About 20 people in hot dog costumes completed a five-day charity hike around Tucson.inauguration ceremony hot dog hundred Raised over $24,000 for a community food bank in Southern Arizona and the donation continues.

Joe Pagak, the Tucson mural artist who organized the event, said, “This silly, goofy thing I was going to do alone became this very big, very real thing, and it’s going to make a lot of people happy.” It’s really great to see them connect,” he said.

He said UMC, TMC and TEP all agreed to make four-figure donations, with the utility equaling the initial $2,500 raised.

The event attracted over 40 sponsors who donated items ranging from gift cards to high-end backpacking gear. lottery To raise even more money for the cause.

The 42-year-old, whose surname rhymes with magic, said organizers plan to continue accepting donations for the rest of the week, with donors winning a raffle ticket for every $10 spent.

“We try to thank everyone,” said Pagak.

The Hotdog Hundred started in Vail on March 15th with overnights at Rincon’s and Catalina’s. In a matter of days they hiked over 20 miles of terrain with thousands of feet of elevation.

Pagak said he planned the event in mid-March hoping to hit the “sweet spot” of weather, but “didn’t quite get it.”

The first two days of the trek were pouring with rain, and we hiked through waist-deep snow on Mica Mountain, high in the Rincon Mountains. Some of the group slept at the Post Office in Summerhaven to escape the cold after climbing to the top of Mount Lemmon on day four.

Temperatures ranged from the mid 30s at night to the high 70s in the lower desert areas. It may not sound too hot, but Pagak said, “But hiking in a hot dog costume in full sun is pretty daunting.”

He took off his costume a few times when it got too hot or too cold, while the other participants wore hot dogs the whole time. Told.

But they weren’t trolling it all the time.

At the end of the first day, hikers camped at the Posta Quemada Ranch near Colossal Cave. Tommy D’s Restaurant serves Chicago-style hot dogs, and is composed by DJ Hans Hutchison. On the third day, Tucson musicians Cameron Hood and Lisa Gorenberg met us at the Molino Basin campground and served a dish of Bear His Canyon His Pizza.

Pagak abandoned Mount Lemmon for the 12-mile “rescue” route over a 7,000-foot pass and ending at Hutches Pool.

On Sunday, the whole group met up at Romero Pools and hiked together in the early afternoon.

Oscar Mayer is a 27-foot-long Wiener-type trolley Meet hikers at the finish line in Catalina State Park.

“As soon as I found out about Joe’s Hotdog Hundred charity hike, I wanted to get myself a hot dog costume and have some fun,” said Clara “Corn Dog”, one of the meat ambassadors who arrived at the Wienermobile. Adams said. .

They crowned Pagak as an honorary Oscar Mayer Hot Dogger, and by that title were conveyed all rights and privileges.

Pagak then handed out medals to those who completed the trek.

This group included seasoned veterans of the Pacific Crest Trail, Appalachian Trail, and other famous thru-hikes that take weeks to complete, but this trip presented an entirely different kind of challenge. bottom. For several days they faced desert sun, torrential rains, alpine snow and rapid elevation changes.

“A lot of them told me it was the hardest hike they’d ever done,” Pagak said. “I wanted to try it.”

Peter Paul van Kempen attended the Hot Dog Hundred from Amsterdam on March 10th. His 56-year-old veteran of the PCT said the route was “very grueling” at times, but sitting around the campsite at night with a bunch of other people dressed like hot dogs was a pain. said it was a great way to form lasting bonds.

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Van Kempen.

Pagak said everyone made it out without serious injury, but one man fell and twisted his knee, deciding to skip the final two days of the trek.

Day hikers who joined the group for Sunday’s final leg down Catalina were late and lost in the dark. The woman, dressed in a hot dog costume over warm clothes, had to be escorted to safety late Sunday night by volunteers from the Pima County Sheriff’s Office and the Southern Arizona Rescue Society.

Pagak said that if such an event were to be held in the future, the screening process for participants would be more rigorous, and longer and more specific to ensure all participants were properly trained and equipped. I mentioned making a list of do’s and don’ts.

“I think we’ll do it again next year, but with a different route and some new costumes, it might be a little different.”