Help Spread the Word!

HIKE for Mental Health’s fifth annual #hikeOctober campaign is live! Sign up at hikeoctober.org.

This year our theme is “HIKE for HOPE”. A fitting mantra in the face of challenging times for us all.

Each and every participant who joins can help us reach our 2021 goals of 5,000 miles and $25,000. Your efforts will help raise awareness of the challenges of mental illness, fund mental health research and conserve recreation trails.

Over the past four years the #hikeOctober community has managed to raise $35,753.63, hike 7,034.4 miles, and bring together 578 participants!

We have had involvement from over 36 states and three different countries. Last year, our all-volunteer team of five logged a collective 300 hours of effort.

As you may remember, this is a virtual hike, not in the “virtual reality” sense, but in the “hike wherever you are” sense. A perfect event for 2021!

The hike is designed to bring together people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Individuals hail from communities with access to any type of trail, whether that be near town or out on a backcountry ridge. A one mile walk in your neighborhood is as important as a 50 mile backpacking trip.

You can sign up at hikeoctober.org and then walk any distance, anywhere, by yourself or with a group, anytime in October! Information about our organization and the campaign can be found through that same link.

As with all our events, it is free to register, and 100% of the funds raised go to our mission, which includes our continued support of organizations such as the Brain and Behavior Research Foundation, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Pacific Crest Trail Association, and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition.

Excited to get out on the trail to benefit HIKE for Mental Health before October? Check out these hikes being put on around the country. Can’t make it to one of these? Create and lead one of your own!

We would be thrilled if you could promote #hikeOctober on your social media. Invite your friends and family, and help us increase our impact!

Follow @HIKE for Mental Health on Instagram and @iHike on Facebook for continued updates before the campaign,  throughout the campaign, and after it, as well as a chance to see one of your photos when you use our hashtags – #hikeoctober and #hikeformentalhealth”. And, remember to #recreateresponsibly and #leavenotrace.

Contact Brayden Donnelly at brayden@hikeformentalhealth.org with any questions or comments about the campaign and the organization.