Miami, Jan. 13, 2020 – Jonathan Maidment will return to the trails again in 2020! He is pleased to announce that he will be hiking the Continental Divide Trail, which consists of 3,100 miles between Mexico and Canada through the United States, along the Rocky Mountains and crossing Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The Triple Crown of Hiking refers to the three major U.S. long-distance hiking trails: the Appalachian Trail (AT), the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). The Triple Crown is not an easy feat, as hikers must complete a total of nearly 8,000 miles across 22 states with one million feet of cumulative elevation gain. It is estimated that only about 600 people have actually hiked the Triple Crown.
“I am looking forward to this hike. Triple Crowning has been a dream of mine for years and to have it so close to coming true is exciting! I hope that we raise even more money for the Alpha-1 Foundation and continue to spread awareness for this terrible disease that has affected all of us in the Alpha-1 community deeply. Let’s find a cure for Alpha-1,” Maidment said.
“I will hike the CDT as a fundraiser for the Alpha-1 Foundation, and I believe that we can raise even more money, given that this is the Foundation’s 25th year. I am also hiking to continue raising awareness for Alpha-1,” he added.
Maidment, the 24-year-old from Connecticut, walked the entire 2,650 miles of the PCT in 2019 and the 2,184 miles of the AT in 2014, raising an incredible amount of awareness about Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) and funds for research and related programs at the Alpha-1 Foundation.
Maidment himself is an Alpha. He was diagnosed at age 10. As Alpha-1 is a genetic condition, his father, Dave, is also an Alpha and his mother, Karen, is a carrier.
“I will never forget last year’s journey. I spent 195 days walking 2,653 PCT miles! I went through 5 pairs of boots and saw mountain goats, bears, rattlesnakes, scorpions, lizards, and deer. It’s surreal. As of October 29, 2019, we had raised more than $61,000 for the Alpha-1 Foundation. What’s even more unbelievable is that we’ve raised $200,000 when you count my hikes from previous years!” Maidment said.
Proceeds from the fundraising activities relating to his hike will be dedicated to research and programs of the Alpha-1 Foundation.
Building Friends for a Cure program is supported by AlphaNet, CSL Behring, Eversana, Grifols, and Takeda.
Click here to view the official Hiking for a Cure for Alpha-1 Facebook page.
About the Alpha-1 Foundation
The Alpha-1 Foundation is committed to finding a cure for Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1) and to improving the lives of people affected by Alpha-1, worldwide. The Alpha-1 Foundation is a not-for-profit Florida corporation founded in 1995 by John Walsh, Sandy Lindsey, and Susan Stanley, three people diagnosed with Alpha-1. The Foundation has invested more than $76 million to support Alpha-1 research and programs at 116 institutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Australia. For more information, visit www.alpha1.org.
Contact: Jeanne Kushner
Director of Communications & Public Affairs
877-228-7321, ext. 204
jkushner@alpha1.org
