This Massachusetts native is about to finish a 3,100-mile walk from Los Angeles to Boston
It’s taken five months and five pairs of shoes, but Ben Davis is about to complete a remarkable journey.
When I talked to Ben Davis, he was outside of a McDonald’s in Plainfield, Connecticut, 85 miles from Boston. It takes about 100 minutes to get from Plainfield to Boston by car, a bit more during rush hour.
If you’re walking, like Ben, it takes three days.
Davis, who was born in Western Massachusetts but now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, is finishing the final 85 miles of a cross-country trek from Los Angeles to Boston, a 3,100-mile trip that has taken him five months. He started his journey in February with his feet in the Pacific Ocean, and is throwing a party on Saturday when he steps into the Atlantic Ocean at Pleasure Bay in South Boston.
Davis on day two of his walk in California.
“I grew in Western Mass, and my grandma still lives there, so I grew up going to Boston all the time,” Davis said. “When I was planning this trip, I knew if I was gonna do it, I wanted to finish in Boston.”
Davis began thinking about doing the walk 14 months ago. He was almost 30, didn’t have kids, and didn’t want to look back 50 years from now and regret not taking the plunge. His grandmother, who he calls “Meemaw,” was also an inspiration.
“She’s 89 years old and still adventuring around the world and taking pictures, Davis said. “She was just at the North Pole, taking pictures of polar bears. She’s a really cool human, and the fact that she’s traveling the world at 89, almost 90 years old is so inspiring to me.”
A writer by trade, Davis gained a following online with his site Ben Does Life, where he chronicled his 120-pound weight-loss journey and embrace of a healthy lifestyle. In 2013, he published a book about his experience called Do Life with Penguin Press.
But in May 2015, he had gained all of the lost weight back and more. He was going through a tough breakup, and kept his online posts short and infrequent. But with the idea of his walk in mind, Davis pushed himself to get down to a manageable weight the rest of the year.
Davis in April 2015 (left) and Davis one year later in Colorado, 110 pounds lighter (right).
Davis says the hardest parts of the trip were all out West. Going straight from the Mojave Desert to the Painted Desert to the Rocky Mountains to the Great Plains was tough, especially with towns few and far in between.
The biggest challenge he faced wasn’t the terrain. It was the solitude.
“In the middle of the Mojave desert at night, there’s a blanket of isolation,” Davis said. “You’ve walked 30 miles in a day and there’s no other human 100 miles in any direction. It’s an overwhelming thought, especially when you’re exhausted and a little paranoid about being alone at night.”
Davis camping in the Rocky Mountains.
Luckily, Davis wasn’t always alone. His father walked with him for the first two days, and his brother walked through a large chunk of the Painted Desert with him. Later on, with over 20,000 people following his journey on Instagram, strangers would meet up with him and walk for a few miles, though that often presented a dilemma.
“They would show up, park their car, and walk a few miles,” Davis said. “But then they had to figure out how to get back to their car.”
Company wasn’t the only help Davis received from people he didn’t know. When he reached Ohio, Davis had exhausted his initial budget for the walk. He reluctantly reached out to his followers for help, asking for donations toward water or food, or a couch to sleep on. People responded in a big way.
“The kindness of strangers has been amazing,” Davis said. “When you have to ask for money, it’s a weird position, but everyone got really excited to help. People from all over the country emailed me. It was a cool experience in the human condition.”
Davis in Pennsylvania, 500 miles from Boston.
When he finally concludes his journey this Saturday, Davis will reunite with his mom, dad, grandmother, and girlfriend at Pleasure Bay behind the Murphy Skating Rink at 1 p.m., along with people he has met in Philadelphia, New York City, and Connecticut in the last couple of weeks of his walk. All are welcome. One man contacted him to say he was planning to fly in from Mexico.
For adventure-seekers thinking of following in his footsteps, Davis kept his advice simple.
“It’s not as difficult as it seems,” he said. “The ruggedness is overstated, it’s more about the miles, like putting in eight to ten-hour days of hard labor. Don’t be scared, be curious about it.”As for what’s next, Davis is in the process of writing a book about his journey. He’s also going to show his girlfriend around New England, and is making sure they get to a Red Sox game. He’s already anticipating withdrawal symptoms once he stops walking 25 miles a day, but mostly he’s ready for the relaxation Saturday will bring.“I’m so excited to not worry about my route for the next day or where I’m staying,” Davis said. “I’m just gonna go walk into the ocean, give my family a hug, and then go hang out on the beach until the sun goes down.”
Davis in the Pacific Ocean on the first day of his journey.
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