Kelly McClure's Fundraising Page

Me in the Grand Canyon on Horseshoe Mesa.

Kelly's TNT Hike

Join Me As I Make Strides Toward The Cures!

Welcome to my Hike For Discovery home page!

Hike For Discovery is The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's adventure fundraising program that prepares people to experience a natural wonder in a special way.

Hiking Update May 27th

Well friends, this season with Team in Training Hike is officially over! We left on Saturday the 16th for Phoenix and I was so fortunate to be able to hang out with my family most of the day! The next day, our TNT group went on up to the Grand Hotel, just outside Grand Canyon National Park, and that evening we had the Inspiration Dinner. We heard from a cancer survivor and her incredible story. Then we were treated to some Navajo Indian dances. After the dinner, we met with our hike groups for the big day, including meeting with our guides. I was part of Grandview 1 (out of 4), which meant we had a 4a meeting time in the hotel lobby.

So on Monday morning I got up at 3:30a with my roommate and fellow hiker Mary. We met our group, drove to the trailhead, and were on the trail by 5:15a. The day was great! It was hot, but not super hot, especially since we were down on the Mesa by 9a and on our way back up by 10a. The hike up was good, but especially as we neared the top it got steeper and steeper, sometimes with big steps, and my calves and thighs were burning so much I had to stop frequently to rest them. But we all made it up in great time and enjoyed the Celebration Dinner that night with food, drinks, and even some dancing. :)

Over the three hike weekends at the Grand Canyon with all the participating LLS hike chapters nationwide, we raised a total of 1.5 million dollars for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Awesome!

Hiking Update May 10, 2009

Only one week left! We leave on Saturday for Phoenix and actually hike the Grand Canyon on Monday! I'm definitely looking forward to it! The past month has been a weird one in terms of the weather. And I've been out of town two different weekends (one to run a half marathon in Louisville, KY and one this past weekend to be in the wedding of one of my best friends from college). Last week we hiked in Boulder, CO and experienced a diverse day of weather. It was sunny at times, but seldom, it was extremly foggy often, it was misty, and at the end it was foggy and raining. It was a really neat hike though and at one point, my friend Cristy and I were hiking ahead and saw a whole bunch of deer on the bluff/overlook above us. It was foggy like "Gorillas in the Mist" and we got some really neat pictures. She and I separated from the rest of the group about 4 or 5 miles in so that I could get some good training in. We hiked Flagstaff Trail and I think it's the hardest hike I've done this season. It's a very steep trail, all up hill with lots of steps. We had a lot of fun and definitely enjoyed it, despite the difficulty. I was really feeling it the next day though...I was sore!

Hiking Update April 21, 2009

We had a crazy couple of weather days last week - Friday and Saturday - which led to a crazy hike day! Six of us braved the weather to meet up and drive to White Ranch Park, which was covered in 3 feet of snow! It was sooo much fun! Here's a link to all of my hiking pictures, which includes pictures from this latest hike. http://picasaweb.google.com/kmcclure210/TNTHiking2009#

Hiking Update April 16, 2009

Our last few hikes have been challenging hikes, and we've been hiking in the snow a great deal of the time. As you can see, Button Rock had some snow on the ground, and amazingly, we were the first ones to hike the trail! It's always so neat to hike in fresh snow and getting to make the first tracks. Unless of course the snow is really deep and then it's still pretty cool but a lot of work too! On April 4th, we hiked the Apex trail for our second Friends, Family, and Fido hike, on which my friend Sarah joined us. That was a lot of fun in the snow as well, though we did get pretty miserable at one point when the temperature dropped and the wind picked up. We cut our break short so we could get back to the cars asap!

Last week's hike was in Evergreen at Elk Meadow Park. We hiked up Bergen Peak, again in some snow, and this one was also pretty challenging. We hiked about 9 miles changing elevation a number of times. I'm not sure what our overall elevation change/gain was, but I think it was around 2500 ft. This Saturday we'll be hiking in White Ranch Park, one of my favorite places to hike, especially when it's snowy. Which is good I guess because chances are high we'll be hiking in snow, or while it's snowing.

So my silent auction was last Friday, the 10th! Overall we were successful! However, not a whole lot of people came, which ultimately I guess doesn't matter, but I was definitely disappointed. Including the three hosts, we only had 24 people come. However, they were great people, and with our 108 different auction items and all of their bidding, we raised $2800!!! So thank you so much to those of you that came and supported the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and all of our efforts. A lot of you walked away with some really great stuff, so please enjoy!

Hiking Update March 18, 2009

We've been doing some great hikes so far! Last week we had our first Friend, Family, and Fido hike and had a great turnout! I'm sure we'll have another great hike this Saturday, and after the hike we're going out for a little celebration. We'll be have our Team Hero Social/Celebration in honor of Matt and his successful fight against cancer. Due to an amazing drug called Gleevec (I think I spelled that right) that the LLS played a big part in developing, he is healthy and active and the cancer is practically undetectable! That's definitely cause for celebration!

One thing I want to make my friends and supporters aware of, especially those of you who live in Colorado, is the Silent Auction I'm going to be hosting on Friday, April 10th. It will be here in Denver at a wine and coffee bar called Michelangelo's. The shop is located on Broadway and Ellsworth, just south of 1st. Tickets are going to be around $10 to get in. The happy hour will start around 5:30p and the auction will start at 7p. You'll have one hour to bid before the bidding is closed at 8p. Winners will be announced around 8:30p

I'm Hiking! First letter.

Some of you will remember when I did this in 2007. Well, I had such a great and rewarding experience that I decided I wanted to do it again. Plus, I want to keep supporting this cause. One of the hikers I became good friends with last time has a son who is fighting a blood cancer. He was in remission, but it came back. Anything I can do, anything you can give, helps.

This time around, however, I'm not just going to be a participant. I am going to be a mentor, hiking with and supporting other participants throughout the season.

While I'm training and mentoring, I am also raising funds to help The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. More than 712,000 Americans are battling these blood cancers.

Your support of my participation in Hike For Discovery will help bring them hope and support.

Please make a donation to support my participation in Hike For Discovery and help advance the mission of LLS.

Thank you!