It’s somewhat of a spiritual experience for me,” Carter said. “Not everyone has the good fortune to be able to do this, to just work on developing personal fortitude. Stepping away from having a constant distraction and level of engagement at all times with our phones is important. If you’re bored, instead of reaching out to your phone, you’re reaching out to your friends.”
This level of solitude and rough terrain are not new obstacles for Carter. His passion for adventure and self-development all began at age 15 during an Upward Bound trip to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.
“It’s a tremendous experience,” Carter said. “It gave me an appreciation for backpacking and stepping away from everyday life. The Appalachian Trail is my way of rediscovering that way of life and promoting self-growth.”
In preparation for the Appalachian Trail, Carter headed out to California. Catalina Island in California has a trail that covers the circumference of the island, totaling 40 miles which takes about four days to complete. Carter said it was the perfect test for his equipment, as it was raining the entirety of his time there. According to Carter, this trail is the best practice as it helped him indicate any weak points he may have and it’s the most literal form of preparation. Carter also used an inclined treadmill and weighted set to help him prepare for the six-month journey.
Even with his level of preparedness, Carter still has some worry. “My number one concern is that for some reason I’m going to arrive at a juncture where I feel too weak to carry on,” Carter said. “I’m doing it too fundraise for a good cause, but that puts an amount of pressure on it. There are people counting on me to finish.”
Despite any reservations, Carter is confident in his ability to stay calm and finish his goal. “I’ll put one foot in front of the other and get to the end,” Carter said. “Exercising patience and knowing that it probably won’t all go according to plan is important.”
To raise the $50,000 in donations, Carter has a Crowdrise site set up. Crowdrise is similar to Gofundme and is by the same company, but is designed specifically to give funds directly to charitable organizations. Those interested in donating, or simply keeping up to date with his hike, can visit Greg Thru Hikes for Wildlife Conservation on Facebook which will bring them directly to the Crowdrise site. Carter also has an Instagram account set up @gregthruhikes.
Carter also said that if anyone who donates would like to see him do anything specific on his hike to let him know.
“If someone wants to see me do something out on the trail I’m happy to do that too. I want to earn the money,” Carter said. “If I raise $23 per mile then I will reach my goal of $50,000. I’m hoping for the more donations I get ahead of time, the more miles I have to hike. It is going directly to a good cause.”