rickohikes

The Challenge Starts Tomorrow!

Cascade Mountain, from Banff Avenue. Credit: Real Banff

It’s the afternoon of Sunday August 26th. My condo is covered with clothes and hiking gear that I will be taking on the big trip. My camera is being charged, pop tunes are playing, and I’m taking a break from packing to drink some coffee, rest my injured foot, and write this posting.

Tomorrow, Banff National Park’s Big Mountain Challenge begins. I’m so excited about this! It’ll be great to see Dan when he flies in at 11 am, and then we’ll head to Banff to begin this big adventure.

As I sit here, I can’t help but reflect on this entire process. To be honest, I didn’t really think I’d have a shot at winning this challenge when this whole endeavor started. It was on June 12th when Dan sent me the following e-mail:

“YES YES YES YES YES

www.calgarysun.com/2012/06/11/charitable-hikers-wanted-for-challenge

Are these mountains we could climb?”

Sometimes our e-mails are this short, yes. Well, this looks interesting, I thought. The article starts by saying that tourism officials in Banff are looking for an avid hiker with a big heart. I remember joking- “Ha! I’m an avid hiker… and I have a big heart!” To enter the contest, entrants needed to submit a photo explaining how they would prepare for the big challenge. Dan and I thought it would be a good idea if I entered, and we would both pool whatever resources we could to try and win this contest. Dan, being an active blogger/tweeter/FBer, would use his social networking and blogging power to gather support for my entry, and I would try to do the same. Friends Paul and Turin helped me choose the photo, and after coming up with the tag line on how I was preparing for the challenge (“By singing showtunes to keep the bears away!”), I would have about 6 weeks to get as many votes and comments as I could to support my campaign. If I won the contest, up to $25,000 would go to The Kidney Foundation of Canada, the charity of my choice.

My contest entry

I began to see the support for me and this contest almost immediately. Friends, family and colleagues were very supportive. The votes came in; comments were posted to the Banff National Park FB page saying that I should win, and that the donation should go to The Kidney Foundation of Canada. People were voting whenever they could. Strangers sent me messages about how it was a great thing to be doing this for The Kidney Foundation- people who I had never met, but who were living with kidney disease, or had family members who did, or were recipients of kidney transplants, or who lost family members on the waiting list, or who were newly diagnosed and were scared. A contest that began as “I love hiking” quickly turned into something more. The support quickly put me in first place in the voting.

I thought my vacation to Peru would derail my campaign a bit. I knew I wouldn’t have internet access, but people came to my rescue. Robbie was a huge support throughout this. His efforts would bring The Kidney Foundation on board, and they began posting on their national FB and kidney march pages to garner attention for the contest and gather support. Even though I was dropping in the ranks, my online presence was always strong.

When I came back from Peru, my first media gig happened. I was asked to discuss the Big Mountain Challenge and talk a little bit about my charity on Global Calgary. It was an incredible experience! Robbie and I went to the studio and it was so cool to see how the morning news was produced. To say I was nervous is an understatement, and I was literally shaking on TV (though people probably didn’t notice). I ended the interview, thankful for the opportunity, but hoping it was the last, ha! It was just so nerve-wracking. The general consensus was that it was great, but I was much more serious on camera than usual!

When the contest closed on July 27th, I was 6th place in the votes. The fine print for the contest did emphasize that votes and comments are ‘strongly’ considered by the judging panel, and that they did not determine the winner. So I figured I had a good shot at winning, but there were some great entries, very strong campaigns, and incredible charities in the mix. It seemed like it could be anyone’s contest to win. When August 3rd rolled around and I was announced as a Top 10 finalist but not the winner, I was sad, mainly because I would have loved to see The Kidney Foundation win the $25,000. Many people told me that I was still a winner in their eyes, having brought so much awareness about kidney disease and for placing so high out of 719 entries. That made me feel better :). Kidney disease is one of those ‘silent’ diseases that oftentimes presents itself once the kidneys have already failed. I knew from talking with family and friends that, at the very least, some people learned something about kidney failure. I sent my congratulations to the winner, and then went away for the weekend.

