Our first HIKE for Mental Health in Puerto Rico was organized and led this month by volunteer Maria Diehl Faryna. Here is her update and photo album from this stunning rain forest hike.

At some point over last weekend, one hiker said to another, “I have severe depression, I’m so glad I can verbalize it here. It is not something I walk around the office saying.” Wow! One conversation at a time, one step at a time, we are doing our part to eliminate the stigma of mental illness. Click here to read more about our Fifth Annual Summit Mt. Washington hike for mental health and the dozens of hikers from eight states who turned out for our popular 10-mile round-trip hike in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire.

Check out the amazing photos from our Fifth Annual Summit Mt. Washington hike for mental health! The weather and the views could not have been any more perfect.

For the second year in row, ZPacks will contribute a custom-made ultralight Arc Blast Backpack to our top hiker prize package. All ZPacks packs are custom made-to-order, so the lucky winner will be able to specify the volume, color, torso height and belt length for his or her new ultralight backpack, valued at $325. Thank you to Joe Valesko and ZPacks for providing the perfect home for our top hiker prize package, a $1,200 collection of top-quality hiking and backpacking gear from leading brands that will be awarded to our top fundraising hiker in 2016.

Thanks to volunteer hike organizer Adam Leiser, the hikers and their supporters for a successful hike to the summit of Mt. Eisenhower in New Hampshire in June. The hikers’ hard work on the climb was rewarded with beautiful scenery and panoramic views of the Presidential Range. Click to see more pictures from the hike and learn how much they raised for mental health research and trail conservation.

On Friday, Leo presented the Pacific Crest Trail Association with a check for $7,000 at their headquarters in Sacramento, CA. Receiving the check for the PCTA were Director of Philanthropy Angie Williamson and Trail Information Specialist Jack Haskel. The distribution brings the 2 year total received by the PCTA to $12,500. Angie expressed her gratitude for the contribution and thanked “all the hikers, sponsors and volunteers at HIKE for Mental Health.”

Braving the threat of heavy rain. nearly 100 men, women and children came out on November 7 for the 2nd Annual Pearland Veterans Day Walk in Pearland, TX. Officials from the State of Texas, Brazoria County, and the City of Pearland were among those on hand to honor our veterans and raise money for veterans programs. Read more to see who turned out and how much was raised from the event.

“I am still basking in the positive energy that came from this hike!” So said one of the hikers days after the 2015 Sunfish Pond HIKE for Mental Heath. More than a dozen hikers joined volunteer hike organizers Pat Horsch and Wendy Summa for last Sunday’s final hike of our 2015 season, and Sunfish Pond in New Jersey was again the setting for a special HIKE for Mental Health experience. On the beautiful sun-filled day, Pat and Wendy welcomed the group and then began the hike from the Kittatinny Visitors Center…

“Right before the weekend a work colleague of mine lost a relative to depression/suicide,” write hike organizer Karen Viola. “And the day after the hike, an email came through with the news that one of my own relatives, a young student, was in the hospital. To keep her safe. Because of severe, treatment-resistant mental illness. Needless to say my feelings were all over the place as I browsed through all the glorious, colorful, joy-filled hike photos. But there we all were waving our orange bandanas… and the reason why is as crystal-clear as that day we had at Sam’s point.”

Thanks to everyone who made the 2015 Bear Mountain Hike to Oktoberfest a fantastic success. Hike organizers Donna Chapman and Martin Hunley did a terrific job as usual. And as usual, they captured a bushel of great photographs on the hike over Bear Mountain, NY, and down to the Bear Mountain Oktoberfest celebration. Check them out!

Gorgeous weather and stunning views greeted our 4th Annual Summit Mt. Washington hikers on August 22 in New Hampshire. More than 50 hikers of all ages made the 5.2 mile ascent on the Jewell Trail to the summit of the highest peak in the northeastern US. How amazing was this year’s Summit Mt. Washington hike?

For the second year in a row, Team California has knocked it out of the park, putting on another great hike in Placerita Canyon and raising more than $3,700 over two years! 80% of the funds raised will support programs to alleviate suffering from mental illness, and the remaining 20% will be split between the Placerita Canyon Nature Center and the Community Hiking Club for their work on Dagger Flats. Check out the photo gallery!

The hiker who raises the most from a 2015 hike will receive a prize package of brand-new, top-quality gear donated by generous supporters at Leki, Kelty, Vasque, Lightheart Gear, Point6, Princeton Tec and ZPacks. Click to see the leaderboard.

We wish to thank the Pacific Crest Trail Organization for listing HIKE for Mental Health among its major sponsors, alongside Leki, North Face, Gregory, and other great outdoor companies. As a small, all-volunteer non-profit organization, we are honored to be listed in such great company. With Cheryl Strayed’s movie Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon, in theaters now, the load on the PCT is expected to be at record levels. We are grateful to be able to provide the PCTA with resources to help them preserve and manage that breath-taking treasure this year.

A big thank you to all the hikers, hike leaders, walkers, sponsors and supporters that made 2014 a record year for HIKE for Mental Health!! 2014 drew a dozen new hike leaders, nearly 200 hikers and more than 80 walkers, along with more than 1,000 sponsors and supporters, to participate in HIKE for Mental Health’s effort.

Did you know that the Kroger supermarket stores give you a great way to support HIKE for Mental Health, and it doesn’t cost you a penny? … Read more…

HIKE for Mental Health is proud to award more than $5,400 to Texas veterans groups from its 2014 Veterans Day Walk for PTSD Awareness in Pearland, TX. We presented more than $2,400 in workbooks and treatment materials to the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, and we awarded $3,000 to Pearland VFW Post 7109 to increase services.

On October 11, volunteer hike organizer Josh McLaughlin led our first-ever HIKE for Mental Health in Illinois. Along with his Matthiessen State Park hikers and all their supporters, he raised $1,200 for mental health research and trail preservation with his Matthiessen State Park hike.

On a clear autumn day, 17 hikers came from as far away as Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, and North Carolina to hike with Susan “jackrabbit” Letcher. As usual, Susan hiked barefoot and paused to read a passage from Southbound on a rest break near the pond. The hike, however, was not a revisiting of the past but a celebration of a glorious fall day, a great HIKE for Mental Health, a time to meet new friends in a gorgeous, natural setting, and a statement that we will overcome the stigma associated with mental illness.

More than 30 hikers, some as young as 2 years old, came out for the first annual Red Rocks HIKE for Mental Health near Colorado Springs, CO, last weekend. And before the hike was even over, co-organizer Dixie Snyder texted us, “Sign us up for next year! Our people want to do it again! Amazing time! …Next year we all agreed that we’re going to wait till Casey (“Aquaman” Owen) gets back to do the hike again. So October, I’ll make sure to bring hot chocolate…. Casey did a great job! This was a great, fun, easy-going experience that wouldn’t of happen without him & all of your support! Thank you!