Like the DeKalb wind? How about with a backpack carrying one-third your body weight strapped to your back?

Those who do can brave the hills and valleys of campus with field backpacks today during a fundraiser beginning at noon today for A Campus Journey.

Registration ends at 11 a.m. for students, faculty and staff participating in the walk around campus with a trail-weight pack. The person who walks the longest will receive $100 in cash, and second and third place walkers will get a Taste of DeKalb basket including food and coupons from DeKalb businesses.

There are 40 available spots for walkers, and participants are required to raise 20 sponsors or a minimum of $20. Registration is first-come, first-serve.

All participants will weigh in at the King Memorial Commons and packs will be filled with one-third their weight in sand. The hikers’ walk will include the residence halls and the parking garage stairs.

“We’re trying to make the conditions as close to the AT (Appalachian Trail) as possible,” said Carole Jo Utech, a senior art education major.

Participants will receive a water bottle, bowling/billiards coupon, an ACJ T-shirt and cookies and juice from the Holmes Student Center.

Utech said walkers have until March 9 to turn in the money they’ve raised. The person who gathers the most money from sponsors will win a $100 gift certificate from the Holmes Student Center Bookstore.

A Campus Journey, a Student Association-approved organization, was founded by Utech last summer. Working with her family and friends, Utech decided to walk the entire Appalachian Trail starting Feb. 2, 2002, raising $500,000. The trail, which extends from Georgia to Maine, is 2,167 miles long. Utech plans to finish walking the trail in six months.

About 80 percent of the money raised will go to the American Cancer Society. Open to campuses across the nation, a new group of 10 walkers will meet Utech at each of the 25 stops along the trail. The theory is that each walker will get at least 25 sponsors at $1 per mile, Utech said in a November Northern Star article.

ACJ vice chair Sadiya Khan said the fundraiser gives organizations or individuals the chance to honor a cancer survivor or the memory of someone who dealt with cancer.

“A guy came up to me and was saying that when someone you love has cancer, it’s awkward because you don’t know what to say or do,” Khan said. “It’s something anyone can do. It’s a huge mental and physical challenge. I think it’s going to be kind of an awakening for some people.”

Participants and others can sign a large painting of the trail during the fundraiser. Utech said they want to get as many signatures on the trail painting today, which the organization will donate to the SA art collection.

Utech said the fundraiser will continue as long as people keep walking. Each person will be timed and breaks will be deducted.

“I’m thinking we’ll go into the night,” Khan said.