Hikers share motivation on charity trek

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GREENBUSH – Wending their way through Maine, six young hikers hoping to spread the word about a national charity are touching the lives of area residents, inspiring them with their dedication and their stories about life on the road.

Backpacking along the Eastern Continental Trail on a 4,400-mile journey they call “Hike for Hope 2001,” the travelers want to raise money for Oxfam America, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping impoverished people around the world.

The five men and one woman, who hail from five states and range in age from 18 to 27, left Key West, Fla., Jan. 1, and plan to end up in Cape Gaspe, Quebec, the first or second week of November.

Ultimately they will have visited 16 states and two Canadian provinces, hopefully raising awareness about poverty and hunger along the way.

“We want people to realize that individuals are powerful enough to do anything – there’s no need to sit around and whine about the wrongs in the world,” Mike Smith, 21, of Cedar Crest, N.M., said Saturday.

He and his friends were relaxing at the Greenbush home of Mark and Becky Meade in whose front yard the group had camped the night before. The couple had spotted the travelers trudging along Route 2 on Friday and invited them to come in from the rain and have dinner.

They were not the only Mainers to open their homes. Since crossing into the state Sept. 5, the group has stayed with residents of Vinalhaven, Camden, Rockland and Winterport, according to hiker Kim Jackson, 25, of Boulder, Colo.

They also have visited local schools to tell students about their adventures, she said.

Comments about one visit was on their Web site:

“The Crew has been spotted in Winterport, Maine! They’re doing great. Jeff, Ray, Kim and John were guests at Toddy Pond School in Swanville where they treated the students to exciting stories and interesting discussions. The kids, parents and staff were inspired!”

On Saturday, Mark Meade shrugged off his hospitable gesture. “To me, it was no big deal,” he said. “It was just a bunch of young kids doing something they believe in.”

The Meades’ cozy living room was dwarfed by the athletic young people who lounged easily on the sofa, surrounded by backpacks and piles of clean clothes recently pulled from the washing machine. Their story emerged little by little. While most had little hiking experience, the idea of seeing the eastern seaboard on foot was appealing.

But soon they decided their march might as well count for something: Why not raise money for a good cause at the same time?

Suddenly the trip took on a new importance.

After checking out a number of organizations, the group decided to walk for Oxfam America because of its good reputation and because “it spends its money wisely,” Smith said.

Unlike other organizations, which spend massive amounts on overhead, Oxfam uses 75 percent of the funds it raises to help the world, according to Jackson.

Founded in 1970 and based in Boston, Oxfam provides disaster relief and seeks to create lasting solutions to hunger, poverty and social injustice through long-term partnerships with poor communities around the world.

The young people spent three months planning their trip and garnering more than 25 sponsors who agreed to provide the hikers’ food, clothing and gear. Maine Coast Sea Vegetables in Franklin is one of the group’s supporters.

The hikers frequently split up, but communicate with each other, sponsors and headquarters using portable e-mail devices and pay phones. Averaging around 11 miles a day, they frequently take time off to relax, contact media and visit libraries where they pore over atlases, use the Internet to research their next destination and send in journal entries for their Web site.

Making new friends has been the highlight of their adventure, according to the hikers who said the kindness shown by the Meades isn’t rare.

“We’ve gotten to see how good people and Americans can be – the people we’ve met are so nice and giving and absolutely genuine,” Smith said.

The hikers elicit a good deal of curiosity, according to John Gilette, 25, of Enfield, Conn. “We don’t need to look for people, they frequently pull up and ask us if we want a ride,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Meades’ daughter, Kathryn, 17, found herself captivated by the group’s stories.

“I don’t know too many people who have walked all the way from Florida. They’re really amazing,” said the Orono High School senior who has been pining to see other parts of the world.

“And they’re really excited so it makes it more fun to hear about all the people they’ve met and the places they’ve traveled,” she said.

In the end, the hikers believe they will have fulfilled their mission if they’ve made “anybody abandon their complacency and sedentary life to try to change the world or do something different.”

“We hope people do extraordinary things and that we had something to do with it,” Smith said.

For more information, log on to www.hikeforhope2001.org.