Virtual Hike: Pyramids of Egypt

Tuesday 1 March 2022 - Thursday 31 March 2022

Hike 50 miles through ancient Egypt… virtually this March!

Introducing the third and final challenge in the Pilgrims Virtual Hike World Series 2022: Pyramids of Egypt.

Walk among the mighty monuments of the ancient Egyptians in a 50-mile challenge from the banks of the River Nile to the heart of Cairo from, or near to, your own home throughout March.

Uncover the treasures of desert dynasties dating back to the 27th century BC! Hiking the Pyramids of Egypt Virtual Hike showcases the awe-inspiring architectural marvels of the advanced ancient Egyptians, whose divinely-appointed Pharaohs ruled the Kingdoms along the mighty Nile for over 3,000 years. Along the way, you’ll explore some of the earliest examples of the iconic royal resting places, traverse windswept desert and discover a mythical stone beast before reaching journey’s end in the heart of modern day Cairo.

It’s a truly memorable experience and we’re giving you the chance, wherever you are, to dive into the history of this incredible part of the world and take on this virtual expedition, without the airfare, to help raise vital funds for Pilgrims specialist end-of-life care.

Walking is good for us, both for our physical fitness and mental well-being, and you can join our friendly community of Pilgrims Hospice Hikers in our active Pilgrims Hospices Walking and Hiking Facebook group to encourage one another and ask questions.

It’s tough but achievable; with some planning and determination anyone can conquer the Virtual Hike: Pyramids of Egypt. Why not complete the hike with friends or family to make the journey even more enjoyable.

 

The interactive route map

How it works

To take part in the Virtual Hike World Series: Pyramids of Egypt, simply enter via the ‘Register Now’ button at the top of this page. Once signed up, you’ll receive instructions on how to record your walking activities and track your progress along the virtual Pyramids of Egypt trail using the award-winning Pilgrims Event App for iOS and Android devices.

It’s free to download from the App Store and Google Play and, along with the free companion app MapMyTracks, will track your walking activities throughout March and update your position along the interactive route map below; so you can see exactly how far you’ve come and how far you have left until you reach your goal. You can also like and comment on your teammate’s activities, receive up-to-date event information, view a detailed route map, and link your JustGiving page to see how your fundraising is going, all in one place.

The challenge runs from 1st – 31st March and all of your walking activities recorded via the Pilgrims Event App during this time will count towards your overall progress along the Virtual Hike route.

You can use any route you like in order to reach your mileage goal. We would ask that you do not use the virtual hike to stop at any of our hospice sites, even if you are passing by. The safety of patients and staff is paramount, and your participation in the virtual hike is the best means of showing your support.

So if you have some favourite routes around your local area, then please use those to do your virtual hike. You can break the mileage down into as many days as you need to throughout March. All that matters is you cover the distance. We’re not even going to ask you to verify your mileage, so if you’re a bit over, or under, then that’s fine by us.

Every participant will receive a selection of exclusive digital ‘badges’ upon entering that they can share as they complete milestones in their journey on social media and elsewhere to show your support for Pilgrims Hospices.

Please note: Only activities recorded using the Pilgrims Event App (MapMyTracks) AND with the activity type of ‘Walking’ and set as ‘Public’ will be included in your progress along the virtual map above. If you wish your runs to count towards your goal, that’s fine, but remember to save them as ‘walking’ activities in MapMyTracks.

Take part without using the app

Don’t worry if you’d rather not use the app, you can still enjoy tracking your miles along the virtual Pyramids of Egypt Trail using our printable mile tracker.

Once you have signed up to the virtual hike, you’ll receive all the information you need via an email, including how to download a printable way to track the miles you walk throughout the month. Simply, fill in the number of miles you walk into each day until you’ve reached your challenge target.

The mile tracker is also a great visual way to show your friends and family how far you’ve come and ask them to donate!

Fun facts about the Pyramids of Egypt

The Pyramid of Djoser (c 2670-2650 BC) showing its 6-tiered construction.
  • The stepped Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara is the earliest colossal stone building in Egypt. It was built in the 27th century BC during the Third Dynasty for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser. The pyramid consists of 6 tiers rising to an impressive 62.5 metres tall and would have originally been clad in polished white limestone. Imhotep, chancellor of the pharaoh and high priest of Ra is thought to be the probable architect of this first ‘proto-pyramid’.
  • The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest pyramid ever constructed by the ancient Egyptians. Initially standing at an incredible 146.5 metres tall, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. Built as the royal tomb for the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu, it contains an estimated 2.3 million blocks weighing 6 million tonnes in total. Today, much of the white limestone casing has been removed, leaving the underlying core structure and reducing the pyramid’s height to the present 138 metres.
  • The Great Sphinx of Giza sits facing directly East, surveying the West bank of the Nile. Cut from the bedrock, the limestone statue is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and depicts a mythical creature with the head of a man and the body of a lion. It measures 73 metres long from paw to tail and stands 20 metres high. Archaeological evidence suggests that it was created during the reign of Khafe (c 2558-2532 BC).

Event information

  • Virtual hike entry: £5

Virtual event tracking requires a free MapMyTracks account.

We would encourage you to raise as much sponsorship as you can for your 50-mile challenge!

By doing your part for Pilgrims Hospices, you’ll truly be making a difference to the lives of our patients. Here’s how:

  • £25 could pay for an hour of specialist nursing care
  • £30 could pay for our Community Team to hold a video consultation with a patient in their own home
  • £45 could pay for a virtual counselling session for an individual coping with the loss of a loved one
  • £90 could pay for all the medicine needed at one of our inpatient units over 24 hours

Start your fundraising today!

Take a world tour… virtually

Pyramids of Egypt is the third, and final, monthly challenge in our Virtual Hike World Series 2022 which takes you on a journey to complete iconic walks in some of the most incredible places on Earth and aims to help you improve your fitness by stepping your walking up gradually over the months of January, February and March.

App achievements

Achievements are an exciting feature within the Pilgrims Event App. During the Virtual Hike: Pyramids of Egypt, as well as the digital milestone badges along the way, you can earn badges within the app for completing all kinds of Achievements.

The app will automatically recognise when you have achieved the criteria for any of the badges and add it to the ‘Achievements’ page within the ‘Profile’ area of the Pilgrims Event App, together with the date that you earned it!

Eg. Once you have recorded your first walk during an event, either by MapMyTracks recording or by a manual mileage upload, you will earn the Off the Mark badge.

Full list of walking badges to achieve

  • Off the Mark: Complete your first walk during this event.
  • Trailblazer: Complete ten walks during this event.
  • Walk in the Park: Complete a walk of at least 5 miles during this event.
  • Off the Beaten Path: Complete a walk of at least 10 miles during this event.
  • Finding your Stride: Cover at least 25% of the event distance.
  • On the Right Track: Cover at least 50% of the event distance.
  • On the Home Stretch: Cover at least 75% of the event distance.
  • Finisher: Complete the full event distance and cross the finish line.
  • Backyard Explorer: Log over 10 hours of walking during this event.
  • Scrapbooker: Upload at least one photo during this event.
  • Super Saturday: Log an activity on the first Saturday of this event.
  • Hill Seeker: Climb the height of Ben Nevis (1345 m) during this event.

Resources


Contact information

Email: robert.grew@pilgrimshospices.org

Website: www.pilgrimshospices.org/event/virtual-hike-pyramids

Contact name: Robert Grew

Phone: 07710 854029