A man on an epic 150-day trek across America surprised his girlfriend halfway – by asking her to marry him.
Chris Murphy, 32, popped the question to partner Kayleigh McKinnon, 32, midway through a massive journey along the Pacific Crest Trail.
Intrepid Chris completed the 2,500-mile walk – a route which leads through three states and ends at the Canadian border.
The trip spanned mountains and forests – and he was able to use it to plan a proposal for Chris and his girlfriend at the halfway point.
He had picked out a ring and his brother Jack, 29, brought it out to him when he came to join the trek.
The pair carried the ring with them until they reached Yosemite Valley in August after Kayleigh came to meet them.
Chris popped the question on Glacier Point and Kayleigh was thrilled and said yes.
But after a brief moment to celebrate with Chris, Kayleigh had to return to Scotland and leave Chris to the rest of his hike.
Despite a beautiful proposal, Chris still had more work to do – another thousand miles to trek through forests and mountains to the Canadian border.
Floor fitter Chris, Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, Scotland, said: ”Proposing had been on my mind for a while, and I had a lot of time to think about it in the desert.
“I knew what ring I wanted before I left, so I had arranged for my brother to bring it out to me.
“My girlfriend Kayleigh came to visit me in early July, roundabout my halfway point.
“I thought that the sierras would be the perfect place to propose – and it was. I’m glad I made that decision – it was the perfect place and time.”
The pair use their endeavor to raise over 6K for Diabetes UK as many of their family members are affected by the condition.
Chris set off on May 8 this year, beginning in Southern California at the Mexican border.
“My brother and I have been hiking since we were young,” said Chris.
“Jack is Type One Diabetic, and we have other family members who are as well, so we wanted to try to raise awareness with this.”
The first part of the trail took Chris through 700 miles of arid desert conditions, passing through California’s infamous Death Valley and Mojave Desert – with brother Jack joining just over a month later.
“The desert section was a whole challenge in itself,” Chris said.
“We would try to get up at the crack of dawn, because we always wanted to start hiking before seven. We didn’t really do much apart from hike and eat!
“A big challenge was that Jack had to carry his insulin the whole time – and it had to be refrigerated.
“It also got so cold at night – sometimes we’d wake up in the morning and our water bottles would be frozen. That can’t happen to insulin.”
The pair’s next stage involved traversing Northern California’s Sierra Nevada Cascades – one of the USA’s most famed mountain ranges, and the setting for Chris’s romantic gesture.
With the trail ascending to a peak of 11,000 feet, the beautiful scenery inspired Chris – who had begun planning his proposal.
Chris said: ”We were on top of America’s highest mountains – it was amazing.”
The brothers finished their journey in October, and headed home to Scotland, where friends and family were waiting to welcome them home.
“Everyone was over the moon. We had a small family gathering and a dinner the night after we got back, and that was great,” Chris said.
“We showed them all photos and videos. Everybody’s really proud of us and it’s a great feeling.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
