Oh. Snap.

We are rapidly approaching the front-end of Appalachian Trail thru-hiker season- and that can only mean one thing…

Badger Sponsorship Time, BABY.

Last year Joseph Jimenez (aka Smilin’ Joe) took home this distinct honor and in the process a host of great prizes, an Appalachian Trials Blogger spot, and my phone number (whilst becoming BFFs in the process).

This year offers more of the same, and then some.   Here are the details…

One lucky hiker will win the following:

• One (1) Deuter ACT Lite Pack (either male or female pack)
• One (1) Deuter Dreamlite 500 Sleeping Bag (this is the same bag I used during the summer of my thru-hike.  Excellent summer bag)
• Three (3) weather-proof Innate mentor storage sacs (again, I used these during my thru-hike and backpacking trips since – they’re amazing)
• Mail Drop Magic (up to six mail drops) courtesy of A Trail Life
• A Free Signed Copy of Appalachian Trials
• A Free e-Book Copy of Appalachian Trials
• My phone number for 24/7 emotional support and unlimited bad jokes
• The final Appalachian Trials Blogger spot for 2013 (equal parts optional and a great opportunity to share your AT story)

Consolation prizes:

2nd Place: Receives a free signed copy of Appalachian Trials and two (2) Innate Mentor Storage Sacs

3rd Place: Receives a free signed copy of Appalachian Trials and one (1) Innate Mentor Storage Sac

Yeah, I agree- pretty effing sweet.  So how can you win???

1. Record a short video (no more than 90 seconds) explaining a) why you want the Badger Sponsorship, b) why you should be the one selected and c) convince us why you are going to thru-hike all 2,186 miles of the Appalachian Trail.
2. Post said video to YouTube.  Title it “ Wants Badger Sponsorship Because”.  E-mail me the link to this video at [email protected] by February 13th. 
   
3. I will post the 10 top videos on this blog on February 14th.  Each video will get it’s own post.  The post (i.e. video) that gets the most facebook “likes” at the bottom of their respective post wins the Badger Sponsorship.

If you still want a better feel for the above instructions, check out a few examples from last year’s submissions here.  As you will notice, creativity tends to be the most effective approach (hint: be creative).

Only the top 10 videos (i.e. my favorite) will make it past the first round.  From there, (again, videos will go live on this site on February 14th) the crowd will determine the winner of this year’s Badger Sponsorship (voting will last a little less than a week – I will follow up with more details later).  It is done this way solely because I can not handle the pressure of making such a momentous decision.  It’s on you to rally the troops.

If you know someone who’s hiking the trail this year, you’re encouraged to pass the good word their way.  People like free stuff.  It’s science.

Please leave any questions in the comment area.

Good luck and happy hiking!

– Zach (Badger)

PostScript: Again a big thank you to this year’s sponsors – Deuter, Innate, and A Trail Life.  Visit their websites and say nice things about them to your friends.