How things in life can change pretty quickly. On Tuesday, August 7th, I received a call from Banff Lake Louise Tourism, informing me there were some eligibility issues with the winner, and that I was the new winner! What crazy news! I was outside of my building, jumping up and down. I’m sure people were watching me, but I didn’t care. I was soooo excited! Once I called Dan to let him know, he first asked “Are you kidding me?”. Of course I wasn’t. I never call Dan, so why would I call to joke about something like this? He was shocked and super excited. I asked him, “Are you still available August 27th – September 4th?” He replied that he would do whatever it took to get the time off and be here. I think we’re both still thinking this whole thing is surreal.

Since August 7th, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. I was in contact with the fundraising department at The Kidney Foundation of Canada, Southern Alberta branch. They set up a fundraising page that explained that the fundraising was part of the Big Mountain Challenge. Friends, family, colleagues and supporters began donating immediately. Our goal was to raise $5000 within 2 weeks, and Banff Lake Louise Tourism would match, dollar-for-dollar, any amount we made up to $5000. I’ve never fundraised for anything before, so I was quite nervous about this part. The afternoon of August 13th, the donation page went live. By August 17th, we had surpassed $5000 in donations. At times, I was speechless. I couldn’t believe how fast the money had come in. What can you say to everyone who backed me up in this contest since June 12th? How do you thank them for tolerating the many e-mails and Facebook updates? And now, how could I express to everyone how incredible it is to be part of an effort that raised more than $5000 in less than 5 days? I’m still reeling from this, and will continue to say Thank You to everyone as much as I can.

That first Global Calgary interview would not be my only media experience. Since then, I had a live phone interview with The Morning Show on Global Toronto; was in Calgary’s Metro News, the Milton Champion, the Libin Institute blog, on the University of Calgary’s Utoday and main webpage, and the Faculty of Medicine’s News Digest. I’ve done radio interviews with QR77, Mountain FM, and the CBC Eyeopener. It’s all been about promoting Banff and Lake Louise, as well as talking about The Kidney Foundation and how people can donate. I’ve been enjoying all of the media for what it is, and it’s been very exciting, though part of me is looking forward to it dying down a bit :).

Milton Champion. Anyone tired of this photo yet?? 🙂

By August 22nd, when the fundraising link closed, we had raised $6,762. Once the hikes are completed by Labour Day (September 3rd), The Kidney Foundation will receive $26,762. Absolutely incredible.

Yay!

I am so grateful for all of the experiences that have occurred since this contest began, and this is not something I take for granted by any means. Starting tomorrow, Dan and I are about to start the final phase of the contest- the trip to Banff and Lake Louise, and hiking the three mountains: Cascade Mountain, Mount Temple, and Sulphur Mountain. For me, Banff and Lake Louise aren’t too far away, but they are amazing parts of Alberta, and of the world, really. The scenery there is stunning, and I’m amazed by the beauty every time I go. This will be no different. The itinerary is pretty packed:

The Fairmont Banff Spring Hotel. Credit: Real Banff

August 27: Arrive in Banff and check in to The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel

August 28: Classic Hike #1- Cascade Summit (10 – 12 hours)

August 29: Willow Stream Spa Day at the Banff Springs

August 30: Transfer to Lake Louise and check in to The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Lake Louise Shoreline Stroll with a Heritage Guide.

August 31: Classic Hike #2- Temple Summit (10 – 12 hours)

September 1: Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House, and have lunch with the owner!

September 2: Transfer to Banff and check in to The Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel. Willow Stream Spa Day #2 🙂

September 3: Class Hike #3- Sulphur Summit (1.5 hours), followed by a photo opportunity and press event! (This includes Julie Canning, President & CEO from Banff Lake Louise Tourism, and Stuart Hart, Director of Sales & Marketing Development, for the cheque presentation; and Global TV, Banff Crag & Canyon, The Rocky Mountain Outlook, The Calgary Herald and The Calgary Sun for photo opportunities and interviews! Wow!)

September 4: Dan flies home and I return to Calgary

The Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. Credit: Real Banff

So I just looked at the time, and I should really get back to packing. Nothing has moved in the last 2 hours, and my suitcase is still empty. There will be more opportunities to write during the trip, and I’ll definitely be posting photos. I look forward to seeing what the next week brings. I wish I could bring everyone who helped me out with this contest! First up- Cascade Mountain on Tuesday. So excited…

The Mushroom Kingdom to Mount Allan

View of the Mushroom Kingdom. Its where Bowser lives

A few Sundays ago, I was itching for something epic. It had been a while since I had completed a long day hike, and with three big hikes coming up for the Big Mountain Challenge, I wanted to try and get a few more hikes in there. Paul and Vanessa were on board as well, and so based on recommendations, we chose to summit Mount Allan via Centennial Ridge Trail. The Centennial Pass to Mount Allan Trail is the highest maintained trail in the Canadian Rockies, so it was a definite “must conquer” on the list.

