A New Californian Making an Impact-

Thirteen mountain hikes including Yosemite’s Half Dome for charity

Brennen Thompson is one quarter of his way through climbing twelve peaks in California. He’s shown here on top of Sandstone Peak in Malibu. Photo: ValleyTough.com

Brennen Thompson moved to California from upstate New York in 2019.

He decided early on that his time in the Golden State should have impact.

“It’s kind of a weird story,” he told me. “When I moved here in December, my roommate suggested we train for the LA marathon. After that, he said ‘Let’s do something bigger.’”

That “something bigger” is a series of twelve mountain hikes all over California, including one at Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

The yearlong pursuit will end with a climb up Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania set for June, 2021.

The pair is hoping to bring some hope and inspiration during what Brennen has called “difficult times” for many Americans.

“With the pandemic and the racial protests, we felt what better time to give back.”

They are raising money through website donations, Go-Fund-Me solicitations, and business partnerships.

So far, they have raised half of their six-thousand dollar goal, including a recent donation of seven-hundred dollars from Brennen’s high school graduating class.

Charities in Brennen’s hometown of Herkimer, New York will benefit from dollars raised through the effort.

The website ValleyTough.com has photos, videos, and a section on how to support the California mountain hikes of Brennen Thompson and Garrett Wright. Photo: Valley Tough.

Brennen, who along with his running partner Garrett Wright, are calling this initiative “Valley Tough.”

The website ValleyTough.com has information about all the hikes, the purpose behind the fund raising effort, and how people can support them.

Their second hike was up Mount Wilson in Pasadena.

As each hike is completed, a short video is uploaded to the website. These videos feature Brennan sharing reflections on the climb and offering thanks to supporters.

As a new Californian, Brennan is taken back by the weather that is in stark contrast to upstate New York, especially during winter.

“I can’t say enough about it,” he told me. “I live in South Bay (El Segundo in southern California), one or two blocks from the beach.”

He had to adjust to the climate as well as to the training discipline for mountain hiking.

“We’re constantly learning something new, and we’ve encountered unexpected challenges such as spiders and rattlesnakes.”

He’s also recognizing the training differences as he transitioned from marathon running to mountain hiking.

“How we train for this is different from preparing for a marathon. Even how I eat is different.”

Brennen and his climbing partner at the top of Mount Baden Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains. Photo: ValleyTough.com

The third hike in the series was at Mount Baden Powell in the San Gabriel Mountains. With each step, each mountain, the pair is strengthening their endurance and their commitment to the cause.

Brennen and I share some territory.

I grew up in upstate New York and went to college for two years in his hometown of Herkimer.

We both ended up in the media upon graduation from college: he works at an advertising agency while my first job was in television.

While I’m considerably older, we both have a sense of pride for the community of Herkimer in the Mohawk Valley of upstate New York while embracing California as our new home state.

We both have family back east. I remain connected through phone calls and social media.

Brennen does the same with his family.

“My Mom was freaked out at first when I told her about the hikes, he says. “But she has been supportive.”

Brennen with his mom and brother. He was quarterback and team captain at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY, graduating in 2019. Photo: Brennen Thompson Facebook page.

The hikes will be held once a month on different trails in California.

The September outing was up San Gabriel Peak.

This will lead up to the final challenge in June 2021 when they travel halfway around the world to Africa for Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania.

But in California, Brennen is really looking forward to the hike at Yosemite. They will travel to Half Dome in February.

“I’ve never been to Yosemite, but my roommate says it is jaw-dropping.”

Those of us fortunate enough to visit Yosemite know exactly what it means to say the iconic Half Dome is indeed jaw-dropping.

They will hike the seventeen mile round trip from the valley floor to the summit; not to be confused with scaling the vertical face of Half Dome.

Brennen knows the real thing will inspire.

While each California hike will be special, he can’t wait for Half Dome.

“It’s the one I’m most excited about,” he says.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

His book Course Corrections is available at Lulu.com. He is writing a new book to be released in December.

Website of Brennen Thompson - https://valleytough.com/donate/

A Courthouse Cupola View of Merced-

On Top of the Iconic Courthouse Museum

On the left - The view looking down N Street from on top of the Courthouse Museum. Right: The exterior of the iconic Merced building. Photos: Steve Newvine

Visually, this is one of the most interesting stories I have had the opportunity to write over the past several years.

Come along with me for an inside view looking outside.

Thanks to County Historian Sarah Lim who secured permission from the folks responsible for making the arrangements, I got an insider look from the top of the iconic Merced County Courthouse Museum building.

“The cupola is a restricted area and is full of cobwebs and dead bees,” she warned when I made the request.

When the day finally arrived, she told me she would unlock the door and let me go up alone.

Once I started up the narrow stairway, I understood why. I wiped cobwebs off my clothes, and started taking pictures.

Access to the upper, non-public floors of the Courthouse museum begin with this locked staircase off the third floor. That is followed by a winding set of stairs that eventually lead to the top. Photos: Steve Newvine

As I made my way to the first level of the cupola, I took in the view from all four sides. From here looking down N Street, I could see downtown Merced.

Going clockwise, I saw the roof of the County Library, the top of the Sheriff’s Department, and completed the circle with a view of Merced Police Headquarters leading to the traffic signal on M Street.

Three sides of the cupola overlook statues of the Roman Goddess Justica.

According to information provided to me from County Historian Lim, the statues were to represent justice.

But as the architect did not believe justice is blind, he chose not to depict the Goddess as blind.

The view looking toward the Merced County Library, and a look at the top of the Merced County Sheriff’s Department building from the cupola of the Courthouse Museum. In the second photograph, the Superior Court building is visible to the right. Photo: Steve Newvine

According to the architectural history, the statues were made out of redwood, are hand-carved, and are approximately twice life-size.

The statue at the very top of the cupola is Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Wisdom.

There were deliberate architectural and stylistic choices, along with a good deal of symbolism behind the look of the Courthouse building.
From the relatively plain look on the ground level, to the more ornate styles heading up to the higher floors, the architect designed the building to communicate a sense of enlightenment as the visitor moved up through the structure.

From the upper level of the structure, lots of daylight fills the cupola. Photo: Steve Newvine

While the view was great, the highest level was worth risking my fear of heights. Up one final spiral set of stairs and I was now standing in the top level of the cupola.

Only the Goddess Minerva stood higher: outside on the dome. The height from the ground to the very top of the dome is just under one-hundred, six feet.

My view of N Street leading to downtown Merced took on a richer meaning as the street parking alongside the Courthouse Park was now visible.

I could see my parked car from this vantage point.

Downtown Merced on a not-so clear day. This is the view from the cupola on top of the Merced County Courthouse Museum looking down N Street toward downtown. The statue is of the Roman Goddess Justica, but without the blindfold; a creative choice by the building architect who, according to the architectural history of the building, did not believe justice is blind. Photo: Steve Newvine

On a clear day, we’re told you can see the entire County.

My visit took place in late August in the midst of the heatwave and in skies filled with pollutants from the California wildfires in the region.

This indoor adventure was all worth the trouble: getting special permission, enduring the cobwebs, and navigating dead bees as well as live spiders.

The photographs document our town as it looks in this particular point in time.

While our community will continue to evolve and change in the coming decades, it will likely look pretty much the same from five stories up in the Merced County Courthouse Museum building.

Steve Newvine lives in Merced.

His book California Back Roads is available in soft and hardcover versions at Lulu.com

Steve is grateful to Merced County Historian Sarah Lim for securing special permission to allow him to go into the cupola which is not open to the general public.

Sarah also provided the architectural history of the building that was helpful in telling this story.