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Craig Makes It!

4/28/2014

Without a lot of fanfare, it appears that our friend, Craig Jolly, has made it to the top of Mt. Whitney, CA.

I'm assuming he posted his latest set of stunning photos from atop the mountain…but perhaps he's already back down.

In any case, it's a huge relief to his fans and family, and to Craig I'm sure, to have reached this goal.

For new readers to this blog, you should know that Craig left Mt. Mitchell, NC in July 2012 and has been California bound ever since. His goal was to hike from Mt. Mitchell (highest mountain in the Eastern US) to the highest mountain in the Western US (lower 48).

Congratulations Craig!

By the way, many of my students keep asking me if he's planning on walking back!

Check out Craig's latest set of photos here.

Click to read about the Summit Building on Mt. Whitney.

87 Pound Pack and a 14,505 feet mountain...

4/22/2014

Bob Rockwell, a hiker on the Mt. Whitney trail made the following comment yesterday regarding Craig's progress.

Craig is alive and well part way up Mt. Whitney. I met him yesterday afternoon (Easter--April 20) on the main trail at around the 10,000' level. He told me his pack weighed 87 lb because he was going to be up there a week and wanted to make sure he had everything he needed.

Craig Jolly was a MTA staffer in 2009. We've been following his amazing journey of his walk across America that started on Mt. Mitchell, NC in July 2012 toward a goal of reaching Mt. Whitney, CA.

On the Trail to Mt. Whitney…almost there!

4/16/2014

Craig Jolly, MTA staffer on the 2009 Europe trip, should be on his final leg of his cross-country walking journey.

I received a rare email from Craig yesterday and I'm sharing it with you.

Here goes:

"As you figured out, I've been here in Lone Pine since late last week, staying at the hostel and waiting for my winter gear to arrive from the East coast. Now it's here and packed, along with ten days of food, ready for my departure tomorrow morning for the final leg. 23 miles and 11,000' up from here! And then, of course, getting back down! At which point I suspect I will be more than ready for that cold beer. Or two or three!

About fifty mountain miles round trip, so...I'm figuring 7-10 days, just to be safe. Still snow up there, and it's a damned heavy pack, what with snowshoes and plastic boots and crampons and winter bag and all that! Not to mention the effects of altitude, which I haven't been at for awhile. At this point, discretion is the better part of valor, so...I'm not going to rush!"

And that's the report from Craig. Many of you have been following his adventure via his blog at www.bluemountainswalking.com or have gotten your Craig Jolly news here.

Why not help Craig celebrate this incredible journey by making a donation via his PayPal "support me" link. He would be mad if he knew I was promoting this, but I've sent a small donation for some good cold beer when he gets back down. You might think of other ways to support him. If you're so inclined, click on the link to his blog and look for the PayPal "donate" button. I'm sure you'll make his day!

Craig Jolly is oh so close!

4/13/2014

Former MTA staffer Craig Jolly is so close to his goal. If you're seeing this blog for the first time you should know that Craig left Mt. Mitchell (North Carolina), the highest point in the Eastern United States and started walking toward Mt. Whitney (California), the highest point in the lower 48 states. His first step was taken in July 2012 and now, thousands of miles, later…he's almost there.

Craig's last set of photos posted on his blog show that he's made it to Lone Pine, California. As I've mentioned in past posts about Craig's adventure, he's a man of little words. So I did a little research and learned that Lone Pine is about 13 miles to the trailhead for one approach using the Mt. Whitney Trail.

Craig will have to have a permit to make his assault and only so many are available on any given day. The web says that most people do this as an overnight trip though a few do it as one long day. Either one day or two…it's still no easy trek.

Best wishes Craig as you make that climb!

Craig reaches California...

12/7/2013

Craig Jolly has reached California! That might not seem like a big deal to most readers, but keep in mind that Craig has been heading that way since July 2012. He's walking the highways and bi-ways of the United States on an incredible journey from Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina to Mt. Whitney, California.

With winter soon here, I'm not sure when he'll reach Mt. Whitney, but I would say he's walked far enough!

