Man walks across country BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY - Branch Clarke was sitting on the sidewalk in front of the Trimble House Bed and Breakfast Tuesday morning, typing away at his Apple laptop, drinking a Diet Coke and smoking a cigarette.
He's on a two-night stay in Monterey with nearly one state complete on an 11-state walk across the U.S.
The 27-year-old Richmond resident started walking March 19 in Sandbridge near Virginia Beach. He's had 12 walking days. He took a week off in Richmond and a couple of days off in Charlottesville before continuing his westward stride across the continent.
Clarke walks 20-25 miles a day, he said. His plan is to reach San Francisco by the end of September, early October at the latest. He's driven out West twice, so he is familiar with the terrain, but walking is different.
"My senses are attuned right now, my eyes keep darting around. I hear every twig snap," he said of his days on the road.
"It's been cold," he said. He's camped outside once so far.
One reason he's walking is to raise money for cancer research, to support the Lance Armstrong Foundation, which donates money to testicular and other cancer research and provides money for people who can't afford treatment.
But that's not the main reason. He's hoping for a new outlook on life, he said.
"I wanted to do something big," Clarke said. "I wanted to break out of the routine." But he also wants to show he can stick to something, that he can accomplish a task, no matter how hard.
Clarke left his job as a line cook at a restaurant, certainly not the career his fine arts degree from Virginia Commonwealth University prepared him for. Somewhere between here and San Francisco he hopes to gain clarity as to what he really wants to do with his life.
He has doubted his ability to make the journey at times. Sometimes he's thought of quitting. But reaching Monterey is a major hurdle because it signals the completion of one state - 10 states left to go. Thursday he'll cross into West Virginia. He hopes to be in Chicago in 10 weeks.
After the hills of West Virginia and southern Ohio, Clarke expects the plains to be easy to cross. Then there are only two more mountains in his path to the sea- the Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.
Nevada may prove the hardest part of the trip because of the distance between settlements. His brother has promised to come out at that point to give him support. "It's hard to be away from friends and family," he said.
Clarke's girlfriend of seven years is supportive, he said. This is the first time they've been apart for any length of time, though. He hopes to meet her in Chicago and maybe a couple of other stops along the way. She worries about his safety out on the road, he said. He does, too.
Hopefully he'll avoid meeting a bear, he said. Not very likely that he will, but it is on his mind. "Not much you can do to avoid an aggressive bear," he said. He wouldn't mind seeing one if he was in a car several hundred feet away, though.
"I've thought of quitting," said Clarke. Now he keeps going day by day. "It's nothing that I thought it would be."
Clarke trained for three months and walked more than 500 miles before beginning his cross-country trek. His backpack weighs around 33 pounds and includes a tent, sleeping bag, clothes, a book, his computer, cell-phone, iPod, camera, a little food and water.
He's carrying scant emergency food rations. He has planned his route so every day he will go through a town or settlement where he can buy something to eat. Clarke listens to music, reads, and is learning Italian as he walks. The roads aren't crowded in Highland County so he doesn't have to watch the road as closely as he has in other places.
"I've learned there are things people take for granted, like cars," he said. He said it takes half a day to walk the distance a car can travel in 10 minutes.
His cell phone lost connection when he reached Virginia's westernmost mountains. He was pleased with Monterey, however. He has cell phone service back. And Trimble House has a guitar he can play.
Katie Gwinn, owner of Trimble House, donated lodging for two nights. All the money donated to the Lance Armstrong Foundation goes directly to the foundation, he said. Clarke's goal is $50,000. So far he has raised $930.
He saved money for a year to make the trip. He plans on flying home once he reaches San Francisco. That's a six-hour flight back after taking six months to get there.
"By then I will have proven I could walk across the country. No need to do it again," he said.
As for his two days here, Clarke said, "I love Highland County. The mountains are really pretty. This is the most scenic place I've walked through in Virginia. The roads are obscured by the surroundings, not like other places I've been." He had some time to hang out at High's Restaurant, he said. "Trimble House is really neat … Wish I could stay longer," he said.
More information on Clarke's trip can be found at www.branchwalks.typepad.com, with links to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.
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