'Emily's Hike' raises $100K for hiking education, training

Jul. 30—Ben Pease hiked Mount Liberty on Sunday with seven others in memory of 19-year-old Emily Sotelo, who died hiking Mount Lafayette last November.

Sotelo's body was found Nov. 23 after a four-day search on what would have been her 20th birthday. She had hoped to complete all 48 of the 4,000-foot mountains in New Hampshire before turning 20.

Hundreds of others took part in the event dubbed "Emily's Hike To Save a Life" over the course of three days, which raised almost $100,000. Most hiked on Saturday, while some waited until Sunday for nicer weather.

"It was amazing," Pease said while taking a phone call from the trail Sunday. "The hiking community is a community where people feel like they belong and when Emily passed it felt like we lost one of our own and that happens every time there is a death in the White Mountains."

Pease, who is chairman of Hiking Buddies, a nonprofit, organized the hike alongside the Emily M. Sotelo Safety and Persistence Charitable Foundation, which the Sotelo family started after Emily's death.

All of the money will be used to "improve awareness, vigilance, and education initiatives regarding hiking and outdoor recreation."

Groups hiked everything from 2,865-foot Mount Willard to at least one group, Mountain Angels, making it to the summit of Mount Washington. Teams conquered all 48, 4,000-footers to complete Emily's journey.

Team Carrigain took a picture of a heart shaped rock in a stream saying that Sotelo was with them.

"Rest in Peace Emily," the group wrote.

Emily Sotelo, of Westford, Mass., who was a student at Vanderbilt University, dreamed of bringing advanced education and opportunities to the students at Dream Diné at the Navajo reservation in New Mexico where she volunteered and aspired to be a doctor.

While she had almost completed all 48, 4,000-footers, Sotelo had little experience with winter hiking. She ended up off trail in deep snow, according to authorities.

Sotelo's parents, Jorge Sotelo and Olivera Bogunovic-Sotelo, hiked part of Mount Lafayette on Saturday. They plan to summit the mountain in the fall.

Both Hiking Buddies and the Sotelo Foundation are committed to educating, preparing, and connecting hikers. Many fatalities involve people hiking solo.

Hiking Buddies will offer scholarships for those 17 to 25 to get certified through a partnership with Redline Guiding based out of Intervale. The courses include training for hiking in three seasons.

"We are trying to reach younger and less experienced hikers," Pease said.

The Hiking Buddies Facebook group started in June 2020 to connect people interested in hiking the 4,000-footers of New Hampshire. The group quickly grew to more than 16,000 members.

Sotelo was a member of the Facebook group.

This was the first major fundraiser for Hiking Buddies, Pease said. The goal was $50,000.

"The fact that we almost doubled the goal was well beyond anything that we could have expected," he said.

For more information go to hikingbuddies.org