ATLANTA — One man is lacing up his boots and channeling his inner Forrest Gump as he sets off on a journey to trek across America on foot.
Ranger Kielak, a native of Chilcoot, California, began his journey in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on March 10 and will walk all the way to Pismo Beach, California. All in all, Kielak's expedition is anticipated to take six months.
Before delving into the heartening purpose behind Kielak's voyage, let's consider how long that trip from Myrtle Beach to Pismo Beach would even take you if you decided to travel by plane, train or automobile.
- A direct flight from Myrtle Beach to Los Angeles would take you roughly 4 hours and 53 minutes
- If you decided to load up the car and take a road trip without stops, the drive from Myrtle Beach to Pismo Beach would take you approximately 39 hours, spanning 2,681.9 miles. That's about a little over a day-and-a-half of nonstop travel, which is pretty much impossible,
- Lastly, if you took an Amtrak train coast-to-coast from South Carolina to California, that trip would take you 78 hours, according to Wanderu.
BUT, on foot, Kielak hopes to accomplish the journey in six months, or 994 hours(!). It's hard to even wrap your mind around it.
Kielak will enter Georgia on March 25 and has a goal of reaching Athens on March 28. So get outside and say hello to Kielak if you see him around town.
The inspiration behind Kielak's journey lies in the goal of hoping to raise $100,000 for three nonprofits close to his heart. The money would be split evenly among the three, which include:
- National Future Farmers of America Organization (FFA)
- Bigger Than The Trail
- Grace Hospital of Oklahoma
Kielak is a proud alumni of FFA, according to his fiancée Julie Allan. His hopes are that the funds will allow students to start entrepreneurial projects, help with money for tools needed for placement, or help with the cost required to start their livestock projects, Allan said.
The money for Bigger Than The Trail is aimed at providing free mental health education and services to the community.
Money raised for The Hospice Promise will cover non-medical related funds for families while a member is in care. Allan said this one is near and dear to Kielak's heart because the organization helped his family when his grandfather passed away.
“If you can’t stop thinking about something, that probably means you should do something about it," Kielak said in a message passed along through his fiancée.
Kielak will be crossing through South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California before reaching his destination, where he plans on taking a dive in the Pacific Ocean.
"There will be days where I don’t know why the heck I’m even doing this, but this walk is so much bigger than me. It’s really about how I fill my time and what I can give back to the world that matters, and that is what will keep me moving forward," he said.
To learn more about Ranger's journey or to support him in his $100,000 goal, you can visit the following link here. You can follow along on his progress on Facebook at the Within Range Coaching page.
