Jim Ostdick begins cross-country trek in Lewes

A California adventurer left Lewes Feb. 21 and is walking east-to-west across the United States in 2016 to connect his central coast county to the nation's historic trail system. Jim Ostdick, a retired high school science teacher, plans to walk more than 4,000 miles on the American Discovery Trail as a fundraiser to create a regional parkway in rural San Benito County, which is south of Silicon Valley and east of the Monterey Bay area.

The parkway is the focus of the REACH (Recreation, Exercise and Community Health) San Benito Foundation's REACH Across America project. Ostdick set out for the East Coast by train Feb. 16 and plans to begin his trek on foot back to California Feb. 21. "If I'm successful and I can hike 20 miles a day, I will finish in late October," he said.

"The goal is to connect our community and drive interest from outside people to come in and see that it's an amazingly beautiful place,” Ostdick said. “To show off what we have, from agriculture to geology." San Benito County, whose county seat is Hollister, is famous for its agriculture, its location atop the San Andreas Fault, and its annual Fourth of July biker event, inspired by the Marlon Brando film, “The Wild One.”

One roadblock to San Benito's parkway project is funding, which is where REACH Across America comes in. "They need to raise an endowment fund," said Ostdick. "The need is there in order to push the building of the San Benito River parkway and regional park. In order to push that forward, there's a need for an endowment fund to provide for the maintenance for these facilities."

Ostdick went on to talk about the region's geology, saying, "There's the whole geologic history of the county, which is famous around the world. Students from all around the world come here to do the earthquake walk in Hollister, to see the missions and to see where the San Andreas Fault runs through here."

The American Discovery Trail goes through more than a dozen national parks and a dozen national forests. “It’s a lot of road walking. There are two ways to cover the trail. The trail goes continuously from Delaware to Cincinnati, Ohio," said Ostdick. "After that it splits. You can choose a northern route or southern route. The northern route takes you through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. The northern and southern routes join back up in Colorado." From there, the trail goes through Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.

"You come to Tahoe, then across the Sierra, down to Sacramento, then end up in Point Reyes National Seashore," he said.

The massive journey makes planning critical, Ostdick said. "You have to cross the Appalachians, Rockies, and Sierras all at the right time. You don't want to be too deep in the snow. If you're going to do it all in one year, you have to leave by the first of March. You'll be hitting cold weather, some snow probably, and a lot of rain on the East Coast. But that sets you up for summertime crossing of the Rockies, and getting across the Sierras before the snows come."

One of the many challenges Ostdick noted was crossing Utah in the summer. "The towns are pretty far apart and there's not as much surface water. So the logistics of this are hard. You have to carry a lot of water." Other considerations include getting supplies, such as new shoes and food. One method he'll use to take care of that will be to mail himself items to pick up at resupply points.

Regarding the financial target for REACH Across America, Ostdick said that setting up as large of an endowment fund as possible is the goal. "If it's 4,000 miles, and we can get 25,000 people to pledge a penny a mile, that's $1 million. That's pretty ambitious for a little foundation and county like ours. But each of us probably knows a handful of people who could afford $40."

All the money that's raised through REACH Across America and San Benito Foundation goes to the endowment fund. For information of to reachacrossamerica.org.