Dick Gase above Yosemite National Park's Thousand Islands Lake. photo: Dick Gase
In 2002, 22-year-old economics student Dick Gase graduated from Ohio State and moved to Tucson; this April, the ex-junior high math teacher and current Food Conspiracy Co-op employee aims to complete the “Triple Crown” of long distance hiking. In doing so, Gase will not only fulfill a personal vision, but also benefit area teens by doing a hike-a-thon in conjunction with Ironwood Tree Experience (ITE), a youth program of Prescott College whose mission is to connect teens with their community through experiences in nature.
“It wasn’t until I got to Tucson that I got seriously into hiking,” Gase explains. “Being from the Midwest, I was really inspired by the natural beauty of this area. When I was teaching math at Amphi, I was disappointed at how many kids had never gotten out into the mountains and valleys that surround them.”
After about a year of teaching, Gase “decided it wasn’t for me.” He started working at the Co-op, saving money for hiking gigs. He did the Appalachian Trail in 2007 and the Pacific Coast Trail in 2009. He’s just about ready to grab the last jewel for his Triple Crown.
On April 26, Gase will set out from Columbus, NM (on the Mexican border) on an approximately 3100-mile, five month trek along the Continental Divide Trail. It’s “a promise I made to myself long before putting on my first wilderness backpack,” according to Gase’s trail journal. In partnering with ITE, Gase hopes “to help raise money to put more teens in nature where they can grow and learn more about what they are able to accomplish as human beings,” according to his trail journal.
ITE has set up the Dick Gase Hike-a-thon Scholarship Fund, to which people can make “per mile” and “flat rate” pledges. “That way,” says ITE’s Suzanne Dhruv, “people can do, say, a penny a mile for a total of $31, or a one-time donation of whatever they can afford. We’d ultimately like to raise at least $3100, which will go a long way toward helping interested and deserving teens participate in ITE eco-programs.”
Gase will chronicle his journey under his trail name, Jack and the Beanstalk, at TrailJournals.com. To pledge to Gase’s Hike-a-Thon through Ironwood Tree Experience, go to IronwoodTreeExperience.org/about-us/taking-the-high-road-with-richard-gase.
