Isaiah Glen Shield: Walking Across America | The Tyler Wagner Show #1072

and turned and walked through Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, then back into Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania so far.

And then probably by tonight I'll be in New Jersey, state number 22.

And if you were wondering why Shields decided to make the trek, he says it's not to raise money or for any cause. But just for the love of adventure. Now you probably have a lot of questions like where does he sleep and what is in that cart?

The look of Eastern, I don't know, the rolling hills or the way the architecture just incorporates the landscape. That cloud is particularly fluffy.

The 29-year-old Utah native has seen a lot of towns in the last 422 days. You see, that's how long he's been zigzagging across America.

I walked up to that westernmost point of the country. It's in Washington State called Cape Olava. Of the Olympic Peninsula. And ever since then, I turned around and I've been walking towards Maine.

But it's not just walking, it's pushing a cart with his essentials.

Once in Wyoming, I walked between Shoshone and Casper, Wyoming, which is a 100-mile gap with no towns in between. And so this enables me to carry 4 gallons of water plus a tent and sleeping bag and food.

He's also got solar panels to power his electronics so he can keep his growing social media following updated. Some of them have offered lodging along his route, while others simply say hi, sign his cart, and add to his collection of stickers and badges. Shields says he gets a lot of questions about his journey. The most frequent is why.

I just wanted to go on a walk. It's just a really strong sense of curiosity about the world.

Shields says he's not sure when he'll get to Maine because for now he's just enjoying his journey. Taking a page from the Declaration of Independence.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Shields says ultimately this happiness will be shared in a book or documentary. Jackie Ferris, 69 News.

I'm sitting here today with— I'm gonna let you introduce yourself and tell everybody about yourself. Tell us who you are.

My name is Isaiah. Isaiah Shields, and at the moment people sort of know me best for my walk that I'm doing. I'm walking across the country. The main idea is to walk from the westernmost point of the country to the easternmost point of the country, points found respectively in Cape Olava in Washington and the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Maine.

Okay, and where exactly did you start?

So I started just from my driveway. I lived in Provo, Utah at the time.

Okay.

So I walked from Utah to Washington first, and that took like 3 months, 1,500-ish miles. And ever since then, which was last August, I've turned around and now I'm headed to Maine. So I kind of went like a meandering route. I hit Montana, walked down to Texas, then across to Florida, and ever since then I've been kind of walking up the eastern shore to Maine.

Okay, um, I am curious, when you were younger, Isaiah, did you know that you would be doing this?

No.

When did you think about it? When did you start thinking about it?

The idea first crossed my mind, I think, in June-ish of 2010.

2020.

Okay. And there was nothing specific. I hadn't just watched Forrest Gump. I get that reference enough. I've seen it, but that wasn't like the impetus for it. The best I can recollect is I was just sitting at my desk at my office. I used to work in corporate finance. Did you really? Yeah. I just had the idea of going on a really long walk, and I filled in all the rest of the details pretty much at random, just arbitrary. I thought it'd be fun to walk coast to coast. I was like, I'll just give it sort of And then I know you can walk coast to coast in the coast of the United States, the continental United States. If you want to go from like Southern California to Southern Florida in like 2,400 miles.

Yes.

And sort of to get away from that, just to make it so that my mindset wasn't about like finishing the walk, I was like, well, I'll make it the longest possible instead of the shortest possible. So I googled what's the westernmost point instead of like the least western point and the easternmost point. Point. That sort of just became the idea. Wow.

What do you think is the biggest impact you're having on the world?

I don't know, because it's all sort of just hit me randomly. I mean, I knew I wanted to document the journey from the beginning, mostly because I wanted to remember it. I've long been fascinated by how capable the human brain is of forgetting things. You'll watch a video from 10 years and you're like, I completely forgot about what my mindset was like at that during those years of my life or whatever the case may be. And so I wanted to document it, but mostly just for myself. And so like my family could follow along and make sure I was safe in that case. But it sort of spread farther than I expected to or intended to. And I don't know, but I think people are just sort of getting a firsthand glimpse of the country. They're sort of finding out, like I am, that the country is not as dangerous a place as sometimes we're led to believe. Yes, there's just a lot of good people out there living their life.

