SAN DIEGO — A San Diego man plans to hike 10,000 miles to raise money for children fighting cancer.
Think about the longest hike you have ever tackled then supersize it and consider walking the world.
In this Zevely Zone, I hit the trail for a good cause. "Hiking is something that I love doing obviously," said 47-year-old Scotty Coulon who is about to step way out of his comfort zone.
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Ten years ago, Scotty started volunteering as a counselor at Camp Reach for the Sky. It's a non-profit organization that offers a series of camps designed to make kids with cancer smile.
"I'm so grateful that these people brought me into their family they have completely changed my life," said Scotty.
Finding a cure in the future is important, but Scotty says so is living for these precious moments.
"Research is necessary we need that but quality of life is just as important some of these kids are not going to make it," said Scotty.
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He is about to hike thousands of miles in the United States to raise money for the non-profit Oncology and Kids known as OAK.
"Then I'll be heading to Japan. I'll be going down to Chile," said Scotty.
Every step and every dollar will raise money for more camps.
"Then I am going to be heading over to Spain and France," said Scotty.
He is calling his worldwide journey the Mighty 10,000.
"I'll be heading to Scotland," said Scotty. "I figured I'd throw in one of the seven summits and the easiest one to do is Kilimanjaro in Tanzania."
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The project will take Scotty 27 months. As much as Scotty loves hiking, he loves the camps even more.
Between missions, he'll return to San Diego to connect with more kids. "Just allow them to be away for just one week just to be kids right because that is all they are in the end they are just kids that happen to be going through something that most of us can't even imagine," said Scotty.
He doesn't have children of his own, so the campers are his kids; both the ones who will beat cancer and some like Kimi Schroeder who did not. "She was one of the greatest," said Scotty. "How she lived in her 12 years, she lived more than most of us live in a full lifetime."
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He is using his life savings to perform this act of kindness. "Yes. Yeah, I've been saving for years, and years and years to go out and hike the world," said Scotty. It's a feat that he plans to do in overdrive while speed hiking.
"This is the speed that I like this is the speed that my body responds to," said Scotty.
Can you blame him the faster he hikes the faster he returns to the kids he cares about.
Scotty once hiked 44 miles in one day. He will begin his first hike on the Appalachian Trail on August 15th. If you'd like to follow his Mighty 10,000 journey or make a donation, click here.