LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - Most of us would move mountains for our loved ones, but a young woman who lost her fiancé to addiction is climbing them instead.
“I am currently out here on the Appalachian Trail. I’m hiking from Georgia to Maine. It's about 2,200 miles,” said 27-year-old Heather Starbuck. It’s a journey not many can conquer, especially on their own.
“Some days I go and do nine or 10. Some days I have gone up to 17,” said Starbuck. But for Starbuck, it's more than a journey — it's a mission.
“I’m not really one of these intense hikers at all. This is pretty foreign to me!” said Starbuck.
Starbuck is hiking the Appalachian Trail in memory of her late fiancé, Matt Adams.
“When describing Matt, he is really the most amazing person I have ever known. So genuine, giving, loving. Not one judgmental or mean bone in his body,” said Starbuck.
Adams is a Fayetteville native who lost his battle with opioid addiction on September 12, 2017. Starbuck started her journey on March 24 and will end on the one year anniversary of Matt's passing.
“I carry his ashes on me throughout the whole hike and I’ll be spreading them up there,” said Starbuck.
Starbuck said she decided to walk the Appalachian Trail after learning at least 22 percent of opiate deaths in the U.S. occur in the Appalachian region.
“I meet with people in town, these towns that are ravaged by it, and I’m able to see at this ground zero level what people are doing and what is working,” said Starbuck.
Starbuck said along the way she is able to share Matt’s story. She said it is her way of keeping his memory alive, one mountain at a time.
“I’m trying to handle it with grace, for him. I’m trying to do it for him,” said Starbuck. “I hope he would be proud of me. I hope he would see that I am really trying to take something dark and turn it light, like he would.”
Saturday May 19 would be Matt's 31 birthday. Starbuck is encouraging everyone to get out and walk, hike or run that day in his honor to raise awareness about the epidemic.
Starbuck also created a nonprofit, the Matt Adams Foundation, that funds grants for those seeking recovery from narcotics through rehabs and/or transitional programs.
In each town that she visits, Starbuck is also distributing Matt’s signature purple bandana as a symbol of solidarity for those on the road to recovery and those who have yet to find it.