Local boy to walk 32 miles
Fundraising money for trail guide brochures
Living in California Hot Springs in the Giant Sequoia National Monument, amongst the redwoods, and oak groves, Frederick Valyocsik has embraced the beauty of his backyard and become quite an experienced, avid hiker.
At only 15, Valyocsik is planning a 32 mile walk-a-thon from aspen to oak to raise money to develop hiking maps, and tour guide brochures for the California Hot Springs area of the Giant Sequoia National Monument.
He feels this will help adventurous travelers like himself get informed about the different hikes, and trails available throughout the Sequoia National Park.
“Besides Forest Service maps, there are few resources for hikers and tourists to find the cool places to explore in our part of the forest,” Valyocsik said. “I really like to hike, and I thought that walking long distance would be a good way to show people that I was serious about this project,”
Valyocsik was set to have his walka-thon on Saturday, July 8, but due to the Schaeffer Fire, Valyocsik decided to postpone it until conditions improve. He will try again on Saturday. Until then he is continuing to fundraise through donations around his community, and even started a gofundmepage from which he has already raised $700, and $500 in cash.
Anybody wishing to help Valyocsik can help him by sponsoring any number of miles he walks, or by donating to his gofundme.
The outdoors is where Valyocsik feels most at home, and he has achieved an impressive amount of knowledge through his exploration of trails and hikes with his family.
“He’s really good with maps, when you’re driving through some areas, and he knows where stuff is, maybe only the sheriff deputy knows more than him,” said his mom, Amanda Rose. “He makes it his thing to learn all the different things, and the geographic formations.”
“I like walking, I like to learn the names of different mountains, and I like to stop and look at creeks, and then later I try to figure where the name of that creek is,” said Valyocsik.
To prepare for the walk-a-thon, Valyocsik has done a couple of practice walks and finished a 22 mile walk last week. The entire walk is expected to take at least 10 hours to finish, and Valyocsik will be waking up bright and early just as the sun is starting to rise.
Many people in the community will be joining him for a couple of miles at a time, while some will be awaiting his return at the California Hot Springs resort which has a pool night on Saturday evenings from 6 to 8 p.m.
His dad will join him during the middle leg of the walk, while others will join him for the last three and a half miles that will mostly be downhill from there.
“We can’t find anyone as fast as him, and so I figured once he gets past 20 miles, he’ll be a lot slower than usual, and that’s when we’ll have just normal people jumping in with him,” said Rose. “He has a lot of experience that a lot of hikers don’t have even though he’s just 15, and 32 miles is kind of hard core.”
To make sure, Valyocsik doesn’t tire himself out by carrying too much luggage, he will be walking alongside
the road where his mom will make sure to follow along in her vehicle to provide water bottles, snacks and extra shoes just in case.
Although his mother doesn’t think of herself as the influence that led to Valyocsik’s sense of adventure, it does seem she has played a part. Valyocsik is home schooled, which allows him greater flexibility to go on many hiking adventures. His mom is very supportive of him, often joining him on trails with his younger brother and taking the family to visit as many adventure parks as they can.
Valyocsik has visited at least 10 national parks, among them, the Redwood National Park, Glacier National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park plus many more.
One of Valyocsik’s goals after turning 18 would be to go on a trek and hike the Pacific Crest Trail, which is 2,700 miles from Mexico to Canada.
To help sponsor Valyocsik on his project, call 661-548-6657 or visit www.gofundme.com/fredericksforestfund.