Hopeful Heights was created after a search and rescue that took place in April 2019, in which Eric DeSplinter and Gabrielle Wallace were missing in the San Bernardino Mountains for five days.

Their story is documented in the book “Two Trails: A Hiker’s Story of Survival and His Mother’s Story of Hope” (available on Amazon).  As Eric’s mom watched the search and rescue efforts to save her son, the thing that stood out the most was the incredible generosity of search and rescue crews, where she learned the greatest majority of the SAR members were all volunteers. As a way to honor them, the book was written and Hopeful Heights, a 501(c)3 organization,  was created to support these selfless heroes. It is our mission to continue to share the sacrifices made by search and rescue teams and to support them financially with their training, equipment, and missions.

The family’s continued love for hiking in national parks led to their second journey, building a house at the south entrance to Yosemite National Park in California.  It was a ground-up build that took three years to complete, and the result was Mariposa Grove Creekside Retreat at Yosemite.  Although it was designed to be used as a vacation rental, an additional purpose came to the forefront.  The family felt that memories created by staying at MGCR at Yosemite should be shared with families that need it the most, childhood cancer families.  They have a personal understanding of what it’s like to deal with childhood cancer, and they wanted to offer a bit of joy to others by sharing their mountain retreat.  You can read about their personal connection to childhood cancer at the “MGCR Childhood Cancer Retreat” tab.  We are honored to provide a vacation stay at one of the most beautiful places on earth. It is our mission to give some reprieve from the ongoing medical routine and costs that are incurred throughout treatment.

Your dollars provide necessary equipment to volunteer Search and Rescue teams and also assists with travel costs to allow families facing childhood cancer to be able to enjoy a free donated stay at Mariposa Grove Creekside Retreat at Yosemitein California.