Veterans hike 17 miles in frigid Park City to honor those lost to suicide

Sixteen people bundled up in coats, vests and gaiters gathered in the frigid air Thursday afternoon at Park City’s Field of Flags. Most had their hands in their pockets, or gripped around hiking poles that they had carried for over 3 miles during their trek up a snowy Main Street earlier that overcast morning.

The hike, which was hosted by the Wounded Warrior Project, was a 17-mile journey over three days to honor the 17 veterans who die each day by suicide.

“We’re all doing it together, and supporting each other, and sometimes we’ll stop and take a break — we’re not gonna leave anybody behind,” said former U.S. Army Master Sgt. Bill Geiger, a peer mentor with the Wounded Warrior Project.

The project chose Park City for this year’s hike due to its proximity to the National Ability Center, but none of its participants were from Utah. Veterans traveled from all over the country to honor those who have died while also building relationships with one another, Geiger said.

“One of the big things about getting out of the military, whether voluntary or involuntary, is losing the camaraderie,” said Geiger, who is from Tallahassee, Florida, and served from 2001 to 2014. “These events really help bring that back into your life, and people still keep in contact after these types of events and lean on each other.”

Aixa Escobar served as a U.S. Marine from 2001 to 2011, and spent two tours in Iraq. She first heard about the Park City hike two months ago at a Wounded Warriors coffee-and-chat. She had done two similar events with the project before, but this marked the project’s first co-ed event.

She’d had an “amazing time” at her last two, which were all-women’s events, and decided to participate on this hike in honor of Veterans Day.

“It’s been phenomenal; honestly I think we kind of have a misconception about how strong we can be, and how we can push ourselves to certain limits,” Escobar said. “We’ve had great conversations on the hike, off the hikes, in the lodging area — and I’m really just proud of this whole group, but the group dynamic is pretty amazing.”

Escobar, who traveled from San Diego, had never visited Utah before, but had always wanted to see its national parks and experience nature more — which was just the “icing on the cake” when she chose to get involved.

“A lot of us tend to cave in to a lot of our emotions, and we stay home and we disconnect,” Escobar said. “This is not just an opportunity to be outdoors in nature and connecting to nature itself, but connecting with other warriors and being in a vulnerable space — it’s always been a great experience for me.”

Escobar has been doing events with the Wounded Warrior Project since 2012. She took a break in 2018 as her mental health progressed, and said this is one of the first big events she’s done with the project in a few years.

“A lot of people don’t know about Wounded Warrior Project, and I think they get a misconception about just the word ‘wounded,’” Escobar said. “I think it’s important to let people know what we’re all about and what we’re out here doing — encouraging not just the Warriors themselves, but family support members.”

Escobar didn’t know anyone involved with the Park City hike, but Geiger said being able to get a group together to work toward the same purpose helps develop new relationships.

“I would just say that anybody that’s struggling with anything, veteran or civilian — because we care about everyone that’s struggling — to make sure they understand that there is there is help,” Geiger said. “There’s people that care, and there’s people that want them to stay around and not make a decision that’s irreversible.”

To find out more about the Wounded Warrior Project, visit woundedwarriorproject.org/programs.

Editor’s note • If you or people you know are at risk of self-harm, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides free, 24-hour support by calling 988. Veterans can receive confidential assistance at VeteransCrisisLine.net, by calling 988 and then pressing 1, or by texting 838255.