JayBo Walkin

The Beginning of JayBo Walking

By Steven J. Ferrari

It’s the fifth day of his cross-country journey and Jason Bliss is sitting in a rest stop called the Hot Spot, somewhere in South Carolina.

“I’m surprised at how nice people are already,” he said, reflecting on the first few days of his voyage. “People have been stopping to talk to me, give me water, all kinds of things.”

This isn’t just any cross-country trek that Bliss is going on. He doesn’t have a car packed with clothes and food, riding down Route 66 with the wind in his hair and driving towards the world’s largest rubber band ball or some other localized attraction.

No, Jason Bliss is going to see the country in what many would consider “the hard way” – he’ll be spending the next year or so walking across the country.

The trek across the United States, which should end in San Francisco sometime next year is a way for Bliss to get his life back on track after a tumultuous time in his life. Bliss says he fell into a depression after his marriage fell apart, which led to a decline in his financial situation, resulting in his declaring bankruptcy.

“I fell to the bottom rung of the ladder,” Bliss said.

After spending some time in Virginia, trying to get his life back in order, Bliss made a trip up to Boston to visit friends Chris Hartz and Bryan Clark. Bliss, who was up to 380 pounds, said he was thinking about moving to Boston for some financial opportunities and because he thought he could begin to walk everywhere, hoping to start on the road to losing some weight.

Hartz, taking his friend’s desire to lose some weight seriously, came up with the idea that put this whole thing in motion: “You know what you should do? Walk across America.”

Bliss, Hartz and Clark discussed it for a little bit and after everyone weighed in, he said he thought it sounded like a good opportunity and a fun thing to do.

“Everyone thought it was a great idea,” Bliss said.

The trio flew down to see a friend in Myrtle Beach, S.C., to spend a few days together before Bliss began on his way. With Bliss in the red financially, Hartz and Clark set Bliss up with everything he needed for his trip – a tent, backpack and a phone to keep in touch with everyone back home and to provide updates to the website. And then, he was off.

Bliss walks in the morning and the late afternoon – to avoid walking in the hottest part of the day – and then sets up a tent to sleep in at night. He’s been eating health food and drinking water to get himself through the day. Hartz said that, throughout the trip, Bliss should average about 10 miles a day. On his fifth day out, he’s been averaging eight.

While he rests in the mid-day sun, Bliss finds places to recharge his cell phone, get himself some water and, most importantly, recharge his own batteries for the rest of the day’s walking.

While the ultimate goal is San Francisco, Hartz and Clark plan on meeting Bliss in Nashville, Tenn., where Bliss will get a couple days of rest and relaxation before starting on his way again. It should take Bliss 60 days to get to Nashville, but some complications could cause the trip to take a little longer.

“If I can make it to Nashville, then I can make it the whole way,” he said.

As he looks towards Nashville, Bliss acknowledges some problems with the trip. The appearance of blisters on his feet, a leaky tent and a backpack that doesn’t fit him has been making the trip a bit uncomfortable for him. Not used to camping, he said he also hasn’t been sleeping very well at night.

But despite all that, Bliss is determined to make it all the way.

“You always have to think about the future,” Bliss said. “I’ll be able to look back on this and say I accomplished it. It just takes time.”