Giving up is not an option, says Guy Christen about his plans to hike America’s Appalachian Trail. Christen is fundraising for children with cancer. Photo: Guy Christen

Giving up is not an option, says Guy Christen about his plans to hike America’s Appalachian Trail. Christen is fundraising for children with cancer. Photo: Guy Christen

Luxembourger Guy Christen is planning to hike the Appalachian Trail this year. He will start his trek on 15 February--International Childhood Cancer Day--and will raise money for the Fondation Kriibskrank Kanner to help children with cancer.

Following his successful hike of America’s and the , Guy Christen is aiming to become Luxembourg’s first triple crowner by hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Lydia Linna: Why did you decide to do this hike? And what makes the Appalachian Trail different from the others?

Guy Christen: I think the biggest difference compared to the other two big ones is nature-wise. It’s on the East Coast, and the views are going to be different. The whole nature is going to be completely different. Actually, in the hiker world, the Appalachian Trail is called the “green tunnel” because you walk through the woods, like all the time.

I will be starting the hike in February for two reasons. One is to have better views, as the trees will not have leafed out yet. And the second one is because International Childhood Cancer Day is on February 15, so my plan is starting the trail on that day.

I’ve done the PCT [Pacific Crest Trail], the CDT [Continental Divide Trail] and now it’s the AT [Appalachian Trail]. I’m doing a fundraiser for childhood cancer here, and I’m going to dedicate the whole Triple Crown to the .

Approximately how long do you think it will take for you to finish the Appalachian Trail?

Well, it always depends on the weather. But I have already booked my flight back, and that’s going to be August 1. So I would say between five and six months.

The trail is around 2,200 miles, or 3,500 kilometres. That sounds like quite an intense journey. So how do you prepare for such a long trek?

I have a love of hiking. I discovered it when I was in the Boy Scouts as a teenager, and that love for nature never disappeared. I’ve been a sportsman for my whole life--I did karate for 20 years, I did running, I did weight-lifting, I did climbing, I have done a lot of stuff in my life. I’ve been hiking for over 10 years now--that’s what I’m doing, that’s what I’m living, so I think fitness-wise, or in terms of stamina, I think I’m strong enough to do those long trails.

But there’s one thing: on the PCT, I lost 13 kilos. And here on the CDT, I lost again close to 10 kilos. So my goal now is gaining weight, and keeping my legs and back in shape as well. But it’s safe to say that Christmastime helps a lot in gaining weight! I think after two months, the five to seven kilos that I’m gaining will be gone after a very short amount of time on the trail.

Do you go on a lot of hikes within Luxembourg? Within Europe?

I think I’ve been a little bit of everywhere in Europe, hiking and doing holidays. Here in Luxembourg, we have some very, very pretty trails, and in the last years, there have been big improvements, like the marking of the trails and trail conditions. I’m really happy to see that so that more people hopefully will find their way to nature and do more trails.

One of my favourites is, of course, the Mullerthal Trail. I live in Eischen, on the west side of the country close to Belgium, and I have to say that this whole region--we have bike paths, we have so many trails here--it’s really, really pretty. And that’s where I do my training. I try to do around 10 kilometres every day. There’s especially one trail called the Mirador, which is a 13- to 16-kilometre-long hike, and I’m actually, like, close to everyday on that trail.

Do you have any anecdotes, or something you have learned from your last hikes, that you’d like to share?

To me, giving up is not an option. Especially for the cause that I’m doing this for, there are kids who don’t have a choice--they have to fight, because they’re very sick. I will not give up just because I’m losing interest, or because I’m tired, or have blisters, or anything like that. To me, actually, this whole project is a project of the heart. I would never give up, especially because I’m doing it for childhood cancer.

I even ended up in hospital this year on the CDT. I twisted my foot and one of my walking poles broke, and it went into my knee so deep that I could see my kneecap. I still had to hike out 10 kilometres to the next trailhead, where a trail runner gave me a hitch to the next hospital where I got stitches on my knee. And after five days, I was back on the trail. That’s just to explain who I am.

I was nominated for Luxembourger of the Year [run by RTL], and I already dedicated the nomination to the kids who are sick and all the people for whom I’m doing this, and to everyone who supported my project and to the members of the foundation. I’m just the face of this project, but I think, for this project, we are all standing together.

Will you be hiking alone, or with a hiking companion?

Along the way, you always meet other hikers, and my partner--she’s American, I met her on the PCT in the state of Washington. And the CDT, we did the portions which are a little more tricky and a little more dangerous, we did these portions together. But for the AT, I’m going to do that one all alone.

Follow Christen’s journey, along with his mascot Poldi, and donate to help children who have cancer .