Yes, I think the world needs a lot more Isaacs because I think that there's so much— I'm just gonna tell you, I think you're someone who finds beauty right around you. I think you're gonna find that you probably are, but you answer them. I think you're collecting a lot of wisdom, which is priceless, along the way. I don't think you get that, uh, so much in college that you can pay for that. I think you get that from talking to people. I know throughout my journey so far in my life I have. Is that what you're finding, you're getting some of that along the way?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, people— there's something very different about like reading about something and you can know it's true technically, like in your head, and then seeing it firsthand is just a whole different experience. Yeah, I mean, I can't relate to this, but I can only imagine it's like reading about like a natural disaster and having it happen to you. It's just, there's a visceralness and a tangibleness when you've actually seen the floodwaters come in. I lived in the Philippines from 2012 to 2014.

Yeah.

And when I was there, the super typhoon came and hit the island I was living on, and to see that firsthand, it's just different. So yeah, this is kind of a similar experience in that I've read about all the cities of our country and different places, but to walk through to them firsthand, to see people living their lives, and just realizing that most of them aren't full of hatred for each other. They're just going about trying to make a living for themselves, trying to understand what matters in life and what's worth doing.

Yes, to collect those things, it's— I think you're going to come out of it such— well, how wouldn't you— a different person. And, um, I don't know, maybe— I don't know if I'm right about this either, but I look at someone like you and I think, Joe, for to also— I think that you also are someone who is able to also collect yourself in a different way and be able to find peace in what God has provided us in some way. I don't know if you're that person spiritually, but to be able to find it— like you say, you find beauty all around you. We can, you know, and I think that's what the world needs right now too. Do you understand what I'm saying? You know, we don't need to sometimes always take our children to Disney or things like that. You can take them right outside, a walk and things, and we can find beauty that way. I find beauty that way and my peace that way. Is that what you're finding along your walks? To find that and to calm yourself? Because I think that's something you'll always use throughout your life. If you could find that now, you're going to be able to utilize that throughout your whole life.

I think it's a skill set to sort of maintain a healthy perspective.

Yeah.

And when you practice it, you get better at it. And so everything that happens to you, you can sort of look at it in multiple lights through multiple different lenses. And so like one of the things that's hard for me, or can be like challenging, is I'll meet really cool people or see really interesting places, and because the scope the scope of what I'm trying to accomplish is so large, the whole country, I can really only take like a nibble of the culture of an area, or I can only make really good friends and I can only be there for a day because I have to keep moving if I want to see everything. And so that's one of the unique struggles I have, is that I constantly have to tear myself away from things that are worth exploring more. But I read a quote from Winnie the Pooh this morning that said like, how fortunate fortunate I am that make that— like, I have things that are so valuable that it's hard to say goodbye to them. So that's why I feel every day, like, how fortunate I am to be every day in a place where I don't— I want to not have to leave, but I know that there's the other— or things I haven't seen yet that are also going to be worth seeing.

Do you plan how long you spend then ahead of time in a certain area, or does it depend? You don't?

It's all— I don't plan anything. The only 3 points I've planned on this journey were my home, because I live there, Cape Olava, and the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse. I mean, when I was in Montana, I was like, it's getting cold, I should turn. So I walked down through Wyoming and Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas. And then when I got there, I was like, I think I'm going to go to Galveston. I've heard it's pretty. And it's all just very random. Okay. Yeah. Every, every, every turn is unplanned.

Yeah.

Except for the general rule that I'm heading towards Maine, but I meander and I zigzag pretty extensively.

Have you ever been to Maine?

I think when I was younger. My dad was in the Air Force my whole life, so we were stationed— he was stationed and my family went with him, but we were on the East Coast in a few places, so I think we did some touring up and down the East Coast.

Yeah, Maine is beautiful.

I'm excited.

