Big Bear is a mecca for inspiration. It is a place that promotes community and good health. It is a land of opportunity to explore and discover the beauty of nature and the inner thrust of mankind’s spirit. Big Bear is where dreams begin and continue to thrive. I rediscovered this about Big Bear last Saturday when I joined a group hike at Cougar Crest Trail. The purpose of the climb was to conquer the first of seven summits in and around Big Bear Valley.

On this day Bertha Peak was our destination, which sits at 8,201’. I now have one summit under my belt and six to go.

The inspiration for the hike is to “Move a Million Miles for Ryan” for Big Bear’s hometown hero Ryan Hall, who is favored to win a medal in the marathon at the 2008 Olympics. The “Move A Million Miles for Ryan” campaign is a community spirit initiative sponsored by The Lighthouse Project, which is dedicated to creating a child honoring community in Big Bear. Saturday’s group hike proved that the community of Big Bear has sheer determination to “Move a Million Miles for Ryan.”

I am proud to be one of the participants as a moral booster for America’s very own Olympic medal hopeful. It’s quite easy, too. All one has to do is log his or her miles each week from hiking, jogging, walking, mountain biking or any other form of exercise that calculates mileage without using a motorized vehicle. This week I logged 11.5 miles. I hope to double that his week and continue to contribute each week until the Olympics.

I feel like I have become part of a team that is spiritually connected to help Ryan Hall succeed at this year’s Olympics. It is like a pep rally from another world that is developing into mass energy propelled by the human spirit. As more and more participants join the “Move A Million Miles for Ryan” campaign the orb of human energy will even grow stronger.

I tip my hat to the folks at BigBearOutdoorActivities.com for organizing a successful turnout to the first “Seven Summits of Big Bear” group hike. I was absolutely stunned when I showed up to the Cougar Crest Trail parking lot to find it was completely full. In fact, I had to park on the main highway with another twelve vehicles or so. I was expecting about ten, maybe fifteen hikers at the most. Much to my surprise there were about 40-50 hikers to take part in the first of seven group hikes scheduled for 2008. It makes me wonder if these group hikes will grow to 100 people or more.

I found out about the “Seven Summit” hikes through Active Big Bear, which is a community of outdoor enthusiasts who plan out a variety of outdoor-related activities. If you are not already a part of this great community go to BigBearOutdoorActivities.com to sign up. Active Big Bear is constantly giving its members opportunities to share the great outdoors together with fun and adventurous activities from bike rides around the lake to a leisurely hikes to Castle Rock. This is a great opportunity to meet folks with similar interests and motivations to enjoy the great outdoors. Check out the photo gallery from the March 29th group hike at Bertha Peak.

The “Seven Summits of Big Bear: is a great inspirational tool to discover what Big Bear has to offer; it is a great way to see Big Bear from various perspective views; and it is a great way to connect with people who admire the great outdoors. I look forward to the next “Seven Summits of Big Bear” outing that is scheduled for Saturday, April 26 at 9 a.m. The summit we plan to conquer is Gold Mountain (8,235′). I hope to see you there. 

Climb to the Peak, 

Daniel Pea 

Group Photo at Bertha Peak