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They are 49 in all. 28 porters, 17 Trekker’s, 3 guides and 1 cook. They are carrying more than 1,300 pounds of gear and provisions for their four day trip through the Andes at elevations ranging from 7,000 to 14,000 feet. In their load the porters are carrying 24 dozen eggs, 50 fresh caught trout, […]

We total 15. We are walking the Camino de Santiago from Portugal to Spain to support the efforts of Smile Network International, but today we walk to honor the memory of a young boy who reminded all of us that life can change in the blink of an eye. From the Camino, we are sending […]

The trekkers finished the four-day, 26 mile trek to more than 13,000 feet and saw  their first glimpse of Machu Picchu when they reached the Gate of the Sun. The trek is over and onto the mission, the reason they have been training and working so hard to raise awareness and funds to sponsor surgeries […]

Today the trekkers will arrive to their destination, the famed Machu Picchu.  Tonight they will celebrate their achievement in the mountain town of Aguascalientes.   They will get their first shower in over four days and get to sleep in a real bed! Tomorrow they will travel back to Lima to meet the children for whom […]

Yesterday the trekkers set out on a trip of a lifetime, hiking the famed Inca Trail. Today, they were faced with one of the most difficult challenges of their life – the climb to Dead Woman’s Pass at 13,828 feet up in the Andes Mountains. In camp tonight they will celebrate their victory. Thank you […]

Our trekkers arrived safely to the Sacred Valley after two days of hiking the ruins of Cusco and market shopping.   

Everyone got a good night rest under the light of a full moon in the Andes before setting out on a trek of a lifetime. This morning they checked in at the Government Checkpoint where the trailhead is at 7,000 feet. They crossed the raging Urubamba River on a rope bridge and will trek for […]

This afternoon, five volunteers embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, to raise awareness and funds to bring smiles to children across the globe through Smile Network International. The group consists of a wide range of individuals ages 17-61 including a US Air Force Veteran, psychologist and 17-year old high school student. They departed today from […]

30 adventurous Smile Network donors walked 80 miles from the tip of Portugal through Spain on the famed Camino in September.  The group raised $95,000 that will  provide free life-changing surgeries to impoverished children in developing countries.   Thank you to all our donors, and their friends and families who raised both awareness and dollars […]

By Guest Blogger Caryn Sullivan- Author of Bitter or Better and Columnist for the Pioneer Press September 6, 2015 On August 30 I joined a group of mostly strangers to walk the Portuguese route of the El Camino de Santiago. Unlike several of my fellow trekkers, I was not particularly well-versed on the history of the […]