Morris man walks across the U.S. to raise awareness for mental health

MORRIS ? Dan Chapman of Morris decided to go on a walk in July.

The 38-year-old flew to Portland, Maine, on July 18, to see a lighthouse that was on his dad's bucket list. He returned home Friday to Morris after walking 1,138 miles, going through three pairs of shoes to get home.

"I decided to walk from Maine to California to raise awareness for mental health and raise money," Chapman said. "I'm doing it for myself, too."

Chapman has battled depression for most of his life. After losing his job in 2010, he fell into a deeper, darker depression, and he said he no longer cared if he lived or died.

His father, Dale, walked into the family home in Morris and found him on the floor unconscious. A trip to the emergency room found his blood sugar level was at a staggering 1,440.

His father and mother, Lynda, were told he wouldn't make it, but he did.

In October 2015, he was home when his father had a massive heart attack that took his life.

"I witnessed it. It motivated me to do this journey," Chapman said.

The walk is symbolic of the journey Chapman has taken through life.

"It's helped my depression, but the anxiety is there," he said. "The anxiety hit as I was crossing a street in Massachusetts. I spent 20 minutes pacing back and forth before I could cross the street."

The journey also has had its positive moments with beautiful scenery and people.

"I met one kid in Massachusetts who cuts himself all the time," Chapman said. "I talked to him for a half hour, and he emails me now."

Chapman wakes up about 5 a.m. daily and is walking by 6 a.m. so he can get his 30 miles in for the day, finishing by 6 p.m., when he has to find a place to stay. He's stayed in train stations, truck stops, under a bridge and even taken naps at Planet Fitness after grabbing a shower.

"I sleep everywhere. I joined Planet Fitness for $20 a month so I could use the shower and the massage chair," he said. "I ask if I can sleep there for a couple hours. Sometimes they let me, sometimes they say no."

Chapman spent Corn Festival weekend at home in Morris to be with his mother on the anniversary of his dad's death. The next leg of his journey will be to California along the old Route 66.

As he leaves, he has everything neatly packed into a green backpack with two water bottles, two walking sticks and an American flag he was given along the way attached to it.

He hopes to be in California by Christmas Day to celebrate by jumping in the ocean.

He has found planning how far and where he would get each day was not an easy task.

He was told by state troopers in a couple of states that he couldn't walk along the interstate, so he started a lot of zig-zagging and walked extra miles.

He started out with a cart and another bag, but ditched those due to the extra weight they added to his trip.

As he shares his story with people, he takes a photo of them with his sign. He hopes to have 1 million people photographed with the sign by the end of his walk; he has about 1,000 now.

He said he posts a live video chat every couple of days when walking, and he calls his mother nightly to let her know he's OK.

He said coming home for Corn Festival gave him the motivation he needed to finish.

"There have been a lot of days I wanted to quit. Then I look on Facebook and someone messages me and gives me hope," he said.

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Follow Chapman's walk on Facebook at Follow My Walk ~ Dan Chapman. To donate to his trip or help raise money for mental health research visit his GoFundMe page, "My Walk - Mental Health Awareness"