The 2017 Badger Sponsorship Finalists: Vote For Your Favorite

And then there were twelve.

Nearly sixty video entries poured into the 2017 Badger Sponsorship.  The Trek Committee painstakingly examined each and voted on their favorites until only a dozen remain.

Before we unveil this year’s finalists, I want to offer a sincere congratulations to EVERYONE who entered.  This year’s instructions put greater emphasis on creativity and effort, and the caliber of submission demonstrated that you heard our call.  Some truly great videos did not make the cut- ranging from those that were funny, to heart-wrenching, to inspiring, and beyond.  Do not let yourselves feel discouraged.  The energy you put into your video- courage, vulnerability, resourcefulness, and heart- is the same that will take you the distance on the trail.

The Finalists

As a reminder, this year’s Badger Sponsorship winners are determined by a combination of a reader vote (50%) and our Expert Panel (also 50%). Voting ends at 10:00pm EST on Tuesday, January 24!  The winner will be announced on Thursday, January 26th, right here on the The Trek.

The 12 finalist videos are below, with the official voting form below that.  If you’re having trouble viewing the poll below, you can vote here.  Thank you to Wediges.com for being the world’s greatest polling platform!

Anna

Alex Pellerin

Becky Booroojian

Birdie and Possum

Ethan Amerine

Jackie

Jeff

Katie Doane

Lauren Hafley

Madison

Sam Sherwood

Sarah Mercer

 

 

 

As a reminder, the Grand Prize winner will receive the following:

You can check ALL of the prizes here.

LASTLY BUT NOT LEASTLY- A MASSIVE SHOUTOUT TO THIS YEAR’S VERY GENEROUS SPONSORS!!!  Please visit their websites and follow all their social channels.  They <3 Thru-Hikers very much.

big agnes logo thermarest logo gossamer gear logo

rei-logoaltra logogranite gear logo probar logoClif Bar Logo      bedrock sandals logo sawyer logowigwamgood to go logoWedgies Logo

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Comments 49

  • Cláudia Maria Assunção : Jan 18th

    Jeff

    Reply
    • Cláudia Maria Assunção : Jan 18th

      Jeff

      Reply
      • Douglas da silva barra : Jan 24th

        Meus parabéns Jeffe estou na torcida por vc, e todo o Brasil esta com vc, força meu amigo…

        Reply
  • Zirlene Adriana dos santos : Jan 18th

    Torço para que corra tudo bem nesta aventura. Estaremos aguardando ansiosos seu retorno

    Reply
  • D Dog : Jan 18th

    Where are the videos ?

    Reply
  • Juliana Nakabayadhi : Jan 18th

    Torcendo por vc, Jeff! É Brasilllll

    Reply
    • Juliana Nakabayashi : Jan 18th

      É Jeff!!! É Brasilll!

      Reply
  • Martchela : Jan 18th

    Desejo boa sorte Jeff!!!
    Me emocionou seu vídeo

    Reply
  • Irene Fink : Jan 18th

    Parabens Jeff, torcendo por você!!!!

    Reply
  • Michael White : Jan 18th

    Alex Pellerin

    Reply
    • Send me an email to make sure my vote is going through.This is Tom Bourassa Uncle of Alex Pellerin : Jul 24th

      Wish Alex Pellerin the best along with my Sister Trisha.Love Uncle Tom Bourassa

      Reply
  • Rick : Jan 18th

    No confirmation email received

    Reply
    • Rick : Jan 18th

      Got it. Took 45 minutes.

      Reply
  • Ashley : Jan 18th

    I’ve tried multiple times to vote, on multiple devices and have not received a confirmation email. Does this mean everyone’s votes are not being secured or counted?

    Reply
    • Zach : Jan 18th

      Hey Ashley- I’m being told that there’s just a delay with the confirmation emails going out right now. I’ve heard anywhere between 20 minutes and two hours. I presume the system is just backed up due to the influx of votes. In any case, each email address will be counted only once, so as long as you confirm before the deadline, your vote will count. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Dan : Jan 19th

        Hi Zach! I’ve had a lot of friends and family try to vote and they haven’t received any emails either. Some get emails right away and others not at all (even after more than 24 hours).

        Reply
        • Zach : Jan 20th

          Hey Dan- Weird. Is it possibly sitting in people’s spam folders?

          Reply
          • Dan : Jan 20th

            They’ve all checked there as well with no luck. There doesn’t seem to be a rhyme or reason. All different browsers/devices have worked and also not worked. All emails (@google, @yahoo, etc) have also both worked and not worked.

            Reply
        • Zach : Jan 21st

          Hmmm. Maybe have them search “Wedgies” in their inbox. I missed my original email because it didn’t make it through to the “Important” filter. Please let me know if that works. If not, have them try another email address- based on the feedback I’ve been getting, I believe the issue is resolved, so hopefully a new vote should work.

          Reply
          • Dan : Jan 23rd

            Right now the addresses we’ve had issues with are two “charter.net” emails and a “comcast.net” email. I know others have reported issues but I haven’t heard more details from them. They’ve checked spam and searched and haven’t deleted anything. Other emails appear to have better luck (though some still take a day). For those emails mentioned above, the users don’t have another email to use.