Hiking the Centennial Trail. Gorgeous views the entire way.

We were up super early Sunday morning and headed to Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. The trailhead is located on Centennial Drive, close to the Nakiska Ski Resort. After getting our gear together, we began the hike. It was 9:15 am. We quickly passed a sign informing us that the Centennial Ridge Trail is closed between April 1 and June 21, as the trail is used by Bighorn Sheep and their newborn lambs. Although we were hiking quite later than mid-June, I would have loved to see little lambs on the trail. Alas, we did not. Woe is me.

BESTIES!!!… but no reciprocation :o|

The trail is quite gorgeous; there are forests, grassy hillsides with many lovely flowers, and great views all around. The earlier part of the hike is also steep, with a stretch that climbs roughly 700 metres in 2 kilometers! I knew it was going to be an epic hike, but I think I underestimated it. Mosquitoes and black flies were on the offensive as well. I even had a black fly attack me through my shirt, which left a big red mark that was itchy for days! I guess that’s what you get when you’re out in nature. I guess. Once we reached the Olympic Summit and Centennial Pass, we checked out the weather stations and admired the views around us. However, there was much more of the hike left!

Flowers on the trail: an Indian paintbrush (Castilleja)

Admiring the weather station

Looking down at the Nakiska Ski Resort from Centennial Ridge

In the distance, there it was: Mushroom Kingdom. Alright, it probably isn’t called that, and some sites refer to it as a rock garden, but the numerous rocks of many shapes and sizes reminded us of a bunch of mushrooms. From a distance, the rocks were tiny, but in fact, they were huge! Hence, the ‘Kingdom’. Plus Bowser (in the form of a squeaking marmot) lives there, so it had to be called Mushroom Kingdom. We wasted no time… onward!

Mushroom Kingdom on the trail (mid/high point in the photo)

I think this was a baby rock ptarmigan/snow chicken. Cute!

Once we arrived at the Mushroom Kingdom, we were awed by the landscape and the formation of the rocks. We stopped here to eat lunch, since there was still quite a ways to go and we had been hiking for hours at that point. The rocks also provided some much needed shade from the intense sun. I don’t know much about geology, but the rocks were incredible. It’s almost like part of the mountain eroded over many many years and left these spires/monoliths. And the rocks themselves were interesting. They looked blackened, perhaps by lichen, and the spires looked as if they were constructed of marmot skulls. Obviously, they weren’t constructed of marmot skulls, and this statement refers to one of the many jokes that arose during the full day hike.

Hiding among the ‘mushrooms’

The highest maintained hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies

Monoliths of the Mushroom Kingdom

Spires filled with marmot skulls. (Note: there were no marmot skulls)

Once we left the rock garden, it was another 40 minutes or so to the summit of Mount Allan, where the views were magnificent. We could see Sparrowhawk in the background, which still ranks as my favourite/most difficult hike in Alberta so far. But Mount Allan did not disappoint at all. Some ominous clouds began to roll in, but not before we could admire the surroundings and snap a few photos.

Toad, Peach and Goomba at the summit

East view (I think) from Mount Allan

West view (I think) from Mount Allan

A storm cloud moving in? What’s up with that?! I don’t know what I’m doing here.

The descent was just as beautiful, but we were exhausted. The downhill went on forever. And ever. And ever. But the late afternoon sun always seems to cast wonderful shadows on the mountains, so it was a different experience hiking to the Mushroom Kingdom, along the ridge, and back down Centennial Trail to the car park.

Another hour to go on the descent?? Let’s just stop here. Close enough.