Oh yeah, you'd be excited about Maine. It's gorgeous. And I want to ask you too, about your family? Like, do you have a lot of siblings? Where do you—

There's 6 of us kids total. So, oh wow, healthy size. Yeah, I'm 5th, so I've got 2 older brothers, 2 older sisters, and a younger brother.

Okay. What do your siblings think about— are they a little bit jealous maybe, and maybe not telling you?

I think lately they see a lot of the beauty I post. And at first it was just such an off-the-beaten-path idea that most of the reaction was just confusion. Are like, why? Or like, I mean, I gave up a good-paying job to make nothing and to live in a tent for, you know, more than a year, you know, close to getting close to like a year and a half. For them at first it was just kind of confusing, same with my parents, but I think they knew at that point how determined I can be. I don't know, set in my— like if I get an idea I don't like relinquish it easily, especially not if people are kind of urging me to. I just kind makes me cling tighter to it. And so they were supportive and encouraging me to go out and do whatever this thing was that I felt was important to try.

Yes, because I would think even seeing that, that's such an amazing thing though, for them to see that. I'm saying for you to be doing this, and like you just said, I mean, I don't know, having two boys, I have to tell you, when I've seen their determination, the things that they've already have accomplished And to have that, like what you're doing, I mean, it's amazing. I think it's much bigger than having what you did have, is what I'm saying, because that it is.

I think it is.

I really do, as a mother. I mean, as much as, you know, I have some compassion for your mom as far as your safety, how can I not?

I'm a mother.

I've had my kids say that to me, like, I'm gonna hit the road, I'm gonna do it. And they've still said it. They, you know, I might be doing it someday, the walk, the, you know, I'm gonna bike, and I just need to always know they're okay. And that's what I said, just let me know you're always okay and go do your journey. Do it, but love your determination.

Well, I appreciate it.

I mean, if you can do this, wow. Uh, do you stay in touch with your parents on a regular basis, or do they just—

yeah, they'll call periodically, and then they're in a fortunate place as parents that I post all the time what I'm up to what I'm seeing and yeah, kind of experiences I'm having. I think a lot of parents would like to have that sort of insight into their child's life all the time, and so they get to hear a lot about what I'm doing, and then periodically they'll call and I'll get to have some updates on their side as well.

Yeah, and it's a great time in your life to be doing it. Yeah, I assume, right? You're single.

That's right.

Yeah, so that's a beautiful time in your life to be doing it.

Yeah, it certainly makes it a lot easier. I mean, it would be tougher if I was leaving behind a whole crew at home.

Yes, it would. Yeah, that's amazing. And you know what, um, there's plenty of jobs out there, right? So I don't think you have to worry about that. Yeah, I'm just saying. Yeah, and you're young.

Yeah, I'll figure it out.

People just— things will get you figured out.

That's right.

There's plenty out there. That's awesome. So when is the exact— do you have a a planned date of when it will— you'll be done or know that because it's just not—

no. Yeah, there's nothing like that. I— when I first left, I was thinking it was going to be about a year. Okay, so obviously that's gone, gone the way of all the earth.

Um, that didn't work out because how long exactly now?

May 13th, 2021, and today's August 30th, 2022. Okay, so we're looking at almost like 16 months.

Okay.

And yesterday I crossed the 7,500-mile mark.

Okay.

One day at a time.

Have you had any moments where, um, have been like scary moments for you?

Like, yeah, like, wow. Yeah, a couple. Mostly it's not what people think. It's not because like people I feel are unsafe towards me.

Okay.

I think 99% of the risk, and I'm not exaggerating, there isn't from a psycho with a gun or something. It's, um, it's people in their cars just not paying attention. Because I walk on the road almost always because I like to see the towns. I don't really do trails because it's just miles and miles of you in the woods, and that's fine, but I was always here to see the buildings and the people and their life and watch them going about living their lives. So to do that, you have to pass through the towns. So I'm always walking on roads, and people are on their phones a lot these days, and so that's most of the risk factor. And then there are some places like in Montana and Oregon where you're allowed to walk on the interstate, and that's really the only option if want to get between some of those towns. Yeah, it's so barren and desolate out there. So you're legally allowed to walk there, but some of the bridges that you have to cross, there's just nowhere for you to be. So you just—

they're pretty dangerous.

