By Gina Greco
Town of Webb graduate, class of 2005, Tyler Socash will leave his job in Rochester to embark on a year-long, over 6,000 mile, life-changing journey on Thursday, June 25th.
The next two weeks are his last as an admissions counselor for the University of Rochester, his job of the past five-and-half years.
University of Rochester is also where he studied as an undergrad, graduating in 2009.
Tyler received his Masters in School Counseling from University of Rochester in 2015.
“I want to try to be the first person to hike the Pacific Coast Trail, Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand, and the Appalachian Trail in a calendar year,” Tyler said.
“The Adirondacks have instilled in me a great passion for the outdoors,” he said.
“I have had such an appreciation for the entire forest preserve. My goal [for this journey] isn’t to just have fun. I want to share how amazing these wilderness areas are in our country, and New Zealand.”
He will begin his journey by walking 2,650 miles of the Pacific Coast Trail (PCT), a trail that goes from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.
Tyler will be walking southbound on the PCT; typically most people travel northbound.
From there, he will travel to New Zealand and begin the 1,800 mile walk of the Te Araroa (the Long Pathway translated in English).
That trail goes from one end of the country to the other.
“I will be walking across the country of New Zealand for three months,” he said.
The last stage of the journey will be the 2,200 mile walk on the Appalachian Trail. This trail goes from Georgia to Maine.
“I will end my journey in Maine,” he said.
If everything goes as planned and he avoids injury, it will take him a full calendar year to complete.
“Hiking so much in the Adirondacks, I don’t fear the outdoors, I embrace it,” he said.
“I’m excited about everything except for the lack of water [in drought areas], but I will do my best to look up the water reports and carry more water than usual to get from source to source.”
In 2007, Tyler finished his first round of the Adirondack 46 High Peaks in a seven-month period.
“That was what really got me into the outdoors; these hiking adventures,” he said.
This past year alone, he walked the 133-mile Northville Placid Trail, in Lake Placid (it took him 6.5 days to complete), completed his first 90-miler canoe race, finished the Fire Tower Challenge in the Adirondacks and Catskills, a challenge that consisted of climbing a total of 23 mountains, finished his 5th round of the Adirondack 46 high peaks, and walked the 50-mile hike around Cranberry Lake.
“I’m ready for something new, I’m ready for this upcoming journey which would be impossible if I didn’t have such an extensive background of hiking the Adirondacks,” he said.
For two years, Tyler worked at the Adirondack Mountain Club, in Lake Placid.
“I was their wilderness trip leader. It instilled this wilderness stewardship and it gave me a strong sense of wilderness ethics,” he said
Tyler decided in November that he was ready to buy his first car but when it came time to sign the papers, he froze.
“I couldn’t move. I stood in my apartment, holding my phone and I couldn’t comprehend making such a big plunge,” he said.
Tyler instantly researched the approximate cost and time of hiking the Pacific Coast Trail.
Between $4,000 and $8,000, and four months.
“I thought, if I’m taking that much time off to do that, I might as well take a whole year,” he said.
He continued researching and what really stuck out was the Le Araroa.
“I had been to New Zealand once before in 2009 to visit my sister, Nikki…and thought how cool it would be to walk across the country.”
He figured he could complete the Appalachian Trail along with the other two in one calendar year, for about the cost of that brand new car.
“It is hard for me to predict [the future]. This is a monumental journey, a life-long goal. I have no idea if I complete it or how much I will change. I have no idea what my values will be, what my life goals and career aspirations will be. I think this will be crafted over time,” he said.
“Growing up in Old Forge was the greatest gift my parents had ever given me, and I think the Adirondacks are incredibly unique. I have done a lot of traveling nothing compares to the Adirondacks,” he said.
“I will always call Old Forge my home,” he said.
You can follow Tyler’s journey on Instagram at @Tylerhikes, and on his blog at tylerhikes.blogspot.com