South Florida Father Making Preparations to Hike the 4,428-mile Eastern Continental Trail from Canada to Key West, Florida

William Spanky" Bateman, an outspoken advocate of fatherhood is preparing to hike 4,428-miles on behalf of fathers and the families that need them. Bateman, a stepfather of a family of eleven from Miami, Florida; is attempting to accomplish the extremely rare feat of hiking the complete the Eastern Continental Trail from Cape Gaspe', Quebec, Canada to Key West, Florida- all to promote the valuable role of fatherhood.

(PRWEB) March 30, 2005 -- William Bateman, a father of eleven from south Florida and veteran long distance hiker; is launching a national media event called "Hike4Fathers" to draw attention to the importance of fatherhood in America. He is planning to hike the 4,428-mile Eastern Continental Trail from Canada to Key West, Florida beginning mid-May, 2005.

Bateman had previously hiked more than 1,000 miles of the famed Appalachian Trail on behalf of Floridas abused and abandoned children in 2002. That experience led him to speak with many men on the trail who lamented missed opportunities to spend more time with their families.

Their stories inspired Bateman, who goes by the trail name "Spanky", to put together a second attempt to hike across North America. He has labeled this effort "Hike4Fathers." When asked why he is willing to spend more than ten months and taking an estimated ten million steps to hike from Canada to Key West, Florida; his response was as unique as the monumental "Hike4Fathers" effort itself:

"My heart breaks each time I hear an individual's story about their life growing up never hearing the loving influential words spoken by a father. I hope to interview real fathers I meet on the trail; allowing those men to become the voices of encouragement to kids of all ages who have never heard the affirmations of a dad. I describe this special book project as a kind of "father love letters" to kids without fathers. Secondly, I want to create a photo expose' of fathers and their families that I meet as I travel across North America; and put those photos into a pictorial book dedicated to the significant and influential role of fatherhood in North America."

Mr. Bateman understands how rare a feat he is attempting. Less than ten individuals worldwide have successfully "thru-hiked" the whole Eastern Continental Trail. Even rarer is the fact that he is attempting the trail solo and southbound- something that is difficult even by Appalachian Trail standards. He estimates that it will take him more than ten months to hike the E.C.T., he will lose about 60 pounds in body weight, wear out three pairs of hiking boots, summit more than 250 mountain peaks and encounter wildlife ranging from timber wolves, black bears, elk and moose in the northern half of the trail to hedge hogs, deer, alligators and dangerous snakes in the southern end. Weatherwise, he will encounter all four seasons from hurricane force winds and storms to bitter cold and rain.

Currently, Mr. Bateman and his family remain very active with community outreach efforts throughout the south Florida area- especially related to single-parent families and youth mentoring issues. Bateman is an accomplished special events speaker and considered an expert in stepfamily dynamics and related ministry issues involving the family and the role of the church in those families.

Because of the large amount of funding required to hike the full trail's length; he is seeking major corporate or individual sponsors who are willing to partner with his efforts to promote the valuable role of fatherhood.

You can follow William "Spanky" Bateman's incredible journey hiking more than 4,400-miles across North America beginning mid-May, 2005 by visiting www.abovetheclouds.cc; his "Hike4Fathers Above the Clouds" website journal and fatherhood resource.

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