Drea Castro

I love hiking, traveling, and the outdoors.  I enjoy the beauty of the wilderness and the amazing scenery that California has to offer. However, after taking on this challenge, I personally have changed the way I view hiking.   Now, I enjoy the peaceful sounds of the wilderness, the feeling of the rough rocks as we climb over them, the smell of the forest, and the sweet taste of the natural springs high above the valley floor.

Originally,  we had no intention of filming, but wanted only to be sight guides for the students from the Braille Institute, who had never really hiked the kind of mountains we were about to attempt.  After taking the sight guide training, my husband, Jimmy and I decided to ask the hiking leader, Chris Lynch about documenting the expedition.  He was ecstatic and loved the idea.  That moment changed history and became something bigger than we had ever imagined!

The story kept unfolding.  My own views on blindness shortly changed after hearing the incredibly stories that the students had graciously shared with us and soon will be sharing to the world.

This is not just a film about hiking or blindness or visually impaired people summiting a mountain.  That is in the foreground of story.  However, the main focus of this film is to highlight each character’s remarkable capabilities and ability to overcome adversity, not just in hiking, but also through their daily lives. All the characters of this film, have overcome the challenge of being visually impaired and all of them have already reached the top of their own mountains.

Through this film, we are able to reveal each and every one of their fascinating and unique stories that brought them up to this challenge of reaching the summit of Mt. Baldy. And although, Mt. Baldy is less than half the height of the tallest mountains in the world, this mountain remains to be their own Everest and Kilimanjaro.  After 4 months of training,  the final goal was to summit Mt. Baldy on July 17th, 2010 — This is a story that the world needs to hear.

I hope we inspire change…