September 23, 2008
Documentary Shoot Tomorrow!
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Hey Everyone! Everything here is rolling well.. I am leaving tomorrow for a documentary shoot up in Maine for a week and also doing a presentation of The Earth Expedition at Frontier Cafe, Cinema, and Gallery in Brunswick, Maine. If you are in the area I would love to see you there. The directions are below.
The Response: The Earth Expedition Team is really excited about the amount of people who are interested in taking the banner to Europe and the rest of the world. If you are interested in the slightest about this opportunity then you may contact us and we will answer any questions you may have.
Canada Stole My Computer!: Ok.. .maybe not stole but they said that they returned it to sender on the 12th. If that was the case then I should be typing on my computer rather than my mothers! Ok... I am just getting impatient.... it is going to show up tomorrow right?
Couchsurfing.com: If any of you are members of Couchsurfing.com then please let me know!
Speaking Engagements Schedule: If you are interested in booking Daren for your organization you may contact Amie Hadaway and she will do her best to make it happen!
Speaking Schedule to date:
- September 24th-October 2nd: Documentary Shoot
- September 30th:
- October 13-20th Personal
- October 23-26th
- Kingsway Christian Church
- Plainfield High School
- October 29th
- November 7-8th
- ICTC (
Illinois Christian Teen Convention)
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September 19, 2008
Calling all Adventurers!
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Calling all adventurous people!...read on…
 Response: I have to say that we were not quite sure about the response that we were going to get about the restructuring of the expedition. But I am excited to say that we have not received any e-mails of anyone who thought it wasn’t the right decision to make. The Earth Expedition’s e-mail box has been filled with encouragement from around the world as well as from our fantastic sponsors who help make this trek possible. If this is the first you have heard of the restructure then check out the Blog Archives.
Break: I am now in
Canton, OH and won’t be leaving again until November 10th. The reason for the break is two-fold. While I am home I will be resting as well as traveling all over the country speaking about the Expedition and more importantly Blood:Water Mission. Check out “Speaking Engagements” below.
Recovery: The past two weeks have been more difficult than I thought they would be. Since I have been carrying 30 extra lbs on my back every day for the past half year I have walked differently in order to compensate for the weight on my back. To all of a sudden just take the pack off of my back is like losing 30 lbs over night. I have also gained the 13 lbs that I have lost over the past 6 months so now I am back to my original 165 lbs. My goal is to get up to 170 before I leave again in November.
Walking with me: I will resume trekking November 10th from
San Diego, California . My route will take me 3,000 miles across California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Back to Georgia where I started.(skipping FL on the pic) This will complete the first section of The Earth Expedition (5,500 miles). But when I reach Georgia, the prayer is that another passionate athlete will have already joined the Earth Expedition Team and will be prepared to carry our banner on his/her backpack over to Europe for a time and continue this story for Africa, until another picks up the burden and carries it as well to another country, and so on. The best way to describe it is to think of it somewhat like the carrying of the torch for the Olympic Games. If you are interested in walking with me (Daren) during the
USA leg of the expedition then please contact me (Daren) . Also if you interested in the slightest about picking up the banner and walking for the Expedition and want more information then contact Amie.
Speaking Engagements Schedule: If you are interested in booking Daren for your organization you may contact Amie Hadaway and she will do her best to make it happen.
Speaking Schedule to date:
- September 24th-October 2nd: Documentary Shoot
- September 30th:
- October 23-26th
- Kingsway Christian Church
- October 29th
- November 7-8th
- ICTC (
Illinois Christian Teen Convention)
Media Archives: Check out the latest Media Coverage!
 Katie Spotz: Yesterday I met with Katie Spotz from
Cleveland, OH …. A fellow adventurer that shares that same passions that The Earth Expedition does when it comes to providing clean water to the world. Katie has pedaled across the
US as well as swimming 325 miles of the Alleghany river (River Swim) . In December of 2009 Katie will row across the
Atlantic Ocean according to prevailing winds and currents. The journey will begin in Saint Louis, Senegal and end in Cayenne,
French Guiana rowing at sea for 70-100 days on a twenty-four foot ocean rowboat. You can follow her at www.rowforwater.org
“Life to the Fullest” Daren and The Earth Expedition Team
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September 12, 2008
The Earth Expedition Restructure
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The Earth Expedition Restructure:
 The first six months of The Earth Expedition have truly been the most unbelievable, adventurous, trying, and affirming days of my life. When I first set out on this trek, I really didn't know what to expect. I mean, I had my ideas. as I had been dreaming about it nonstop for 18 months, but dreams can't teach you how to deal with the sporadic lifestyles of the trail. There is something very beautiful about not knowing what lies ahead of you. There are always recurring questions like what will I eat? Will it be the burger and fries at a local diner or yet another jar of peanut butter and g.o.r.p. on the trail? What will I listen to today, friendly banter from fellow thru-hikers, my favorite audio book or album if my ipod is still charged, or go all natural with the birds and crickets along my path creating my soundscape? Who will I meet? Maybe a college graduate seeking adventure or a true vagabond who has chosen isolation as his new home (Hopefully not an angry bear!). And of course, the ultimate question...where will I sleep tonight?...Let's see...maybe at a host family's place and I'll get a hot shower and home cooked meal, maybe at a hostel with fellow hikers, maybe under some bleachers or a bridge somewhere...or as of most recently, maybe off the highway in some woods or the local cemetery!. Yeah...I will say, I always looked more forward to the first option. But no really, life in this journey has absolutely taught me my place in this world...that I am God's alone and that he seeks me out wherever I go and always makes a provision, whether my top choice or last personal pick.
