Dave Whitson walks 7000 miles across the United States

By Lauren Mei Calora ‘20

Dave Whitson has taken a yearlong sabbatical from Catlin Gabel School (CGS) to walk the American Discovery Trail (ADT), which was the first coast-to-coast walking route across the United States and spans over 7000 miles. 

Whitson has walked thousands of miles in his lifetime, followed pilgrimages all over Europe, and written multiple pilgrim route guidebooks. At CGS, Dave leads the Palma Scholar Program and has led multiple global trip pilgrimages. 

Currently, Dave is walking from Cincinnati to Denver, and will be doing another variation of the ADT later this school year after avoiding the winter weather. 

Whitson described his walk as having three main components: physical, writing, cultural. So far, he has felt satisfied with his experience. 

“Writing is like walking,” Whitson said.  He’s held himself accountable by writing over 40,000 words on his blog. The blog spans from a daily recap to commentary on politics or books he’s reading.

Every day, Whitson walks through different cultural and scenic landscapes. He shared that the experience has pushed him to challenge his assumptions and consider life beyond what he described as the “Pacific Northwest liberal bubble.” 

“If you can stop seeing someone as whatever single issue thing you disagree with, then you can see a person for all the other facets of their identity,” Whitson said. This attitude has helped him start conversations with the people he’s met. 

As Whitson said, his mind is set to “endure” and he won’t quit. He’s near the end of his time in Kansas, and will be in Colorado in a couple days. If you follow his Instagram, he said he may be doing one more livestream video once he reaches Colorado.