            In the end I’m sure others are having similar issues so I don’t think it’s anything that would effect one finalist over another. Just wanted to make you aware.

            Reply
      • John : Jan 23rd

        Voted. Waited overnight. Still no confirmation. Voted again. We’ll see…..

        Reply
      • Hunter : Jan 24th

        I know it’s almost the deadline, but I have had multiple people not receive the confirmation email? Is there anything that can be done for all these missed votes?

        Reply
  • Vera : Jan 18th

    I’m so excited for Alex and Trisha!

    Reply
  • Elizabeth Pellerin : Jan 18th

    Alex Pellerin

    Reply
  • kathy : Jan 18th

    If you pause the video, the newspaper clipping shown on Jeff Santo’s video made it seem like he already competed the trail. Am I missing something from that newspaper article?

    Reply
    • kathy : Jan 18th

      I looked closer. I guess he invented the article from a future perspective. The date was September 2017!! 😀

      Reply
      • Jeff : Jan 18th

        You got it Kathy! 🙂 btw: Sept 7, the date I will complete the AT (with your help) is Independence Day in Brazil.

        Reply
        • Ana Paula : Jan 24th

          Estamos na torcidade!

          Reply
  • Leslie Hamby : Jan 19th

    First few times I tried to do this, it did not provide place to type email address. Hope this works now and that you will win!

    Reply
  • Leslie Hamby : Jan 19th

    Love you!

    Reply
  • Tabatha Colley : Jan 19th

    I am so proud of you Madi!

    Reply
  • Birdie : Jan 19th

    BIRDIE AND POSSUM FOR THE WIN!

    Happy Trails to All 🙂

    Reply
  • D Dog : Jan 19th

    Zach, am I missing something, as I still can’t see videos ?

    Reply
  • Elizabeth Pellerin : Jan 20th

    Alex Pellerin !!!

    Reply
  • Carolina : Jan 20th

    Jeff

    Reply
  • Jasmine : Jan 20th

    Lauren/woodchuck!!!

    Reply
  • Sofia : Jan 21st

    Becky Booroojian!!

    Reply
  • Maria Novais : Jan 22nd

    Jeff
    Sucesso aventura!

    Reply
  • Anne Bannon -- For Jackie : Jan 23rd

    Jackie

    We hope you have great success!!!!!! You go girl!!!!

    Reply
  • Trisha : Jan 24th

    I have 4 people that have not received confirmations 3 days later now, everyone has checked their spam as well. I have screenshots but can not send them through here. Thank you.

    Reply
  • Moryah : Jan 24th

    Hey I’ve tried voting but it never sent an email. I hope my vote went through and counted

    Reply
    • Moryah : Jan 24th

      So I just got my confirmation email at 11:49pm :/ and then when I went to confirm it, it glitched out. Sad that I have a feeling my vote didn’t get to go to the persons. The polls might be a little off

      Reply
  • Shelly Banholzer : Jan 24th

    Ethan Anytime gets my vote

    Reply
  • Jeff : Jan 24th

    I received 27% of the readers votes at the Badger Sponsorship 2017 from the Trek! It´s a lot: almost 1900 people voted for me. Thank you all for your support. I have no words to describe my feelings. I´ll not disappoint you: I´ll take the Brazilian flag all the way from Amicalola Falls to Mount Katahdin! Thank you Zach Davis and The Trek for the opportunity in taking part of this. Thank you all the sponsors (Big Agnes, Thermarest, Gossamer Gear, REI, Altra, Granite Gear, Pro Bar, Cliff, Bedrock, Sawyer, Wigwam, Good to Go) for believe in the thru-hiking culture. And thank you all the finalists for sharing your stories, in special Ethan Amerine. It was intense. A really good fight. See you on trail. Let´s wait for the final results… Happy hiking everyone.

    Eu recebi 27% dos votos dos leitores no Badger Sponsorship 2017 do The Trek. Isso é voto pra caramba: quase 1900 pessoas votaram em mim. Obrigado a todos pelo apoio. Não tenho palavras pra descrever o que estou sentindo. Não vou decepcionar vocês: vou levar a bandeira do Brasil pelos 3500 da trilha. Obrigado a Zach Davis e ao site The Trek pela oportunidade. Obrigado a todos os patrocinadores (Big Agnes, Thermarest, Gossamer Gear, REI, Altra, Granite Gear, Pro Bar, Cliff, Bedrock, Sawyer, Wigwam, Good to Go) por acreditarem na cultura da caminhada. E obrigado a todos os finalistas por compartilharem suas histórias, em especial a Ethan Amerine. Foi intenso. Uma briga realmente boa. Vejo vocês na trilha. Agora é esperar o resultado final. Boa caminhada a todos.

    Blog: http://www.longadistancia.com
    FB: fb.com/jeff.santos
    Instagram:@distancialonga
    Twitter: @distancialonga

    Reply
  • Shelly Banholzer : Jan 24th

    I really dislike auto correct!

    Reply

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