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A Diabetes Walk Across America.

Follow my journey from Midtown NYC (Nov. 2012) to Downtown Los Angeles (Jul. 2013). 

THE GOALS: (1.) Raise $20,000 for the American Diabetes Association, (2.) Spread awareness about the growing epidemic of Type-2 Diabetes, and (3.) Experience America up close and personal.  [MISSION COMPLETE 7/20/13]

DONATE !

Crossing the Canyon (Day 215)

6/29/2013

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Grand Canyon, Arizona.  Walking 22 miles from the southern rim into the Grand Canyon and up the northern rim seemed like a simple undertaking.  However, the 110+ F temperature added a different element to the task.
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After receiving several recommendations to walk across the Canyon at night from very knowledgeable locals, I decided to walk during the day in order to meet and converse with people, take colorful photos of the Canyon, and for safety reasons to not slip and fall down to the bottom.
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The sprint down into the Canyon was fairly quick & easy.  Once I got a good pace going the only person who passed me was a trail runner, which I thought was cool.  I miss running and was actually a little jealous.
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3-hours later at the bottom near the Indian Garden I took a nap on the ground, woke up and trekked 5-miles to Phantom Ranch.  Phantom is a complex at the bottom of the Grand Canyon that is composed of log cabins, a campground, ranger station, and a canteen.

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I chilled at the canteen for a bit drinking several cups of lemonade until my belly ached and talking to Noami, the girl behind the counter.  I took another siesta at the eating table, woke, filled my water bottles, and kept trucking.
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At this point I had 15-miles to go to reach North Rim and I was seeing less and less people.  After wiping dripping sweat from my face several times, I knew things were about to get serious.  That trek down to the bottom was to easy for me.  They advise park visitors not to go down and come back up in one day, but I'm hard headed and had to do it.
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The journey back up to the other side of the Canyon was long, hot, and uncomfortable at times.

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Once the sun went down 6-hours after I left the ranch.  Shortly thereafter it was completely dark and the Canyon took on another personality.
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The colorful landscapes were gone, besides the area in front of me lit by my headlamp all I could see was the black silhouette of the scaling Canyon walls surrounding me beneath the stars and satellites.  Seeing the Milky Way spanning across the sky for the first time I realized this was the clearest view I've ever seen of the heavens.
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I then stopped took off my pack, sat down, took a ibuprofen, two sips of 5-Hour Energy, and several gulps if water.  Cleared my mind while massaging my feet for a bit.  I played DJ Shadow's Gi Mix (from "Do Androids Dream of Electronic Beats"), I got up and was ready to go!
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With all of the switchbacks and being in the dark, the last 3-miles were the toughest.  I seemed to be going nowhere, the elevation would rise then fall for quite some time, and it was extremely frustrating.
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"Don't think... be", a Bruce Lee quote and "Battle physically, conquer mentally" line were somewhere in that mix (along with a nice Whitney Houston track) and at that point I was fully engaged going full speed being careful not to slip off the ledge on one of the turns while working my way up.  

I finally made it to the top and felt accomplished. I wanted to pass out but the adrenaline was still pumping.  Great walk, beautiful scenery -- this is probably No. 4 in this trip's greatest challenges.

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Gearing up at GearHeads (Day 189)

6/16/2013

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Moab, Utah. Big shout out to Steve, LJ, Mark, Skeeter, and the whole crew at GearHeads!
 
From Fruita, Colorado until I got into town everyone told me I had to visit three places in Moab: Arches National Park, Moab Brewery, & GearHeads. 

Entering the outdoors gear shop I wanted to buy everything I saw, even the unrelated stuff -- there was so much packed into this one store.  The staff were fairly knowledgeable and super friendly.  They assisted me in finding the following items:

* Mountain Time freeze dried dinner meals to cook and eat while camping
* Small propane canister for my portable stove
* 3-Liter Platypus water reservoir, an upgrade from my 2-liter one
* Tactical lighting device with tons of neat features (graciously donated)
* Black Diamond gaiters to keep thorns, rocks, sand, and everything else out of my boots while walking (graciously donated)
* Various Clif meal bars, flavors I never tried before because I like to experiment (graciously donated)

Overall great shop, great people, and thanks again guys -- these gaiters are priceless!

GearHeads Outdoor Store
471 S Main St 
Moab, UT 84532
(435) 259-4327
http://www.moabgear.com


6/2/13
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Total of $18,000.00 Raised!

6/6/2013

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Moab, Utah. Much thanks to everyone who has made a tax-deductible donation to the American Diabetes Association through my coast to coast walk! We have almost reached our $20,000 goal and are just $2,000 away.

