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

SoilTrek.com

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

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!

6/2/13

SoilTrek.com

Edwards, Colorado. Out of a Pontiac Firebird stepped a tall young gentleman by the name of William. We talked for a bit about my walk and he made a great donation. After a school bus full of kids pulled up and a short shirtless fat man jogged by I knew it was time to thank William and keep trucking.

Later on that day several miles down the road, William caught up to me and we got a bite to eat. We spoke about a wide array of different topics including our personal lives, where we grew up, current aspirations, hobbies, the importance of traveling, and females.

It was definitely a pleasure meeting and conversing with a young gentleman with such class, holding a clean slate in an world of endless opportunity. I wish William all of the best!

ASIDE: Also big thanks to Corrie (stay awesome), Jesse, the woman that provided me the sandwich & goldfish crackers while I was walking in the rain, and the guys that truck that donated.

5/16/13
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Lakewood, Colorado. On the day I left Denver I spotted this awesome statue which was dedicated to the soldiers who lost their lives for this great country.

5/6/13
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State College, PA.  My good friend Emily Carlson wrote this ballad inspired by my journey.  Thank you Emily for composing such as lovely song, I love it!  Check out the rest of Emily's tracks HERE.

YouTube source:

Original source:

5/6/13
SoilTrek.com

Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Thanks to Frank for taking these great photos, it was really a pleasure talking to you!

5/19/13
SoilTrek.com

NOTE: All photos taken on first day in Denver except newspaper photo.

Denver, Colorado. The two-day trek from Wiggins to Denver was very difficult, however I had to be there on time to meet several people. Shout out to Roman!

The trek there was very cold, snowy, and windy.  Having slept under a bridge that night with noisy birds and farm dogs making noise outside my tent around civil sunrise.  I was highly motivated to get somewhere halfway warm.

For most of that walk I saw nothing but a couple of cars, no people, just snow everywhere -- this is how I envision Siberia.

Once I entered downtown Denver I was pleasantly welcomed in the falling snow by Colorado's Prince Hall Grand Master (MW De Los Reyes), Grand officers, Prince Hall brothers, Delta sisters, Fox 31, and Denver Weekly News.

After meeting and greeting we all had dinner at Rocky Mountain Lodge #1.  After a great welcome after a long walk it was nice to have a great meal!  Later on Brother Sandy drove me to The Double Tree hotel where I had two nights comped along with hot breakfast.  Let's say I slept extremely well that night.

Hanging out with Sister Peggy & Jill, who were fantastic, I toured several places around town including the African American Research Library, tons of other historic Denver sites, and to city hall to meet the mayor.  A tremendous help to me also in Denver was Brother Dwayne and his wife Michelle.  He assisted me in getting a haircut, sending off donations, getting gear at REI, checking my health the 9 Health Fair, etc.

As far as food and entertainment, Denver had a plethora of places to choose from and explore.  I dined at such places such as The Berkshire, Bar Louie, and Welton Street Cafe.  Visited a couple bars and even the movies to see Iron Man 3 (which was a little disappointing).  Shout out to Michelle!

Thanks to WM Alex Burse for the tons of beef jerky and also for the Mayweather fight invitation at one of the brother's homes.  I enjoyed the comradary, the fight was good, and the food was fanominal!

After experiencing bits and pieces of Cinco De Mayo and several mini tours of The Mile High I realized how diverse Denver was, which I honestly didn't expect.

My hotel stay was very relaxing and felt like home. After staying a total of 5-days it was time to hit the mountain.  Brother Dwayne, who was a tremendous help sent me off from my final point of stopping.  I thanked him for all he and his wife Michelle had done, said good-bye.

By my luck I was fortunate enough to do one last news interview with Jon Bowman of Fox 31 before hitting the city limits and slowly hiking up into The Rockies.

5/1/13
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Lincoln, Nebraska. I met Jeff through his little brother, Derek who had spotted me on TV. Jeff works as a landscape artist/consultant, was someone I connected to very well especially in regards to similarities in our own personal philosophies.

The conversations we had surely deepened my way of thinking on certain topics, which I believe is important to do.

I got to meet some of his closest friends in town and also ate at some great restaurants in the Lincoln area including the Haymaker district, Go Cornhuskers! In addition I experienced a good tour of the city.

Lending assistance in my journey Jeff helped produce extra business cards when I ran out, helped me to get postcards to send back to New York, and took me to pick-up my new Northface boots at the local FedEx my ex-girlfriend had ordered and shipped me.

Jeff was a terrific individual that I'm glad I got to know closely and who was also a fantastic host!

4/3/13
SoilTrek.com

Denver, Colorado. Thanks to the wonderful Peggy and her daughter Jill I was able to meet and talk with the mayor if Denver, Mr. Michael B. Hancock.

He definitely was a great, down to Earth, and positive person to converse with. I was also amazed by how large his office was. Before departing he gave me his mobile number and told me to keep in touch.

After leaving the mayor's office, I also met with Mr. Wellington E. Webb, Denver's first black mayor.


5/2/13
SoilTrek.com

Davenport, Iowa. On my way out of town I was very hungry and wanted some breakfast to get me going. The local Subway restaurant was closed as well as all the other eateries, I guess because it was early Sunday.

Not wanting to start walking on an empty stomach I saw two gentlemen walking the opposite way I was going and so I asked them where I could get some food. At first they were a little hesitant, but by my attire and manner they could tell I really needed food from somewhere.

One of the gentlemen was Matthew and he told me to follow him to a place that serves meals. We walk into the place and it turned out to be a soup kitchen. I normally serve food at one of these places, however now I was on the receiving end and had no shame about it.

Matthew kind of stayed away in the corridor and so I interacted with the other individuals there. Most seemed to have fallen on hard times and had a tough past. Some of the guys there didn't want me there because I wasn't homeless and thought I was getting preferential treatment from the staff which I was totally unaware of. The rest had great interest in my journey and had a barrage of questions.

Before Matthew and I left, I said my good-byes to the guys and to the staff before the facilities manager handed me a music CD sang and recorded by her, which was a great gesture.

From that point after leaving the soup kitchen Matt and I was together a majority of the time. Which was cool because until then mostly everything I did was solo dolo.

Before Matthew and I left, I said my good-byes to the guys and to the staff before the facilities manager handed me a music CD sang and recorded by her, which was a great gesture.

From that point after leaving the soup kitchen Matt and I was together a majority of the time. Which was cool because until then mostly everything I did was solo dolo.

We went to church together that same day after a lady recognized me from the TV news and invited me. I got a great tour of downtown Davenport along with video I shot on the Skybridge where I met some of Matthew's good friends.

That last day was extremely cold due to the brutal wind, I was one layer short of being okay but I manned up and just dealt with it. Matthew had a non-verbal urge to join the trek I was on. It would have been great however I'm glad he chose to stay and iron out some challenges he was facing.

Matthew was definitely a great guy to hang with, we said our good-byes that day, however our paths will most certainly cross again.

3/3/13
SoilTrek.com