Army veteran Eli Smith stopped in Price while on his 13,000-mile trek to all four corners of America. The purpose of his journey is to raise awareness of the high rates of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and suicide among veterans.
“I was a tank gunner in the army, stationed in South Korea, it was pretty intense. I lost a couple of guys to suicide after I got out,” he said.
He was managing a company that made sprinkler systems when the idea came to him.
“I sold everything I had. My pickup truck down to kitchen towels,” he said.
He set out from Pensacola, Fla. on Nov. 22, 2016, with the intention of walking to all four corners of the country.
He reached the first corner, “the wall and the ocean in San Diego in 2017.” Then it was all the way up the pacific coast to Cape Flattery on the Northwest tip of Washington state, which he reached at the end of October. A journey of approximately one year and 4,600 miles.
Eli flew back to his parents home in central Ohio to wait out the winter storms and plan the second stage of his trip.
Persistent neck and back injuries made it impossible for him to keep walking. So he purchased a Pedego electric bicycle, “50 percent my own money, 50 percent donations,” he said.
He launched the second phase of the expedition from Las Vegas on St Patrick’s day 2018, riding back to the second corner in Cape Flattery in Washington. From there it’s eastward to the third corner, Quoddy Lighthouse in Maine, then all the way down the Atlantic Coast to Key West, finishing up at his original point of departure, Pensacola.
“I hope to be there by November 2019 so I can spend Thanksgiving with my family back home. I really don’t want to go into 2020.”
When completed, the journey will be “closer to 15,000” miles.
World records for “distance on a bike and for raising awareness I believe.
I don’t really have a sponsor, just rely on donations. Right now I have like a hundred dollars to my name. Sometimes I sleep under bridges, tent, sleeping bag all that stuff.”
The National 9 hotel here paid for his room in Price.
There have been many mishaps along the trail.
“Someone tried to kidnap me in Texas. I ran afoul of a gang in San Diego, got hit by a car, ran into a bear in Oregon while I was walking,” he recalled.
On a more positive note, he says, “I got nine letters from veterans who came across my journey and changed their minds about suicide.”
Eli’s journey can be followed on www.facebook.com/4cornershike.
He posts live videos everyday of his adventure. Email him at 4cornershike@gmail.com.
Everyday, 20 veterans are lost to suicide, Eli said.
Army vet stops in Price along 13,000-mile foot and bike trek
A sign on Eli Smith’s bike lets people know how they can follow his journey. Photos by Andy Hislop