For those that want to donate or to the multitude that have promised to give but haven't yet, today should be that day. Click HERE to donate as little as a $10. It's great that I'm walking across the nation, but the donations have to come in to help this organization and make an impact.

100% of your tax-deductible American Diabetes Association donation goes to diabetes services and diabetes research to find a cure. Diabetes is a growing health issue in this country and we must do what we can to stop it, so please DONATE -- Thank you for your support!

6/6/13

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News Channel 5 TV Interview (Day 185)

6/5/2013

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Fruita, Colorado.  Before hitting the Kokopelli Trail (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokopelli_Trail) to make my way into Utah, I did this news interview (#7) with Taylor Kanost of News Channel 5 of Grand Junction, CO.  This was recorded right outside the Fruita public library.  Click one of the links below to watch...

Source 1: http://bit.ly/10OVs19
Source 2: Click HERE


5/29/13
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Music Man: Rob (Day 147)

6/5/2013

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North Platte, Nebraska.  Musician and a man of many talents, Rob was gracious enough to let me stay with him for the night while I was traveling through western Nebraska.

Rob plays in a great sounding jazz swing band and a rock band as well.  He also plays a major role in most of the music events that take place in the North Platte area.
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That night he invited me to talk at an event he was hosting titled "Shoestring Travel".  It was held at Michelle Stephens' POP Co-working (peopleoreintedplanning.com) which is a new business workspace & incubator for creative entrepreneurs located in a great space downtown.

It was an intimate turnout, I met some great people, and enjoyed speaking about my experiences through Couchsurfing (couchsurfing.com).  That night I also learned to play "The Settlers of Catan" board game (catan.com).  It is a very interesting multiplayer game that I can see people getting very addicted to.

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That night I slept in a Craftmatic adjustable bed.  It was God sent, my legs were elevated the whole night and felt brand new the next day!

Rob is a spectacular host, smart guy, excellent musician, and just a great individual!  I'm really glad I got the chance to be Rob's guest.


4/19/13
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Last Snow Day (Day 178)

6/5/2013

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Mesa County, Colorado.  This was the second day of walking through White River and Grand Mesa National Park.  The first day was extremely challenging, I could write a whole article about.  However, the second day things started to come together.  I found a reliable trail and shot this.

5/22/13
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Rock On: Uni of Buffalo (Day 190)

6/4/2013

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Moab, Utah.  On my way to Moab I ran into Jason, Phil, Alex, & Simon (who took this photo).  They are from The University of Buffalo Geology located in upstate New York.  They saw my sign while driving by and couldn't believe it, these guys were great!  We talked for a bit, they offered me water, and also made a donation. 

5/3/13

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Moab Nomad (Day 189)

6/3/2013

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Moab, Utah.  Thank every one that assisted  me with directions, donations, food, water, and supplies during my walk from The Kokopelli Trail in Fruita to the Outdoors Recreation capital of the US.



The stretch I walked was more mentally challenging than walking through the cold this past Winter however very  visually rewarding.  My top issues were: 



1. The intense heat with little shade

2. Insects constantly flying in my face

3. Little shoulder room on the road

4. Water supply getting too hot to drink

5. Constantly having to filter water from the Colorado River

6. Newly acquired Gatorade addiction

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Special thanks to the Ashley & Pete for being great hosts, Walgreens staff in Fruita, Subway in Fruita, Henry at Starvin' Arvin, mountain biker that gave me Kokopelli directions, young girl with mom who noticed me from TV, cool dad in shades driving SUV (hope you're in Moab), Tony in Fruita who saw me on TV and donated, Yolie who saw in on the highway & donated, Jayme who donated, Fruita library, KJCT (Shannon) & News Channel 5 (Taylor) in Grand Junction, Lisa who gave me water, the couple that provided me with cold water, the guy who gave me a boiling hot bottle of water (its the thought right?), Tony & his cute family who provided me some food, the bikers troubleshooting the GoPro, all the cars full of young adults showing me love, Kelly for the donation, Phil/Alex/Simon/Jason of the University of Buffalo Geology for the water & donations, Sorrel River Ranch Restaurant staff (you guys were so awesome and food was great!), the gentleman who covertly covered my breakfast, Mike of Deep Desert Expeditions for the water/advice/recommendations, the Denny's staff of Moab, the Moab couple I spoke to before reaching, Mark & Susan of the Louisiana State Museum for being great & encouraging, 

Kari & Chuck who donated, the water rafting dudes who offered water, all the cars that gave me the right of way on these narrow roads, and everyone in the Moab area who honked, yelled, waved in support!



Much love to everyone!


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6/2/13

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    STERLING CLEVELAND

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    Departure Date:
    Friday, November 28, 2012

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    Runner, Writer, Thinker, & Positive Energy.


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