So we started the trail at 9:15 am, and we had many rest/snack/lunch stops along the way. It was a tiring hike! And the sun was intense- I actually received quite a burn on my calves (oops, forgot the sunscreen there!). We arrived at the summit at 2:15 pm, a full 5 hours after beginning the hike. After taking in the incredible views, we began our descent at 2:30 and arrived at the car for 6:25 pm. Longest. Day. Ever. At roughly 16 km roundtrip, it was a 9 hour and 10 minute hike! Mount Allan stands at about 2840 metres above sea level, and the elevation gain for the hike is 1360 metres. Time-wise, this has officially been the longest hike I’ve done in Alberta thus far. Will Mount Temple in a few weeks be longer?? As tiring as it was, the thought of Chinese food had us rejuved the entire time. “Rejuved” is a word, right?

Beautiful views from the Centennial Ridge Trail.
Mount Allan- We conquered you!

And just for memories, I have embedded this amazing song by Season 4 American Idol winner Carrie Underwood. Because sometimes, when you’re exhausted on the mountain and don’t know where to turn, you just have to trust in a higher power…

I Am A Spartan!

My Spartan Race finisher medal. The most painful medal ever!

Well, maybe I am…. 🙂

Yesterday was the 5km Spartan Sprint obstacle course in Calgary. The Spartan Sprint is part of the Spartan Race series of crazy obstacle courses meant to challenge even the most daring of athletes. It’s all about challenging yourself and overcoming any and everything. It sounded like tons of fun, so a bunch of friends and myself signed up for it.

Admittedly, leading up to the race, I was pretty excited, yet slightly nervous. I knew my fitness wasn’t up to par with where I would have liked it to be, but I was going to give it my all! I was just worried that I would injure myself. After all, I do have a bunch of hikes coming up that I need to complete for The Kidney Foundation as part of Banff National Park’s Big Mountain Challenge. But I think I was just psyching myself up.

Pre-race photo. Getting pumped!

We arrived at the Wild Rose MX Park and waited for our 1:00 pm heat to begin. With about 10 minutes to go, we made our way to the starting line. The sun was beating down on us, and though it was incredibly hot, everyone was pumped and ready to go. The energy in the air was awesome. The announcer came on and said “We have a new word for the Spartan Race- AROOH!”. “AROOH!!!” everyone screamed. And we cheered it some more- “AROOH!!!!” It made everyone that much more pumped. And before we knew it, we were off!

I’ll say right up front that the Spartan Sprint was much more grueling than I thought it would be. I had a strong start, jumping over fire and heading through the course; crawling over, under and through a series of walls; hopping onto and into gigantic tires, and running up and down hills. I soon realized that my cardio was quite lacking, and only a few minutes in, I was very tired. Then came the balancing obstacle where we had to balance on zig-zagged wooden planks that were roughly 5 cm in width. Yeah, I fell off of that pretty quickly, so my punishment? Do 25 burpees :S. I so was not a fan!

The fire wasn’t too menacing, but it was incredible hot! Well, naturally…

Then it was on to more hills, running through some trees, trudging through some mud, and then carrying a weight bag down and then up a hill. I slugged it over my shoulders and persistent onward. The weight seriously felt like 50 lbs, though I’m pretty confident it wasn’t that heavy. At this point, there was exhaustion. Where’s the water station!!, I thought. Finally, at the half-way point, I saw the water station in the distance. But first, another obstacle. And this is where things really went downhill…

The task? Traverse horizontally across a ‘rock wall’, where the rocks were actually blocks of wood. Okay, easy enough, I thought. But once I got up there, I had no idea how to proceed! After a minute or so, I tried a bit of “hopping” from one block to another. It wasn’t easy, but it worked. And I hopped more. And then I was almost there!… And then I had one wrong step and I fell. Now, the wall wasn’t particularly high. Maybe about 2 feet off the ground or so. But I fell the 2 feet, landed right onto the side of my left foot, and crashed to the ground. I didn’t hear anything break, but if you’ve ever had a sprained or badly rolled ankle, you know it could be worrisome!

As soon as I fell, I knew I was injured. I tried to stand up, and pain shot through my foot. My first thought was “OMG! I have to hike 3 mountains in about a week for $25000!” I even said before the race that my worst nightmare would to be to injure my foot. I flagged down one of the volunteers, who directed me to the medical station. They examined it and thought it was rolled and that I hadn’t broken anything, which was awesome, but they did recommend me sitting out. And this is where Trini stubbornness kicked in- I had to finish the race. If it was significantly worse, maybe I would have bowed out. But I knew that I had it in me to finish. Even if I didn’t run it, or if I skipped the remaining obstacles, I was going to finish the remaining 2.5 km!

