Cross-country trek of 3,400 miles ends at NGCSU drill field
From Dahlonega Nugget
Published on: March 25, 2009
By Matt Aiken
The large yellow speed bump in front of the North Georgia College & State University dining hall may look like nothing more than a lump of concrete to most.
But for Daren Wendell, it's both a starting point and a finish line to an epic journey. Last Monday it served as the end to a 3,400 mile walk that began in the same spot more than a year ago.
It was a snowy day last March when the then-26-year-old stepped off the speed bump and set out on what was intended to be a walk around the world.
His mission, deemed "Earth Expedition," was originally a one-man effort to drum up support for the Blood:Water Mission, a charitable organization which works to provide clean blood to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa while building clean wells.
The Ohio native chose NGCSU as his starting point because of it's close proximity to the Appalachian Trail. And he picked the speed bump because he knew it would still be there whenever he returned.
Since that first day, the Earth Expedition has evolved to include several other walkers, with Wendell taking the lead by treking across the country.
"A lot of people were focusing on me as the story," he said. "It was 'This guy, this guy, this guy.' And what was getting lost in that was the reason we were walking. Instead of 'this guy' it was 'this team. Why is this team doing this?' The story is what gives us the platform."
Last Monday, 373 days later, Wendell raised his arms to the sky and jumped on the NGCSU speed bump with both feet.
With that, his journey came to an end. The next leg belongs to Bryan Schlackman, who has been by Wendell's side for the past 1,000 miles of the walk.
After it was over they both sat on the drillfield curb and jokingly summed up their adventures with a few choice song lyrics as a camera crew hovered nearby, filming a documentary of the worldwide relay.
"The end is the beginning is the end," mused Schlackman.
"Smashing Pumpkins," responded Wendell knowingly.
"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end," he added with a grin.
"Semisonic," laughed Schlackman. "I know my '90s rock."
For Schlackman, the end really is the beginning. After an extended warm up, his leg of the journey will officially start in May as he plans to walk from Scotland to Portugal. The next relayer has yet to be determined but the path is already charted.
"Yes I am extremely excited," said the 22-year-old. "It's gonna be many, many times better than what we did in America. It's just gonna be more [backpacker] friendly and a little less to worry about."
Wendell's particular worries began six months into his journey last year when he took his last steps on the Appalachian Trail.
He had earned the trail-name of "Vagabond" as he spent the warmer months amongst the many hikers who moved northward.
But once the AT ran out, things grew harder.
"The day I moved from the trail to the road you're no longer the awesome guy walking the trail," he said. "You're now the homeless guy on the road."
Wendell was unaccustomed to a place where he couldn't end his day by pitching his tent wherever the sun went down..
"The whole rule for the Expedition is that we would not stay in a hotel so I camped for the first six or seven months," he said.
As a result Wendell found himself on an endless search for safe shelter, as he slept anywhere from empty cemeteries to high school baseball dugouts.
"You walk into the night so people don't see you. You just don't want to be seen," said Wendell. "That was bad."
In response to this Wendell began to walk at an unhealthy pace of more than 30 miles a day, and his blistered feet began to show it.
"I pushed myself physically because I didn't want to stop," he said. "It was Catch-22. Stop and feel anxious and worried or keep on going and ruin your feet."
The constant search for safe shelter proved to wear on Wendell's mind as well.
"I didn't deal with it very good. You just persevere through it," he said. "But it definitely took its toll."
This constant mental strain played some part in Wendell's eventual decision to change his solo-walk into a team effort.
Yet he still walked his way to Canada and then headed to San Diego where he started a cross-country journey.
Schlackman joined him in Arizona. With a new plan in place they hit their stride. Wendell was still homeless, sure, but now he wasn't alone.
"It was much faster. We were doing 25 miles a day everyday. A little less than a marathon a day," he said.
Each day the pair fueled themselves on large quantities of tuna for lunch and an expansive all-you-can-eat buffet dinner whenever possible.
"They were crying by the time we left," laughed Wendell. "Our goal was to make them tear up."
The pair made their way through the country by a southern route, passing through Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and finally Georgia.
On the morning of March 16, Wendell and Schlackman woke up at 1:30 a.m. and fueled up on a jumbo-sized Waffle House breakfast in Rome before embarking on a final 50-mile 16-hour scramble to the finish line.
"I think I spent just about $27 on food," chuckled Wendell. "Just for breakfast. That's ridiculous."
A handful of smiling friends joined them for the final stretch as they headed up Georgia 400 and then moved onto Highway 60.
By 6 p.m. they topped the hill heading into Dahlonega, moving at a rapid pace that would be a medium jog for most.
And when Wendell finally reached that final speed bump, he admitted that it really just felt like the end to just another long day on the road.
"You know what? It really is weird. I hit the speed bump I was like 'okay,'" he said. "I looked at the map of the United States and it doesn't feel like a trip. It feels like the way I've been living my life for the last year. It's just going to work."
Now that it's all over Wendell, won't necessarily be on vacation. He will shift his efforts to establish another new non-profit organization called Active:Water by running a total of 25 marathons over the course of the next nine months.
Meanwhile, Schlackman will head for Europe with Wendell's original Earth Expedition banner pinned to his backpack.
But before they left town on Monday, the elated crew headed to Caruso's, where they all chowed down on multiple rounds of celebratory pizza.
And even though the downtown restaurant was only a few hundred yards away, this time, Wendell and Schlackman caught a ride.
From www.thedahloneganugget.com/articles/2009/03/25/news/07%20trek.txt
