THE BIG INTERVIEW: Inspirational ‘Gorilla Walker’ Kyran Young from Stroud

An exception to this case is the inspirational Stroud teenager Kyran Young, who earlier this year crossed one line off his bucket list in extraordinary fashion.

Passing through 25 national forests, seven national parks, and countless mountain ranges, the intrepid young adventurer completed the Pacific Crest Trail, hiking an epic 2,663 miles through the USA.

The track runs the entire height of the continent from the arid deserts at the border of Mexico to the freezing snow-capped mountains of Canada.

Passing through the states of California, Washington and Oregon, Kyran crossed the Colorado and Mojave deserts and conquered the mighty Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.

Battling both freezing and scorching temperatures he braved injuries, encountered rattle snakes and cougars and dodged blazing wildfires, going through both agony and ecstasy in the process.

After a marathon four-and-a-half months of hiking, he finally crossed the finish line on October 5, making the 19-year-old one of the youngest people to ever complete the whole trail.

“My journey actually started a year and a half before I started walking,” explained Kyran, a former Wycliffe student who lives in Stroud.

“The story begins with the slaughter of over 300 elephants in Zimbabwe.”

Spending the first 12 years of his life growing up the city of Harare in the South-African country, Kyran soon developed a great appreciation for the beauty of the natural world and its wildlife.

“Finding out about horrific poaching on that scale really woke me up to conservation. For a long time I was so angry this could happen,” he said.

This new-found interest led him to the plight of the critically endangered mountain gorilla in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

“These amazing animals have bene poached and killed for so long there are only around 880 left in the wild. The species is nearing the point of no return. I discovered an amazing charity called the Gorilla Organisation that works to protect the species.

“This was my inspiration.”

After months of careful planning, preparation and fundraising, Kyran flew stateside on May 14, joined at the last moment by his 21-year-old brother Scott.

Armed with only their giant 60-litre packs, the pair flew to California and travelled to the Mexican border to begin the first stage of their American Odyssey.

The Pacific Coast trail begins in near the small town of Campo, a vast arid desert and scrubland landscape of southern California.

“This was my favourite part of the journey,” explained Kyran.

“Everything was new and exciting at this point. Everything was ahead of us and we couldn’t wait to get started.

“We would get up at dawn every morning and usually walk until sunset. This is normally an eight to ten hour walk each day, depending on what pace you go.

“If we set a good speed we would normally cover around 25 miles each day. But temperatures could reach 45°C at points, so that inevitably slowed us down.”

The first 750 mile section of the trail passes through Cleveland National Forest, the backbone of the San Jacinto Mountains and the Los Angeles Basin.

This beginning segment crosses the San Andreas Fault Zone and western arm of the Mojave Desert before climbing into the Tehachapi Mountains.

“The heat can be unbearable at times, so at night instead of using the tent we slept out under the stars,” said Kyran.

“And other times we would walk at night time when it was cooler. This is when you see the wildlife; the coyotes, cougars, lizards and scorpions.

“You’d always have to be alert. But there was one occasion where we both came very close to stepping on a rattle snake.”

But aside from the highly venous reptiles, it was water that was undoubtedly the biggest problem for the two brothers at this stage.

“My pack was 60 litres but we had so much else to store in it, from the tent, to sleeping bags, roll mats, clothes, food, compass, gear and maps,” explained Kyran.

“We both carried around eight litres of water – which weighs about eight kilos. But when you are hiking every day this can feel like a tonne.

“And this wouldn’t last that long, sometimes we had to walk 40 miles without a drink. We had to find water wherever we could.

“Sometimes you’d come across natural springs and other times locals would drop off bottles of water to the trail.

“We were in the desert for almost a month and it didn’t rain once. This is why up to 70 per cent of people quit within the first 30 days.

“The heat and exhaustion can be too much for a lot of people. The body has to acclimatise quickly. It turns into a mental game of endurance.”

After this first exhausting month the Pacific Crest Trail leads to a 3,300-foot ascent to Cottonwood Pass and the High Sierras.

The landscape at this point starts to change so quickly. Flat deserts give way to rising hills and barren sand gives way to huge pine forests and glaciers.

As these landscapes begins to rise, crystal clear rivers and lakes begin to form among the snow-capped volcanic rock.

“These were some of the most spectacular landscapes we came across throughout the whole trip,” Kyran recalled.

“We’d decided beforehand that we wanted to climb the highest mountain in the US outside of Alaska, which is Mount Whitney.”

This snowy peak rises to a summit of 14,505 feet, then dropping sharply into Death Valley National Park which falls to 85m below sea level.

“Instead of water it was food that then became the issue,” he said. “As the trail winds upwards, what few roads there are disappear and towns become far less frequent.

“When we ran out of what food we had we had to hitch hike 40 miles away to resupply.

“This would be really calorific things. You have to buy low density foods like breads and cheese, cuscus, wraps, peanut butter and jelly - that kind of thing.

“Everything is your pack is competing for space. You don’t want even the tiniest bit of excess weight.

“Every extra ounce makes a difference to every step you take. So we cut down on food a lot and ate a lot of Nutella.”

Despite a diet predominantly made up of chocolate however, both brothers lost a huge amount of weight as their bodies adapted to the lifestyle.

“Your body goes into survival mode so you stop eating as much as you normally would,” explained Kyran. “I lost 10 pounds and Scott lost 25 pounds.”

This wasn’t the only danger however, the landscape got more treacherous and the temperatures began to drop. The tent and sleeping bags now became a necessity to protect against hypothermia.

“The Sierras were one of the best experiences, but one of the most challenging. The weather we had at the time was terrible, despite it being the middle of summer.

“We heard a lot of people regularly had to get rescued from the mountains by helicopter. It’s a lot easier than you’d think to get lost,” he added.