And so I persevered onward. Jean passed me, asked if I was alright, and gave me a boost in confidence. If you know me, you know that I was not happy with myself. At all. But it was awesome to have friends and random people pass me, ask if I needed medical attention, and then encourage me to continue and cross that finish line. If there’s something extremely cool about the Spartan Race, it’s the level of support that racers have for one another. I reached a wall climbing obstacle which I knew I couldn’t do, so the punishment again- 25 burpees. This would be my second set of burpees, but this time they were one-legged. *Sigh*.

Thumbs up, despite the barbed wire

Getting stuck in mud :S

Shari caught up with me and we walked together for a bit. Thanks Shari for being my walking crutch! Another obstacle required us to pull a concrete block around a lap, and once that was done, I told Shari to charge ahead. I knew I was almost done. And that’s when I saw Robbie :). He was so supportive and asked if I was okay. He gave me some Advil and water, which would help with the pain. It was uplifting and he showed up just when I needed the support. Then I saw my other friends who had finished the race and they were cheering me on. At that point it was time to crawl under barbed wire and through a bunch of mud.

Gawd, I’m in pain. But I’ve got this!

The next obstacle was a wooden lattice and rope incline to climb and descend. There was a bit of impact on my left foot, but nothing too bad. Then after one more corner, a spear throwing event. I hoped to make the target, but sadly I didn’t, which resulted in my 3rd set of 25 burpees for the race (and my second set of one-legged burpees :S). Thank you to the random gentleman who counted my burpees and cheered me on! Those were tough to complete. Then, after one more turn, I dashed pass the jousting gladiators, though they took it easy when the saw I was injured, and the Spartan Sprint was over and done with. I claimed my finisher medal, which will go down as one of the most worked-for medals of the many races I’ve done. It was an intense race, and I completed in a well over an hour :o|.

The gladiator didn’t really try, but I passed him anyway!

Overall, despite injury, it was a fun and incredible event. There was so much support all around, with lots of cheering and helping. It was great to get so many friends together and endure an event like this. And it felt so good to get all of that mud off afterwards!

AROOH!!!

And now, as I write this, I’m nursing my left foot back to health with lots of ice and rest. I have to be back in fighting form in just over a week, eek :S.

It’s funny. The website does say under the “All Racers Receive” section that I would get:

* a Finishers Medal

* a Free Spartan Race T-shirt

* Scrapes and Bruises

* Stories, stories and more stories.

Robin- He’s a Spartan now.

I certainly received all of those!

UPDATE: I was 2134/2225 overall, with a time of 1:22:48.55, and a pace of 16:33. Ha! In my heat category, I was 73/74 (at least I wasn’t last!), and in the male category, I was 1156/1176. Whoohoo!

I definitely hope to sign up for this again next year if it comes back to Calgary. Or maybe I’ll go one step further and do the 10-12 mile military-style obstacle course on July 20/21, 2013: Tough Mudder. It sure looks like a challenge. Geeze, there’s always another race. Who’s in??

Spartan Race- I conquered you. And I have the mud to prove it!

Drive the Icefields Parkway. At Least Once.

Driving the Icefields Parkway

A few weekends ago (the August long weekend, to be exact), it was my 31st birthday. With all of the hoopla of the contest win the day after my birthday, I haven’t had a chance to sit down and reflect about that weekend. In a few words, it was very enjoyable, relaxing, and beautiful.

Road trip time

Robbie and I set out from Calgary en route to Jasper. I didn’t actually know what was in store for the weekend, which made it all quite exciting! First stop- kayaking in Banff. I had never gone kayaking before, and it was so much fun! Then it was on to the Icefields Parkway, making photo stops along the way, until reaching Jasper. The next day, we started the morning off with horseback riding, followed by a relaxing afternoon with a short visit to Maligne Canyon. The last day we headed back to Calgary, but not before seeing the glaciers on Mount Edith Cavell, admiring the Athabasca Falls, and taking in the bright turquoise of Peyto Lake. It was a fantastic birthday weekend 🙂

