NEWPORT, Ore. — Gary Cantrell is in his mid-60s and shows no signs of slowing down. He can't. He's on a personal mission to walk across the United States.
"It's been long, there's been a lot fun, interesting things. But now as it gets near the end, it's getting to be really long," said Cantrell.
He started May 10, and so far has walked over 3,000 miles and crossed 13 states. His goal: to walk from Newport, Rhode Island all the way to Newport, Oregon. He plans to be there Thursday.
"Some days are hard, some days are easy. Some have more interesting stuff," Cantrell said.
To learn more about who Gary Cantrell is, maybe the name Lazarus Lake sounds more familiar. He's a former endurance runner who created the Barkley Marathons in East Tennessee.
The Barkley can either be run as a 60-mile fun-run, or the full course of 100 miles. Runners get a one-hour notice of when the race will start and then the race starts when "Laz" lights a cigarette. Only 40 runners are able to join each year. In 2018, no one finished the race.
Across America, walkers have been joining him along his trek. They come and go as they please, giving him company and conversation.
"It's not hard to figure out where I am, I'm not moving very fast." he joked.
Jessica Graham is helping crew for him this day. She flew from New York, rented a van and has been following him for nine days. One of her jobs: drive and stop every half mile just to see if he needs anything.
"I saw the opportunity to be able to help him, so here I am helping him get across America, because it's just kind of cool to be a part of something like that," Graham said.
When asked why he's doing this, his answer is a simple one. "Why would anyone not? It seems like a lot of fun. It seemed like it would make my summer seem longer and that's worked exquisitely."
He says his final act, symbolizing the end of this trek across America, or as he's labeled it, #lazcon, will be to, "Dip my toe in the Pacific Ocean and dump my vial of Atlantic water into the Pacific and dip me a little vial of Pacific water."
He'll then catch a late night flight back to Tennessee and began work on the pre-race preparations for the Barkley Fall Classic.