Page 73 - HCPVitalityChronicles

Nancy Mauge and Her Son Enjoy Adventure of a Lifetime

on John Muir Trail

When her son Kevin was a baby, test; it was an emotional one
Nancy Mauge would carry him on as well. “For the first five days,
hikes in a backpack until he reached you’re in touch with civiliza-
42 pounds in weight. Maybe that’s tion,” Mauge explained. “After
why her son adopted the same love 107 miles, no one is going to
for outdoor activities as his mom. help you. There’s no way out
other than yourself. It gave me
Mauge, Business Analyst 2, HCP a lot of confidence in what I
Mariner, has shared a lifetime love of could do.”
activities such as volleyball and swim-
ming, which she did in high school, as It was also an incredible time
well as mountain biking and her main to bond with her son. “We had
passion—surfing, which she started to work together as a team,”
at 25. She took up backpacking when Nancy Mauge and her son Kevin at Lake Virginia. Mauge said. “One of the best
her son Kevin, now 15, started back- things about a trip like this is
packing through his Boy Scouts figuring out how to work as a
troop. team with your teenager. After
a few days, we had an efficient
This summer, from June 23 to July 6, system for setting up camp
Mauge and her son embarked upon every night and breakdown
the journey of a lifetime, hiking the every morning.” In addition to
John Muir Trail. They completed 225 the challenges they faced, they
miles of backpacking over the course enjoyed unbelievably beautiful
of 14 days. But the training for this scenery together.
adventure started years ago.
The challenges were, of
In 2011, Mauge took a backpacking course, numerous. The total el-
course through the Sierra Club, evation was more than 46,000
Nancy Mauge and her son Kevin at the end of the
where she learned how to hike, boul- John Muir Trail. feet, and 32,000 feet down.
der, how to rest on a hill with a pole, “You’re either up or down
how to use snow shoes, as well as completing a two-night most of the time,” said Mauge, who trained with a
winter camp. She and her son also participated in a wilder- weighted backpack on stairs at Sand Dune Park prior to
ness first aid class over a weekend, and their test run was the journey. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” she
in 2012, when they did the High Sierra Trail—from Sequoia said, adding that her son is a cross country runner and had
to Mount Whitney. This was a six-day journey. “It was so, that experience to his advantage.
so fun,” Mauge recalled. They averaged 12 miles a day and
enjoyed beautiful scenery. “The biggest challenge for us was the different in our
speeds,” Mauge said. “Kevin was the fourth fastest high
Not only was this summer’s backpacking journey a physical school freshman in California last year, in the two-mile, so
Do you know someone who has completed an extreme physical fitness activity or healthy living event within the last year?
If you would like to nominate their Extraordinary Achievement, please contact Catherine Crow, Janelle Howe or Janet Galli.