The Hike-A-Thon is On!

 How many miles will I hike this month?

I started the Washington Trails Association's 2012 Hike-A-Thon with a bike trip! It was actually a car-free hiking research trip to Sidney, BC on the Saanich Pensinsula north of Victoria. There I hiked 10 miles in the John Dean Provincial Park and 10 miles on Sidney Island in the Gulf Islands National Park Preserve. It was a research trip for my upcoming book, Day Hiking San Juan and Gulf Islands and the first one  I did car-free. I took my bicycle over on the  Anacortes-Sidney Ferry and stayed right in Sidney (at the waterfront Sidney Pier Hotel) from where I biked to John Dean Park and took a passenger ferry to Sidney Island. I then biked part of the Lochside Trail researching it for my book as well. You see this will be my first book that also explains how to get to trails and campgrounds by bicycle and whether trailheads and campgrounds and lodging are bike friendly. The Sidney Pier Hotel is-they'll lock your bike in a secure room.

The San Juan and Gulf Islands and Victoria-Saanich Peninsula are ideal for bike touring and bike-hiking options. Big advantages aside from not using gasoline is the convenience of getting on ferries. No reservation needed. No long line ups and only a fraction of the expense to get to the islands. Try it!

Now about the Hike-A-Thon. SPONSOR ME! (please!). I'm hoping to raise $1,500 for WTA this year to help protect and enhance the trails that we love so much! To give you an added incentive to sponsor me, I will be giving away some of my books and thanks to the generosity of Green Trails Maps, I'll be giving away a few special series maps too!

Anyone who sponsors me at $25 or more will have their choice of a special series Green Trails Map (a $12 value).

Anyone who sponsors me at $40 or more gets a map and a membership in WTA (if you're not already a member).

Anyone who sponsors me at any level is eligible to make a little wager as to how many miles I will hike in August. Make a guess (send it to me at Craig@craigromano.com or on my facebook page "Craig Romano Guidebook author) and the person who comes closest to my August total without going over will win his or her choice of two of my guidebooks! How cool is that?

Finally, because I want to pay-it-forward; if you help me make my $1,500 goal I will personally donate $100 to the Skagit Land Trust’s Barney Lake campaign. WTA and Skagit Land Trust have partnered in the past on such great projects as Guemes and Vendovi Islands (both appearing in my new book, Day Hiking San Juan and Gulf Islands).

So, what are you waiting for?! Make a donation today!
Ready to get started? Just click "Sponsor Me" to make a donation.
Thank you in advance for your generosity!