You just cross your fingers and run. And some tunnels in particular, there's a particular tunnel in Oregon that's the scariest thing I've ever done in my entire life. Really? Oh yeah, by a factor of like 2 or 3. Yeah, it was, uh, it was on this old Scenic Route 30.

Yeah.

And so they built the road and the tunnel that went through the mountain for like Model A and Model T traffic. And now it's holding 18-wheelers passing each other and there's just nowhere for me to go. Very, very scary.

Wow. Oh yeah. What's your favorite so far? Your favorite area?

Am I— my favorite— that's— it's a common question, what's your favorite place, because I've seen so many. And this is a true answer. It sounds like a cop-out.

Yeah.

But it's wherever I am right now. I think that's great because I can only appreciate what I'm looking I mean, you can remember stuff fondly, but no memory is as tangible or as vivid or as clear as like these windows that I'm looking at, or this brick-lined alley, or the people going about their lives right now doing their thing. The sky you're looking at is the only sky you can ever see. Yes. Because it's, I don't know, it's a real like living in the moment kind of thing. And it should be. And it sounds corny if you're like, but I really believe in that.

Yeah, I don't think it's outgrowing it at all because you should be in the moment.

All right, so right now my favorite spot in the world is Easton because that's where I am.

That's awesome. You're right in the moment. Why else would you be doing it? I think that is beautiful to hear that.

Yeah, it's a perspective that's really built up, you know, over so many months of walking.

Yeah, I know.

It's a sincere thing at this point.

Well, it is, but those are the things I think you're always going to be able to take with you throughout your life that would remind you not to miss out on your life, Isaiah?

Yeah, I think everybody can probably relate to like feeling nostalgic about the past or just like anticipatory of the future, some promotion or whatever the case may be. But I was— I started to realize overall as I was walking that I kept getting nostalgic about whatever had just happened, like maybe 3 months ago. There's like a threshold where boom, it's nostalgia for 6 months ago kicks in. I was like, oh, it was so nice then. But I realized it kept happening. I was like, why didn't I just appreciate it when I was there? And if that's true, then I'll just appreciate where I am right now as well.

Okay, that's great.

It's been a lot of fun. It's been eye-opening and life-changing and all that kind of stuff.

Now, do you have, um, any family through the areas that you've passed through? Or a German passing through?

A couple of times. I walked to my sister's house in Oregon, and then I've had family come out and meet me. I had a brother fly out in Washington, another in Louisiana.

Okay.

My mom came out in Wyoming. A sister joined me another place in Washington.

That's nice. That's really nice.

I've run across a lot of cousins that I didn't know very well. Really? I walked into their house in Montana and Virginia and—

wow. Portuguese. That's amazing.

That's pretty cool.

Yeah, that is cool.

It's been a lot of fun.

Okay, so anything that you wish you brought with you that you didn't bring?

I want a case for my phone that has a battery pack on it. Okay. But other than that, you can really find what you're looking for on the road as well. Like, um, I remember when I left, my mom's like, how many toothbrushes are you going to need to take with you? I was like, one. There's Walmarts like in every town.

Exactly.

Once my toothbrush runs out, I'll buy another toothbrush. And so there are things I've gathered as I've gone, and there's things I've gotten rid of as I've gone through, and it's a real iterative process.

What's been like your most, I guess, valued item or used item or something you would suggest? I mean, obviously the tent's very, very handy and things like that, but is there anything that people might not think of that you have and it's been very helpful for you along your journey so far?

