Man attempts 100-miles Pacific Crest Trail run in late mother's memory

A man unsuccessfully attempted a 100-mile trail run from Big Bear to Idyllwild in support of a memorial fundraiser for his late mother, who had lived in Fallbrook for three decades, last week.

The June Lister Memorial Fundraiser supports care teams at UC San Diego Cancer Services and The Elizabeth Hospice, which "were there when June really needed them and do such amazing work for so many people," the fundraiser's GoFundMe page says.

Nigel Wilson, the son of June Lister, who died in April, has been training for the nonstop run for months to encourage contributions to the fundraiser.

Wilson's mother, a U.K. expatriate and eventual U.S. citizen, lived in Fallbrook from the late 1980s until her death in April.

Wilson said he visited his mother regularly and returned in March to care for her. He began training for the run after her passing.

The stretch of trail he planned to run winds through the mountains and desert floor, with a total elevation drop of 17,000 feet and a gain of 16,000 feet.

Everything went smoothly as he began the trail Oct. 7. But around 1 a.m. the morning of Oct. 8, Wilson ended up lost in the San Gorgonio Wilderness.

Six hours later, "I stumbled across a thru-hiker on the trail, still in his sleeping bag, who informed me I was heading north up to Big Bear and not south, as I believed, toward Idyllwild," Wilson said.

He said he had known the section he became lost in was going to be difficult, as it was the only area he hadn't checked out beforehand, but he hadn't expected to get completely turned around.

Wilson said by the time he realized what direction he was heading in, he was more than nine hours away from the next aid station, near Whitewater, where his support team had been waiting since 4:30 a.m. He also was "running dangerously low on drinking fluids" and had already covered about 62 miles.

He decided to head back to the last aid station, and threw in the towel at 10:30 a.m., 70 miles and 22 hours after beginning the previous day.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for the amazing support I've had," Wilson said. "Even though I didn't manage to complete the challenge, your thoughts and messages helped me get through the difficult moments I faced."

He also thanked his support team – Bonsall residents Michelle and Paul Zuest, and Nigel's son Guillermo – as well as everyone who donated to his mother's memorial fundraiser.

"I've realized that the outpouring of support from all the people who cared for my mother has been overwhelming in the last 24 hours or so," Wilson said.

That, he said, has "more than compensated" for his disappointment at not completing the challenge.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].