This past May, Randy Pierce ’88 and his service dog Quinn hiked up four peaks, Galehead, Garfield, Lafayette, and Lincoln, on a week-long trip led by Associate Professor Brent Bell ’89 along with his outdoor education class. Last year a group of outdoor education students in the same class, backcountry adventure travel, climbed Bondcliff, Bond and South Twin with Pierce.

Randy Pierce ’88, founder of the nonprofit organization, 2020 Vision Quest, has set out to be the first blind person to hike all 48 New Hampshire peaks over 4,000 feet. This summer, Pierce plans to conquer 15 peaks with the help of his service dog Quinn and various teams.

Pierce wants to inspire people to reach beyond adversity and achieve their highest goals-- personal, professional, and philanthropic. Funds raised through Pierce’s endeavors will be given to two organizations, which benefit the visually impaired community: Guiding Eyes for the Blind and the New Hampshire Association for the Blind.

Read about Pierce’s hike with Bell and UNH outdoor education students and follow his journey on his blog.

http://www.2020visionquest.org/Blog/

Link to outdoor education-- http://chhs.unh.edu/kin_oe/index