Kayaking in Banff

… so peaceful…

Amazing scenery the entire time on the Icefields Parkway

Approaching the Columbia Icefields Visitors’ Center

Now, I’ve done the Icefields Parkway drive before, and this second time was just as awesome as the first. The mountains are incredible, and the landscape changes from Kananaskis to Banff to the Icefields Parkway and then finally to Jasper. I don’t know a lot about the geology or the formation of the mountains, but something incredible occurred to make them look the way they do. And so, I wanted the take home message of this post to be this: If there is ever an opportunity to drive the Icefields Parkway, do it. It is one of National Geographic’s Ultimate Road Trips, and with very good reason. It really is one of the most beautiful and majestic drives. I acknowledge that I am quite fortunate to live so close to such amazing scenery, but it really never gets old. Every time I drive through the mountains, I’m lost and mesmerized all over again.

Athabasca Glacier

Horseback riding. Yay!

Stopping at Athabasca Falls

You never know what wildlife you’ll see 🙂

It’s Time To Donate!!

All donations help!!- CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

I may have won Banff National Park’s Big Mountain Challenge, but we’re not done yet! It’s now time to raise $5000! Every donation (up to $5000) will be matched by Banff Lake Louise Tourism. Upon completion of the hikes, an additional $15000 will be donated to The Kidney Foundation of Canada. So potentially, that’s $25000! WOAH! Please donate as much or as little as you can :).

CLICK HERE TO DONATE!!- http://www.kidney.ca/rickchinsbigmountainchallenge

Here’s the blurb from the donation page:

All donations help!!- CLICK HERE TO DONATE!

The Banff National Park Big Mountain Challenge contest launched on Facebook on June 11, 2012, asking entrants to submit a photograph of themselves with accompanying commentary about how they would prepare for the epic challenge of ascending 3 mountain peaks over the course of seven days. The winner would also have a chance to raise up to $25000 for charity. By close of the contest, 719 entries had been submitted from around North America.

How did I prepare for the challenge? By singing show tunes to keep the bears away, of course!

The first part of the Big Mountain Challenge is now complete… and I’m humbled to say that I’ve been chosen as the winner! Thank you everyone for your votes, your encouragement, and your support- this was possible because of you. I’m still in absolute shock that my photo entry was chosen! I can’t wait to take on this challenge and report back on the amazing experience it will be. But that’s still a few weeks away.

The second phase in the Big Mountain Challenge is to fundraise for my charity of choice. So over the next two weeks, I will be raising pledges of support for The Kidney Foundation of Canada. What’s awesome is that Banff Lake Louise Tourism will match all donations, dollar-for-dollar, up to $5000! Not only have they hosted a great contest, they are also happy to donate to an incredible charity. Upon completion of the ascents, a guaranteed $15000 will be given to The Kidney Foundation of Canada, as well as up to $10000 more based on the pledges earned.

So what’s our goal?? The ultimate goal is $25000 for The Kidney Foundation of Canada. To make sure this happens, we need to raise at least $5000 in pledges. This is an ambitious goal to achieve within two weeks, but I have no doubt that with your support and generosity, we can do it! Any amount, as large or as little, will benefit this great organization. (Note: All donors will receive an electronic tax receipt via e-mail).

For more information, visit www.kidney.ca

I’ve been asked the question: Why did you choose The Kidney Foundation of Canada? Truthfully, up until a few years ago, and probably like many Canadians, I didn’t know much about kidney disease or the effects of kidney failure. When I moved from Ontario to work with a kidney disease research group at the University of Calgary, I learned very quickly that chronic kidney disease is very serious, lifelong, and there is no cure. It not only impacts the life of the patient, but the patient’s family and friends as well. And there are 2.6 million Canadians who have or are at risk of kidney disease. There is so much we still need to understand about the disease, and so sometimes it’s difficult to give it the platform and attention it deserves.

From a personal standpoint, I have family members affected by diabetes and high blood pressure, and I learned that those are the two leading risk factors for kidney disease. That’s a very scary thing to think about. Over 50% of people diagnosed with kidney disease have diabetes, high blood pressure, or both.

The Kidney Foundation of Canada is a leading national health charity for reducing the burden of kidney disease. They focus on research, education and support, promoting access to quality health care, and increasing public awareness for organ donation. I felt it was important to hike for The Kidney Foundation of Canada. It’s my way of showing support so they can continue helping all Canadians affected by kidney disease.

For more information on The Kidney Foundation of Canada, please visit www.kidney.ca.