'An uncomfortable journey': Jeromy Farkas nears end of 4,200-kilometre trek

Jeromy Farkas has been hiking across the United States for more than 158 days, 16 hours and a handful of minutes, and he has the finish line in sight. 

 

The former Calgary councillor and mayoral candidate is in the final two weeks of a 4,200-kilometre trek across the Pacific Crest Trail.

 

"I'm so happy that I'm so close to the finish now," Farkas said in a Zoom call from the trail.

 

"I don't know if I would actually want to have done this if I realized at the start what it was gonna be like," he said.

 

Farkas battled through blizzards, wildfires, flash floods and frostbite — but the journey from the U.S.-Mexico border to Canada is all for a good cause. 

 

He set out in March to complete the trail while collecting donations for Big Brothers Big Sisters Calgary. He set an ambitious goal to raise $50,000, but passed that early on in the hike. He's now about $10,000 away from his new fundraising goal of $125,000.

 

"We need to make sure that Calgarians are challenged to step up, I've put it all on the line. I've put myself out there in a way that I'd never have — even worse than running for mayor," Farkas said Wednesday.

 

"It's pretty easy to walk away from (an unsuccessful mayoral bid), but in something like this that is so visible, so public ... there's a lot of people to start who are very skeptical of me."

 

The politician-turned-pathfinder has been documenting his journey through writing, photos and video on his Facebook page. A scroll through the past five months of his posts shows Farkas climbing mountains, crossing raging rivers and enduring wind and sandstorms in a tent on the side of a trail. 

 

"I've had to really challenge a lot of my own, like, personal arrogance, my cockiness. I've had to work in teams, I've had to ask people for help, I had to go out of my way to help other people. And it's just really been an uncomfortable journey," he said.

 

Farkas is about 320 kilometres from crossing into Canada, with hopes of being home by next weekend.