As I lay here, 16 miles from the border, in my tent, waiting for the rain that’s been going on all night to stop I figured I’d update y’all again. Week four was tough as it was all Appalachia/Allegheny but it also turned out some awesome surprises and mentally uplifting experiences.
Day 22- Covered 24 miles, which is still my biggest day to date, from Town Hill Overlook in Maryland (really beautiful spot) to Cumberland, MD. Cumberland is where I would pick up 40 and be on a more straightforward track home. When I got to Cumberland their PD/FD let me set up camp out back. There was a pizza place nearby JJs and Sons and man if it wasn’t one of the best pizzas I’d ever had….I also could’ve just been starved. The owner, Todd comped my meal for what I’m doing, as he’s worked with kids with mental health issues before.
Day 23- 14 miles from Cumberland to Easy Garret County FD outside Frostburg, MD. All the good I felt about the day prior was wiped away by the climb today. Roughly 600 feet or so occurred in the first mile and a half of the walk and it was probably 12% grade or so. Had lunch at the Toasted Goat in Frostburg, then immediately upon starting back up and getting to only residential area…the bubble guts attacked. I found a low key motel/bar and asked the owner if I could use the potty, he was totally cool with it. Then after leaving another 1/8 of mile up the road I was hit again. The last 4-5 miles was torture of upset stomach, uphill climb and general malaise. Got to the Eastern Garret County FD and set up camp and they fed me after their township meeting.
Day 24- Shorter day, due to rain/storms and lodging I went 11 miles from Eastern Garret to Grantsville, MD. First day totally in the rain. I pulled into the Casselman Inn and right in front of me, I saw the first uplifting sign in a while….a gentleman in an OSU T-shirt. He was having lunch with his family, and as I sat down they asked what I was walking for and we talked. They gave me twenty dollars, bought dinner and we took pictures. The conversation would’ve been enough. I sat down to eat then I heard the most heavenly sound on earth…”Across the Field” on a phone. Saw a gentleman sitting with two priests and I asked him if he too was from Ohio, he said yes, Akron. I was smiling now. Headed back to my room and saw two guys outside smoking. They said “man did you walk all the way here?? we passed you on 40!” I told them I did and why I was walking. Both men were army vets struggling with PTSD. Once they heard about “why” I was walking, one of them gave me a hug. We got to talking more and they said they too were from Ohio, “amazing” I thought. I asked whereabouts, Dayton area. “me too” I said. These guys were both from Xenia and went to HS with my cousin. They wanted to follow along and said they’d buy me dinner on my way through the area. This day on the whole brought a revitalization of sorts.
Day 25- 12 miles from Grantsville, MD to Addison, PA. Another short walk due to more storms coming through and I wanted to ensure I could scout and get the tent set up in time. I had dinner at a hole in the wall where the waitress and I started talking. After hearing my reasons she confessed that her ex bf committed suicide as soon as covid locked everyone down. It’s amazing how many people I’ve talked to that have either been suicidal, or been directly impacted by suicide (family/friends/coworkers). It’s much more prevalent than even I thought. Addison volunteer FD had an empty house they were renovating and owned next door so I set up camp on the porch to avoid the storms that came through.
Day 26- 17 miles from Addison, to Farmington, PA. Up and down the hills I went when I stopped at a gas station by Nemacolin resort in Fayetteville county. Spotted another OSU fan and it was a gentleman from Pickerington. He bought my lunch, started following along and sent me an email stating as such. I continued plugging away and stopped at a place in Farmington called Braddocks. I was waiting on my food and my logistics guy was calling around trying to find a place to camp (that I hadn’t passed up). He told me Derek from Braddocks would be coming to talk as they’d been in touch and he saw me trudging up 40. Derek came in and we talked about what/why I’m doing, and he looked at a server and said “comp his meal”. I was dumbfounded. He told me I could put up my tent anywhere and they were having bike night, but then goes “would you rather have a hotel room or camp?” I thought he was joking, of course I’d rather have the room. Well they also own a business down the road called the Stone House Tavern and Inn, they proceeded to comp a jacuzzi room, did my laundry, gave me a 1/4 zip hoodie and when I tried to eat a third meal they wouldn’t let me pay. “you’re OUR guest” they said. Anyone that knows the real me knows I have the worst self confidence, self esteem, and self worth imaginable. I don’t think I’m worth all of what people have given, the cause is, but not me. They all told me to prepare for a tough climb in the morning.
Day 27- Covered 23 miles from Farmington to West Brownsville, PA. I was nearly done with the walk when a man came out of a restaurant called “Pickers Pub and Grub” and saw the shirt and said he wanted to buy me dinner. So we sat down and started talking. He’d me a man who cycled the country and read about walkers but never met one. He began to tell the servers about what I was doing and someone asked if I was losing weight. So after I showed them a picture, which is probably 20lbs or so lighter I’m guessing they started going nuts. Then patrons came up and started shaking my hand, taking pictures and donating money. The owner came from somewhere else completely just to meet me. I got ready to leave and a little girl was with her mom and I heard her mom say “ask him”. She sheepishly turned and asked if she could donate money. I said of course, and she handed me a hundred dollars. She also asked if she could follow me on TikTok and Instagram and I said absolutely (I try to keep it cursing free and fun for the family). Then she asked for a picture. WHO SAYS NO TO THAT. Two days I’m a row for a guy who feels like perpetually nothing to feel like he mattered. I still don’t believe it or feel like i deserve it. I finished my walk and met with Todd and Regina, Todd is the fire chief at West Brownsville and we were talking about setting my tent up and I asked if I could stash the stroller somewhere to keep it dry. Instead they just opened up the Borough area of the firehouse and let me crash inside. That couch was amazing.
Day 28- 16 miles from West Brownsville, to Glyde, PA. Pretty uneventful day, got stuck waiting on a prescription and a package so I lost two hours and ended up camping behind a Methodist church praying no one would find me and arrest me lol.
I will hit Ohio today, a day earlier than I’d planned and I’m pretty excited about it.
thanks for following along my quirky adventure!
-Joe