Click to check out Craig's blog. While you're there, you can also send Craig a little cheer via PayPal.

Craig was a leader on our Europe trip in 2009.

Craig Jolly Update … getting closer to his goal

11/25/2013

Lots of people seem to be following Craig Jolly's progress via this MindStretch blog. For those new to this adventure, Craig is walking the blue highways from Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina to his eventual goal of Mt. Whitney in California.

Craig's own blog is fun to follow but he's a man of few words. He leaves it up to his followers to check out his photos for clues as to his whereabouts.

From this sign you can see that he's now 339 miles from L.A. While that might not be his destination, at least we now know he's getting closer and closer to his goal.

Craig started his journey in North Carolina in July 2012. Personally, I imagine it's too late to make it up Mt. Whitney this season…so perhaps Craig will hole up somewhere in California until spring arrives.

Then again…he's made it this far so who knows?

I do know, from his photos, that while he camps virtually every night he does seem to make it into establishments for some good food and good coffee. He also seems to be making friends everywhere he goes.

Craig was a leader with MTA on the 2009 Europe trip.

Follow Craig's blog by clicking here.

MTA Friend Craig Jolly is still walking and walking...

9/1/2013

While this blog has no official connection with our friend Craig Jolly, enough people go to this site to get some news updates so we're happy to report info when we can figure it out.

There were a few weeks where it appeared Craig had stopped his travels as nothing was posted on his personal blog. But recently he's started posting again and his latest photos reveal that his last known stop is Gallup, New Mexico. Check out a map of New Mexico and you'll see that he's on the Western edge of the state.

Click to check out Craig's blog.

Craig was a leader on our 2009 Europe trip. In 2012 he left Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina headed by foot for Mt. Whitney in California. He's pushing a special cross-country cart with his supplies and apparently was waiting in Gallup for some replacement tires to reach him. We wish Craig safe travels.

Craig Jolly Heads into Alien Territory

5/23/2013

Photo taken by Craig Jolly in Roswell.

Former MTA leader Craig Jolly is making progress in his walking adventure across America. He started walked from Mt. Mitchell (NC) in July and has Mt. Whitney (CA) as his destination. It took months to get through Texas and as of this week it looks like he's made it to New Mexico.

This photo comes from Roswell and anyone who has studied space visitors knows this is a mecca of the unknown.

Craig doesn't post news on his website so it's like a puzzle figuring out where he is ...and that's the way he wants it. Click to go to his personal trip blog.

While the MindStretch Travel Adventures blog isn't meant to be the source of information on Craig, it's amazing how many of his followers search this site to get the latest news on Craig.

And while Craig would not approve of my mentioning this...you can also donate to his expenses by clicking on his PayPal link. You might want to "sponsor" his getting to eat out at a restaurant or to buy some new walking shoes.

Click to donate.

This is, after all, quite some undertaking.

Safe travels Craig. You're an inspiration.

Update on Craig Jolly

3/30/2013

Craig's cart somewhere along a dirt road.

This is not the official blog for Craig Jolly but I've been amazed at how many people find this website by searching for Craig's name.

So for those of you wanting to know how he's faring on his walking trek across America from Mt. Mitchell in North Carolina to Mt. Whitney in California...here's the link to his official blog.

Craig isn't particularly interested in our knowing his every move, so his blog entries are somewhat encrypted. He rarely says where he is and it's fun looking at all the photos he posts and trying to guess. It appears that he's been in the great state of Texas for weeks now...but I can understand that knowing how big Texas is.

Craig was a leader with us in Europe on the 2009 trip and we continue to wish him well

Craig Jolly Spotted in Tennessee

11/17/2012

Craig Jolly, a leader with us on our 2009 Europe trip is making his way across the United States on foot.

He's met lots of people along the way and somehow or other - some of those are getting in touch with me.

Here's a photo of an article that appeared in a newspaper from Grand Junction, TN sent to me by LIsa Allen.
Lisa also sent the other two photos.

I'm pretty sure Craig is now somewhere in Arkansas.

You can check out Craig's travels at his blog at bluemountainswalking.com