May 11--FREEBURG -- If all goes according to plan, 39-year-old Ron Kessler should be crossing the Eads Bridge before day's end and will take three days to visit family.
But Kessler is just passing through, and he's hard to miss. Clad in pink T-shirt and wig, he's walking on a journey that has so far taken him an estimated 1,230 miles ... on foot. He left Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware on March 1 and was walking through Freeburg on Saturday afternoon.
"Doing something for a cause that has affected my life," Kessler said. "And there have been a great variety of people that I've met along the way."
It's all for the cause and a cure. After a friend from his native Colorado was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004 and then diagnosed with terminal breast cancer in July, Kessler wanted to raise money for Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and promote awareness. Having recently lost a temp job in January and having no family or other pending responsibilities, he decided to go on a walk.
Twice he has biked cross-country and hiked as many times across the Appalachian Trail, so a coast-to-coast hike was not anything he couldn't take on. He's following a trail set by the American Discovery Trail on its Web site, www.discoverytrail.org, but estimates that he will have had another 200 to 300 miles to his itinerary by the time he's through.
"I can't complain," he said. "I had a little bit of snow in West Virginia. I had some cold days in Maryland, Delaware and West Virginia."
So far, he has raised about $4,000. Many have called him crazy, but he has been overwhelmed by those who have not only given him money, but also a place to sleep. He carries a backpack with clothes, food, water, a cellphone, a tent, sleeping bag and a foam pad to sleep on. Athletic shoe manufacturer New Balance donated his walking sneakers, while ski and walking pole maker Leki gave him two walking sticks.
He covers about 20 miles a day and still has about 2,300 miles to go and wants to reach Point Reyes Sea Shore, just north of San Francisco, by Labor Day. He occasionally chronicles his travels online on public computers at the libraries he finds along the way.
You can follow his travels at www.trailjournals.com/roadtothecure.
Contact reporter Will Buss at wbuss@bnd.com or 345-7822, ext. 24.
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