With departure imminent, I’m happy to share the last two installments–for now–of Sea to Shining Sea, my podcast series on the American Discovery Trail:
Episode 5 – Walking for a Cause
Why walk across the whole USA? There are many reasons, but a strikingly large percentage of people walking the American Discovery Trail are driven by a greater cause, striving to raise funds or awareness in support of something of personal relevance. This episode explores that topic with two ADT walkers. Dee Fournier, one of the most recent people to complete the ADT, devoted her walk to raising awareness about domestic violence, while Robin Grapa, one of the earliest ADT finishers, was focused on aplastic anemia and MDS. They describe how the cause shaped their experience and reflect on the impact they made.
Episode 6 – Ohio: That’s a Buckeye!
From Parkersburg, WV, the American Discovery Trail crosses the Ohio River and enters the state of Ohio. For much of its trajectory through this, the fourth state on the ADT’s westward progression, the ADT shares the way with the Buckeye Trail, a 1400-mile loop trail that is one of the finest long-distance trails in the country. This episode explores the richness of that trail, bringing together Don Burrell, the ADT’s state coordinator for Ohio and Kentucky, with Byron Guy, the supervisor of the Old Man’s Cave section of the Buckeye Trail. They share many highlights from the way–from Hocking Hills, to Serpent’s Mound, to Skyline Chili. The episode concludes with a detour to Betty Campbell at the Rankin House in Ripley, Ohio, to learn about the Underground Railroad’s legacy in the state, a subject that can be explored in greater detail when the ADT passes through Cincinnati, where Freedom House is located.
That’s all for the podcast for now, but I look forward to returning to it, once I get this little walk out of the way…
