Optiventure Thru-Hiking Scholarship 2026

Bank (Pitchapong Sopitskulmas) and Mos (Pitchaorn Sopitskulmas) are siblings from Bangkok, Thailand. Bank started hiking in 2015 when a friend invited him to climb Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia during time off from his engineering job offshore in the Gulf of Thailand. He brought Mos along, and that trip changed everything. Since then, hiking has become a major part of both their lives, taking them across the globe from the Himalayas to Kilimanjaro to the Pacific Crest Trail.

The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is a 3,100-mile long-distance hiking trail stretching from the Mexican border in New Mexico to the Canadian border in Montana. It follows the Continental Divide of the Americas through some of the most remote and rugged wilderness in the United States. The CDT is widely considered the most challenging of the three Triple Crown trails, requiring strong navigation skills, high-altitude endurance, and the ability to handle long stretches between resupply towns. Hikers can expect snow travel, lightning storms, grizzly bear encounters, and days spent above treeline at over 14,000 feet.

Between them, Bank and Mos have an impressive list of long-distance trails and international treks. Together they completed the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022 — a 2,650-mile trek from Mexico to Canada. They’ve also hiked Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, numerous treks in the Himalayas including the Kanchenjunga Circuit, Annapurna Circuit, and Langtang region, volcano hikes in Indonesia, and Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. Mos has also completed extensive solo treks in Nepal and 300km of trails across Hong Kong. Bank has hiked the Salkantay Trek in Peru and the Lost City Trek in Colombia.

Bank and Mos plan to start the CDT on April 23, 2026, hiking northbound (NOBO) from the Mexican border. They aim to complete the trail before October 15, 2026, in line with their US visa window. That’s roughly six months covering over 3,100 miles through five states: New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

After their life-changing experience on the PCT in 2022, Bank and Mos didn’t hesitate to plan their next big adventure together. Thru-hiking as siblings is rare — especially on a trail as wild and demanding as the CDT. For them, it’s about sharing something extraordinary, pushing each other through the tough days, and proving that adventure doesn’t have to wait. Bank was inspired to apply for this scholarship because he wants to encourage people in Thailand and across Asia to dare to pursue their dreams rather than postponing life until retirement.

The Optiventure Triple Crown Thru-Hiking Scholarship supports hikers tackling the PCT, CDT, or AT. Scholarship recipients receive $1,000 USD in financial support (paid in two installments), a full supply of Optiventure Core supplements for the trail, a custom page on the Optiventure website with live tracking, coaching support, and promotion across Optiventure’s social media channels. The scholarship is made possible in partnership with Thru-Hiking.com.

You can follow Bank and Mos in real time through the interactive tracking map on this page, which updates as they hike. For daily content including trail reels, photos, and stories, follow them on Instagram at @pitchapong.s (Bank) and @mosquito.bites.my.feet (Mos). Updates from the trail will also be posted in the Updates section above as they progress along the CDT.