“Some years there can be really heavy snowfall and others there can be none at all, so it is a bit of a gamble. Because of the drought this year there was no snow, but you definitely feel the altitude.

But a two week practice hike in the Pyrenees last year had prepared Kyran for this challenge, and the brothers reached the top of the treacherous mountain safely.

With the towering peaks of Mount Whitney behind them, they set off for Yosemite national Park’s lush Tuolumne Meadows.

These high altitude crests then dip gently into the southern Cascade Range, where rich volcanic landscape give life to lush alpine forests.

“Unfortunately this was where the issues began to set in for us,” he said. “Things got a lot harder at this stage.”

After two months of walking their supplies began to run dry and injuries got slowly worse. With constant use their hiking boots were beginning to wear thin.

“Even the slightest niggle in your shoes can be a huge issue,” said Kyran. “Before setting off I posted a pair of new walking boots to a series of checkpoints along the trail.

“But when I collected one pair they were just too small for my feet. I didn’t notice at once but after three hours of walking the pain really starts to kick in. After a day or two the pain was excruciating.”

Struggling with agonising blisters and exhaustion setting in, the walking got tougher and tougher each day.

“One afternoon we were spearfishing when Scott slipped and smashed his ankle against the ridge of a rock,” said Kyran.

“In any normal circumstances this wouldn’t have been a big deal, the injury wasn’t bad one, with just a bit of bruising.

“After walking on for over 100 miles and even with a few days rest, while I had a fever, it began to swell and soon became unbearable. He could barely walk by the end.

“Really it should not have been a surprise, we must have done over 50,000 footsteps a day.

“We had to walk and hitchhike 80 miles off the trail to find the nearest town to find a doctor to have a look at it. When we did find one he confirmed that Scott had fractured his foot.

“That was the end of the trip for him. He had given his all but it was just impossible for him to carry on. He had to leave the trail, head for San Francisco and eventually fly home.

After two months and 1,600 miles together the brothers were forced to go their separate ways.

“That was definitely one of the hardest parts,” he said, “one of the hardest days of my life actually.

“Scott was devastated he wouldn’t be able to finish the trail with me. That was one of the big moments of doubt – if I would be able to finish on my own.

“I’ll admit there were times when I thought of quitting at this point. It was so strange for a few days. We had spent every single moment of every day together for the last two months. You knew he was always behind you or in front of you.

“It made it worse that I didn’t see another human being for three days after I set off on my own.”

So with another 1,000 miles ahead of him, Kyran was left to finish the last two states on his own.

Luckily as the trail shifts across the state border to Oregon, the landscape flattened out and the hike becomes far easier.

“At this point trail becomes a long dot to dot between volcanoes, including Diamond Peak, the Three Sisters, Mount Washington, Three Fingered Jack and Mount Jefferson,” explained Kyran.

“This was the loneliest part of the journey by far.

“I had grown so used to Scott’s presence – for a day or two I kept turning around to speak to him and he wasn’t there. But after a week or so isolation set in and it became the norm. At this point there is nothing left to do but walk.

“That’s when I realised hiking is really a solitary thing. When I was with my brother I learnt everything he thought about me, but when he was gone I started learning more about myself.

“You definitely reflect more and become more in tune with nature and your surroundings when you are alone.

“For the most part the trail is empty. You always meet a few hikers along the way, and sometimes you’ll walk with them for a few days or so.

“But people are going at different places at their own pace, so sooner or later everyone goes their own way.

“Throughout the journey you meet so many different kinds of people of all types and ages. Everyone has their own reason for being there.

“Some people like me were raising money for charities and others were thrill seekers and wanderers, but there were others who were trying to escape from something.”

“At this point I realised that walking alone gives you a different perspective of the trail and of yourself,” said Kyran.

“As you only have to worry about yourself everything becomes more peaceful. You start to learn what you really enjoy and about your strengths and weaknesses.

“Everything becomes amplified too. The bad times seem much worse than they are, but at the same time the good parts reach levels of ecstasy.

“I can remember standing alone on top of a mountain ridge watching the sunsets and eclipses - these times become so much more emotional when you are alone.

“And with only your own thoughts to occupy yourself you begin to run back through every single memory in your life; every birthday, book, song, every fleeting thought.

“So as well as a journey across America it was also a journey back through my own mind.”

As the days passed into weeks and Kyran got closer to the finish line he began walking more and more every day.

“You are really caught in two minds,” he said. “On one hand you want to get to the end so badly, but on the other hand you don’t want it to be over.

“When you’ve walked so far and crossed so many horizons you become desensitised to distance.

“It becomes the natural to get up, pack away your things, start walking and not stop until the sun goes down. You become a creature of instinct.

“It was a feeling of complete freedom that I’ve never experienced in my life.”

On October 5 after 4,286 km, Kyran finally crossed the border into Canada at sunset.

He had traversed the continent and completed the PCT in just over four and a half months, covering the equivalent of six and a half times the length of England.

During this time he managed to raise an incredible £12,500 for the Gorilla Organisation.

“I was so shocked when I got back and found out how much I’d raised,” he added, “so I want to say a huge thank you to all those to donated and supported me.”

“I was incredibly lucky to be able to do what I did and was so happy I could give that amount of money to the cause.”

And Kyran plans to start again where he left off.

Kick-starting his dream to become a wildlife ranger, he is planning to study conservation at the South African Wildlife College in Kempiana Nature Reserve next year.

But while the next step of his adventure lies ahead of him, he still doesn’t know exactly what line of work he wants go into in later life.

As Kyran knows full well however - it is not the destination that counts, but the journey itself.

To donate to Kyran and to find out more about his journey, please visit: www.gorillawalker.com