the hike

September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. In September 2021, Tim and Matthew Mattera decided to use the occasion of Tim’s Appalachian Trail (AT) thru-hike as a Suicide Awareness and Prevention fundraiser for the Elizabeth Mattera Foundation (EMF). “Hike for Hope” will raise funds for the non-profit foundation as a means to accomplish EMF’s mission: “Deliver Hope, Save Lives and End Suicide.”

Long distance/multi-day, back country (off grid) hiking in its most extreme is known as “thru-hiking.” The Appalachian Trail in the Eastern U.S. comprises one-third of the Triple Crown of long distance thru-hikes. The others are the Pacific Crest Trail in the Western U.S. and the Continental Divide Trail from Mexico to Canada. 

Tim’s dream to complete a thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail began in 2014, when Tim served as an Assistant Scoutmaster in his sons’ Boy Scout troop where he volunteered to be one of many adult leaders on the troop’s high adventure/multi-day hikes to include, Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico, Yosemite National Park in California and Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

The opportunity to combine both Tim’s dreams and passions into one unified goal and opportunity was more than happenstance, but the culmination of years of a shared mission and vision with Matthew Mattera and the Elizabeth Mattera Foundation! 

In Matthew’s memoir, ‘Hope – My Journey of Love, Loss and Faith‘ he describes the occasion and beginning of his friendship with Tim and the circumstances of the joining of these two families and their ultimate mission and shared vision to,’ Save Lives, Deliver Hope and End the Suicide Epidemic.

For more information about Matthew's book Hope – My Journey of Love, Loss and Faith visit:

 https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Journey-Love-Loss-Faith/dp/B095GRWLRK#detailBullets_feature_div