Death of friend spurs man to follow long-lost dream

EASTPORT — A boyhood dream that was put on the shelf has been taken down and dusted off by Kevin Dougherty, who left Eastport Monday on a cross-country hike from Maine to California.

The 29-year-old Chicagoan said the trek could take “two or three years. I really don’t know, since I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m just going to take it one town at a time.”

His destination might be San Diego, although he also is considering the Northern California town of Westport. “It looks to be about the westernmost point in the continental United States, and it would be nice symmetry; Eastport to Westport.”

Dougherty hadn’t thought about the trip for at least 10 years, “until last year, when my best friend died from cancer. We were friends since we were kids. You know how friends bounce dreams off each other; this was my dream. Right before he died, he reminded me of it, told me if I went he’d be with me, sitting on my shoulder. He was a guy who had everything. Nothing bad ever happened to him. Now he’s dead; it made me realize if you want to do something, you’d better give it a shot.”

The idea of walking across the country “has been on my mind since I was a kid. My dad was a history teacher, and I grew up loving history, especially the stories about the explorers and settlers. I always thought it was unbelievable how those people just took a blind leap into the unknown; to me, that’s the most exciting part of this country’s history.”

Dougherty isn’t promising he’ll make it all the way to the West Coast. “All I can promise is that I’m going to try. I never thought I’d get this far. I’ve been working out. I quit a good job. I figure I’ve at least got to walk back to Chicago.”

He plans to be back in Chicago by Thanksgiving, although he’ll pick up the pace if his beloved White Sox make it to the World Series. “If that happens, I’ll run back. Otherwise, I’m planning on 10 to 15 miles a day at first, gradually get up to 30 or so. I know enough about hiking to know I have to build up my endurance and my calluses.”

Dougherty worked for six years as a reporter for a suburban Chicago newpaper. “That’s what I’ve wanted to do my whole life, so it wasn’t easy to quit, but I hope, after I get a few miles under my feet, that I can sell some stories about my trip.”

To get to Eastport, Dougherty considered flying or taking the train, but his reporter’s nose for trouble “told me to take the Greyhound bus. With the strike they’re having, I wanted to see how bad it was. It’s pretty bad; we were harassed by striking drivers all the way.”

From Bangor, he took the St. Croix bus to Perry corner, “my first real rural experience. The driver, Melvin Dodge, was great. He told me all about the area, gave me a lot of ideas about routes, where I could camp.” Dougherty’s big-city friends “were real concerned about the `weirdos’ they think I’m going to run into in the countryside, like I’d run into trouble around every corner. I’m not naive, but so far just the opposite has been true; people have been wonderful. Instead of being suspicious, the people I’ve met like the idea.”

Dougherty will carry about 45 pounds of camping gear. “I’ve really tried to keep it down to the essentials: a tent, a sleeping bag, rain gear, two changes of clothes. I know everything is going to get heavier and heavier as I go.”

One non-essential in his pack is a harmonica. “I always wanted to learn how to play one; now I figure I’ll have time to practice.”