Photo Courtesy of University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics GoldRUSH

A Kalona man is battling nature and the elements in honor of his friends, family and others who have fought a battle of an entirely different kind. Seventy-six year-old George Hansen is in the process of hiking the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine. The trek is roughly 2,193 miles. Hansen spoke with KCII news before his journey about how he settled on the idea and the fundraiser. “I’d heard about this trail quite a bit and had done some hiking in the Grand Canyon and have always enjoyed being in among the rocks and nature. A friend of mine talked about the Appalachian trail and I debated and debated and now I’m at a place in my life where I can actually find time to do it. I want to start something and I want to finish it. I thought about some kind of an added purpose. Since my family and friends have been attacked by cancer, I’ve decided why not make it a fundraiser for cancer research. Since I’m kind of an old guy, I got a little more attention probably because of that. I want to inspire myself and my family to stay healthy and stay active. An active life adds quality of life.”

Hansen says he’s previously hiked the Grand Canyon but his concern is the difference in weather compared to Appalachia. To prepare for the strenuous activity he trained since January walking and using weight machines at the YMCA and hiked wearing a backpack around Kalona and the countryside. Hansen started at Spring Mountain, Georgia on April 8th. His path takes him north through Smoky Mountain National Park, into Virginia, through the Shenandoah Mountains, to Harpers Ferry, Pennsylvania and into Maine, 14 states in total. Hansen’s wife, Marilyn, will be helping along the way, mailing packages of supplies to be received at drop-off points. He also says that various friends and family will be joining him to hike portions of the trail.

If you would like to follow Hansen’s journey you can check out his Facebook page or the Georgehikesforcancer Instagram page. You can also donate to his cause, the Iowa GOLDrush fund for University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics Cancer Research through links on both of those pages. As of Tuesday, April 26th he has raised more than $3,000 of his $10,000 goal and has covered 183 miles of the trail, staying at Spence Field Trail Shelter in Robbinsville, North Carolina.