 And I've learned that people in general are very compassionate, very exciting, and some times over-the-top hilarious. The people I've met along the way, from the trail, to the host families, to the kind passerby's on the road that would pick me up and safely take me into town have proven to me that people care about loving their neighbors (even those that they've never met, will never see again, and maybe could use a beard trim and stick of deodorant! And the response to the cause, a plea for the most basic of needs to be met for our friends in Africa, clean water and medical attention, has been embraced by people everywhere I go. The snowball effect of giving and the ripple effect of looking inside of ourselves and seeing what each of us might have to give have been amazing! I am so proud of the story that our team is trying to tell, and I am extremely grateful for the people who have taken the cause to everyone around them...including several journalist and sponsors who have covered The Earth Expedition since it's launching.
With that said, and so much more that I cannot write it all down, I wanted to be fully honest with all of you and let you know about the new direction that The Earth Expedition will be heading in. As I had mentioned before in my last blog, I have been rethinking the course and actions that I wanted to take with The Earth Expedition. You have a lot of time on your hands to think and pray when you are walking 20 to 30 miles a day. You also have a lot of time on your hands when you are pretty much alone for most of your week. And to be quite honest with you, I don't think that it's very healthy to live outside of community for seven years. I imagine it would cause just about anyone to fall into traps of depression. Don't get me wrong, I believe that it can be done, but I also believe that by dropping the "one-man-record-breaking" portion of the expedition and by embracing more of a team effort, much more could be done for the cause of Africa and its people; I always thought that walking alone and breaking a world record gave intense shock value to the story and created a large platform to speak to others and carry the message about people dying in Africa. But honestly, although it definitely opens up the doors to discussion, it seems to pin more attention to me, the walker, than it does to the cause. It tends to pose more questions of how, against all odds, I will perform this massive physical feat, rather than open up the stories of the millions of women and children in Africa who walk every day, sometimes for 6 hours, hauling bacteria-ridden water to their families, playing horrific odds that one or more of them may die from a water-borne disease... simply because they have no other choice.
I think that the right thing to do is to be honest that I am not a superman, and this journey will be incredibly hard (if not crippling) on me if I go it alone. But our team has talked about how imperative it is that this story be told. So here is our plan, as of November, I am going to continue walking the United States for a total sum of 5,500 miles. I will be walking from San Diego,California back to Georgia where it all began, and I will be traversing through harsh terrain often times at terrible temperatures. We will make a serious grassroots presence in schools and churches all along the way, spreading this story like wildfire. But when I reach Georgia, the prayer is that another passionate athlete will have already joined the Earth Expedition Team and will be prepared to carry our banner on his/her backpack over to Europe for a time and continue this story for Africa, until another picks up the burden and carries it as well to another country, and so on. The best way to describe it is to think of it somewhat like the carrying of the torch for the Olympic Games. Only, this is no game. This is a peaceful revolution for social justice. People run or walk the streets in great numbers for cancer, MS, and diabetes, etc. Let's walk the world for water, and tell everyone that there is absolutely no need for 6,000 people in Africa to die each day because they lack clean water. It's just not acceptable.
I hope that I have not disappointed you by shortening my own personal journey down to 1/3 of the original goal. But I assure you that the intentions that I had when I set out on this journey remain, and I believe that this new chapter in The Earth Expedition will do more for the legacy I was looking to leave, more for myself to feel connected to God and others around me, and more for Blood:Water Mission.
Speaking Engagements: The Earth Expedition has been blessed with many opportunities to speak all over the Midwest from churches and schools to coffee shops and conventions. I have reserved October and the beginning of November to travelling presenting the adventures, stories, and close calls of the Expedition as well as the injustice that is taking place in Africa. If you are inrterested in hearing this story and would like to have Daren come to your organization then contact Amie from The Earth Expedition Team and she will make it happen.
“Life to the Fullest” Daren and The Earth Expedition Team
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September 8, 2008
Taking a break!
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Hey Hey!
Some of you have written me and told me that my GPS tracker is tracking in Ohio and that it was all messed up! Well that is not the case....I am in Canton, Ohio for a break. The last 6 months have taken their toll on my mind and body and I have decided to take a rest and reevaluate the expedition. I do plan on continuing walking but for now I am just going to let my body heal...I am also going to try to gain the 13 lbs back that I lost over the past 6 months!
I dont have pictures from Canada for you at the moment for my computer is still in customs up in Canada. I plan on getting it within the week and then I will have pictures for you!
As far as speaking engagements are concerned I am taking Sept off but there are some dates availiable in October if you are interested in hearing about The Earth Expedition and it's causes. I will be blogging on the progression of the expedition within a couple days but right now I am going to got sit on a chair and not eat trail mix... and take a shower for he second day in a row! "Life to the Fullest" Daren
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September 1, 2008
I am in!
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| Well.. I am in... I am totally exhausted for I am not used to walking roads.... The sun is draining my energy and I have foot pain like nothing I have ever felt. Good news though... I am in Canada! It was not as easy as I though it would be though.... I was at Border patrol for about an hour as the guard called immigration, checked my passport, checked my ID,checked every piece of paper in my wallet, checked everything in my bag, looked at every picture on my camera (100 pictures), read my journal for 10 minutes, and asked me questions for another 10 minutes. It was crazy.. I guess they dont get a lot of "walkers" across the border. More good news.... a man on his bike (Rick) stopped to talk to me and offered his yard for me to pitch my tent. He let me use the shower and cooked for me. So I feel like a million bucks compared to what I felt like 3 hours ago. Oh yeah... he also had trimmers which means....Yes... it is gone.... no more giant beard. I apologize to all of you who loved the beard...but it had to go. No one wants to talk to the hairy guy on the side of the road.... I will post pictures when I get to Fredericton! Ok my friends.. I am going to go rest tonight for I have a big day tomorrow. 30 miles is the average I am walking now! Life to the Fullest eh? Daren
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