I mean, the phone is probably the thing I use most because I'm always scrolling through Google Maps, but there are definitely a bunch of things that you kind of can't do it without. There was one time in Wyoming where I walked for 98 miles between towns, and in between there was nothing— no houses, nothing. So you need all the water that you're going to take for that 5 days. And so the cart that I push, you can sort of see it in the background there, it carries water, it carries food, It carries a tent and sleeping bag, and there have been moments where I didn't have that with me for whatever reason, and you really feel stuck. Like, I can't walk for long distance of time because I don't have the support vehicle of my cart. It's not a vehicle, but it does enable this long-distance walking. Yeah, for my kind of style of doing so.

Would you recommend others trying what you're, what you're doing, and, or is it I don't know, would you like long-distance walking?

Oh yeah. I mean, it's not for everybody. It's— I mean, I walk all day, so 16 hours a day-ish of just walking. And some people, I think they'd be like bored, you know. But if you— if this is your mindset and that sounds fun to you and just like it fills you with some sort of anticipatory like excitement, like, oh, I would love to do that, absolutely try. Even if you don't like do it as long as I've done it, like it'll be experience for sure. And, uh, there's different styles of doing it. You could do with a backpack, you could do with a cart. It just really depends on what you're going for. But yeah, if you feel the inclination and you want to go for it, I absolutely recommend it wholeheartedly.

I love it. And did you do any type of training beforehand or anything like that, or you just went for it?

No, you just go. I don't know. I mean, don't be unprepared. Bring water, that's an obvious one. But other than that, like, as long as you're going through towns and stuff, don't start in the Mojave Desert, you know, the worst. But as long as you're just like in your neighborhood, just go for it and you'll get thirsty. You're like, oh, I need a water bottle. You pop into a 7-Eleven, grab a water bottle or whatever the case may be. I don't know. I think there's a lot of people who overanalyze and they call it paralysis by analysis. You'll learn 10 to 20 20 times faster, like what you need and what turns out you thought might be a concern but really wasn't, just by doing it.

I like it.

So don't be, uh, don't be foolish, but there is something, a bias towards like motion and a bias towards starting that I think is healthy.

And, um, I have 2 more questions here before we wrap up. So my other question was, has there been days where where you're like, I don't want to, I don't want to do this right now. And like, if so, what I guess gets you going? What's, what's like that motivation still to just, you know, keep going and not just stay there for an extra day or extra 2 days?

Yeah. Yeah. There have definitely been moments. I can recollect a few of them that were particularly strong and some of them I've recorded on my YouTube channel. And, um, there's a lot of stuff. I mean, sometimes I'll be walking along and I'm just not there for whatever reason. The fire that is generally true, and like my enthusiasm that's generally really actually a thing, it just isn't there for the moment for whatever reason. And then I'll walk around a corner and I've been like in some woods and it'll open up and I'll see the sun going down and all of a sudden it's back. And I'm just like, this is the coolest thing anybody could ever do with their time. And some of them are like very unintentional like that. Something just happened to me. A lot of times it's meeting someone. Like, I was walking through, just not too long ago, Southerton, and I was sitting on a bench and I was just kind of out of it a little bit, and this guy walks up and he goes, "Can I just like bother you for a sec? Like, this is so cool." And he was actually the mayor of Southerton. He was just a nice guy, and he was the kind of fellow where we could just sort of get into the trip, and we talked a little bit about it, and the sun started going down and started playing these shadows along the buildings, and it just fixed it, snapped me out of it. But sometimes it's a very intentional choice. It'll last like 2 or 3 days, and just being in motion helps for whatever reason. But other than that, you just have to realize that emotions are like a roller coaster. They go up and down. And I've had it happen enough times where I've sort of lost the fire, but I've waited for a day or two. I don't want to make a rash decision and call off what has been so profoundly impactful and beautiful on just like a spur of the moment negative emotion. This, you just wait for a couple days and all of a sudden you're walking along and you're like, oh yeah, I forgot about that. I feel better. Like, I forgot that I wasn't into it for a couple days and the last couple days I've been great. I don't know, you just have to come to an appreciation that it'll pass. And as long as you remember those moments where it was really really impactful, really life-altering and changing. And there have been moments where I'm just walking down the road and all of a sudden all the traffic will clear for miles and I just don't see any cars. I walked in Wyoming like through most of the night one time just because it was so empty out there. I could hear the sound of my tires rolling along the asphalt and the sun went down, but it was a warm October night and I could see all the stars and I was like, this is like, it like moves you almost to tears. You're like, this is the most beautiful thing. Like, this is a surreal moment. Everybody should do this with their life at one point. Like, be in a place like this by themselves wearing just a hoodie and it's like the perfect amount of warmth and just walking along and hearing the coyotes in the distance. And there are moments like that and I've had hundreds if not thousands of them. Just like moments where all just makes sense. Like, yes, this is a very, very good decision. I'm so happy I did it. That's amazing. I love hearing you say that. Yeah, there are moments where it's just, oh, it's so—

