At any given time, as many as 20 people are attempting to cross the United States on foot. Many walk for a cause. Some do it just because.
Two years after his own walk, Nate Damm still can’t put into words just why he did it. His Delaware-to-California hike over eight months in 2011 grew from “an idea that I had that just kind of wouldn’t leave me alone,” says the 25-year-old Maine native, who is tracking about a half-dozen walkers. “And I thought about it for a couple of years and I would go, ‘Oh, it’ll pass. It’s a phase.’ “
But it didn’t pass — for him, or for others.
Even for those who articulate a cause — something they’re raising awareness of, or money for — there’s often more behind these grueling undertakings.
Jonathon Stalls of Denver walked under the auspices of Kiva, a group that helps connect small investors with entrepreneurs in developing countries. In the end, though, he said he was simply answering a “personal call to engage in quieter, slower and more intentional experiences with less.”
“It’s our most inherent form of transportation. It’s our most basic form. It’s our first form,” said the 31-year-old, who walked sea-to-sea in 2010.
Walkers often set out on what they think is a solitary journey, and yet few really do it completely alone.
When Mike Ross told his grandmother that he and high school buddy George Crawford were hiking to California, she had just one question: What cause are you walking for?
Truth is, the 19-year-old Manchester, Conn., men were out for one last big adventure before heading to Marine boot camp.
“I just wanted to get out of there,” Ross said while waiting out a recent snowstorm in a donated Colorado motel room.
For Joe Bell, the reason was personal. After the death of his son, Jadin, Bell knew he had to do something. Then it came to him: He would walk across the country, sharing Jadin’s story.
On April 20, the Oregon man said goodbye to his wife, Lola Lathrop, and their 13-year-old son, Joseph, and set out, pushing a loaded three-wheeled cart.
Stalls kept in touch with Bell. When the older man reached Kansas, Stalls planned to accompany him for several days. On Oct. 10, Stalls logged onto Bell’s website to check his progress. That’s how he learned the shocking news: Bell would not finish his trek.
He was walking along U.S. 40 about 20 miles northwest of Kit Carson around dusk Oct. 9 when the driver of a tractor-trailer hauling Idaho potatoes to Texas apparently fell asleep at the wheel. According to the Colorado State Patrol, Bell was walking with the flow of traffic and was struck from behind and killed.
Shortly before his death, Bell said he wanted to have a million followers by the time he reached New York. Now, volunteers have pledged to raise $1 million and walk a million miles. Others are continuing his trek to New York.