sounds so peaceful.

Yeah, yeah. And like, just— and then sometimes you'll be, you'll be walking along and someone will just pull over and they're just so excited about what you're doing and they're just so eager to help you in any way they can, and you walk, they eventually leave, and you're just like, people are so good. There's just so much beauty out there, and it's just everywhere. If you look for it, it's there. It is. And most people have that in them. And to be the kind of person who just like will unlock that for them for 10 minutes, or they just have this pure enthusiasm for life. I remember in Delaware, A lady pulled over and she had her son with her, and her son was, I don't know, maybe 10 or 11, and I think he had Down syndrome, is most likely what it looked like he had, but he was just so pure, and he was so excited to see this guy that he found on YouTube, or I can't remember how they found me, but yeah, well, they left, and for the rest of the day I was just kind of on On a high.

I bet you were.

Yeah, like, to be that kind of person who can make someone who's so without guile be so happy is a real privilege.

That's good. I'm glad you know it.

Yeah, it's not— you don't always remember that, but I haven't had it happen often enough. I bet. Where you're just, uh, you're very grateful for the existence.

Yeah, well, I'm sure you're making it happen even more more so too, but like you don't need to know it. So yeah, I hope so. Um, did you build your cart? I'm just curious.

It's a product you can buy, but I put up all the signage. Yeah, I got pulled over a lot by police who just thought I had like a baby in there, or maybe I was going around stealing people's— okay. Yeah, and then so they see the sign and they see the tags, and I have like QR codes you can scan that I take you to my social media channels, and that sort of helps them quickly realize I have all this mountain of evidence that I'm not psycho, at least not in the way they're thinking. But I'm harmless, and I'm just trying to capture beauty and show it to people and show people what the world's really like.

I'm so glad you are.

Yeah, I'm really glad. So that's what all the signage is for.

Yeah, I'm so, so glad you are, because like I said, I see that you are really showing people, and you're reminding me, and people about the beauty in their own backyards and around the corner, even in their very own hometowns. And I just love that because people don't sometimes even realize what's in their own hometown, and that is awesome.

Yeah, there's a— I get that comment a lot. It's been one of the most gratifying lately. Throughout all of Delaware, a lot of people were following along, and that was a comment I heard a lot. They're like, man, I've always thought Delaware was like I'm like so excited to go on vacation elsewhere. And they're like, all these places you've shown me in my home state that I've never taken the time to go to. That's a pretty, pretty gratifying response.

I would love for you to tell everybody where they can find you, like your YouTube channel, any, anywhere.

Yeah, so my YouTube channel here, I grab my hat.

Okay, go ahead and grab it.

My YouTube channel is called You Do You, looks like that spelled out. And then I post a lot on Facebook these these days it's Isaiah Glenn Shields. But if you go to my YouTube channel, some of the videos will have like the links and you can find it through there. So, but most of these days I post on Facebook, probably the most, just because whatever, for whatever reason at the moment that's where the audience is sort of falling along.

I've noticed that. Yeah, so works for me. We're gonna keep following you and I just really hope that you, um, just stay safe and just enjoy the journey.

German.

I try. Yeah, that's a blast.

You're doing a good job, I say.

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

It's really good to meet you. Thanks for coming out. Awesome to meet you.

Okay.