Man walks entire Oregon Trail

(oregon City, November 26, 1998) After seven months of walking,
25-year-old Jim Jenkins finally arrived in Oregon City yesterday.
He had just completed the 22-hundred miles of the Oregon Trail on foot.
Jenkins left his home in Osceola, Wisconsin on Easter Sunday and walked
to Saint Joseph, Missouri, the starting point for many early pioneers.
From there, he trudged to Oregon. Along the way, he encountered bad drinking water,
rattlesnakes and foul weather. But Jenkins says that's nothing compared to what the pioneers
went through. Jenkins started his trip in a pair of tennis shoes, but they lasted
only about 100 miles. The rest of the journey ate up two pairs of hiking boots.

This is what the Minneapolis/St.Paul Pioneer Press said.

Wisconsin man completes last leg
retracing the Oregon Trail on foot
Along the way, he worked odd jobs, slept in back yards
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GARY DAWSON STAFF WRITER
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Jim Jenkins, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, was expected to walk into Portland, Ore., on Wednesday, ending a 2,500-mile journey on foot that began last Easter and took him the entire length of the Oregon Trail. Jenkins, 25, of Osceola, Wis., graduated a year ago from UW-RF with majors in geography and outdoor recreation. He decided he wasn't ready to enter the workforce and opted to walk the entire 2,000-mile length of trail, beginning at St. Joseph, Mo. On Tuesday he was five miles outside of Portland, averaging 25 miles each day he walked. Before hopping on the Oregon Trail, he finished a warm-up jaunt -- a 500 mile jaunt from Osceola to St. Joseph, Mo., the jumping-off point for travelers headed west from 1840 to 1860. The trail ends at the Columbia River. Jenkins walked the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix River from Osceola, crossed the Mississippi River at Prairie du Chien, Wis., and continued southwest across Iowa and into St. Joseph, Mo. He arrived there in June and after a brief rest hit the Oregon Trail in early July. ``He wanted to prove something. I was concerned whether he was sane. I was pessimistic,'' said Jenkins father, John Jenkins, who teaches computer science and American history at Osceola High School. His wife, Karla, teaches third grade at the Osceola elementary school ``I am immensely proud of him, but as his father, I was worried,'' John Jenkins said. ``He said, `Dad, it will be all right. The people of this country are wonderful.' '' Jenkins wore out three pairs of boots, according to his father's last count, contracted a case of food poising in Idaho and suffered from painful blisters on his feet early in his walk. He had only reached Red Wing, Minn., in the first days of his trip when he was forced to hitch a ride back to Osceola so blisters on his feet could heal. But as soon as his feet were back in shape, he started out again from Red Wing and never turned back. He took a few breaks along the way to rest and earn some money by working odd jobs. His father visited him in Missouri and Nebraska. Jenkins slept in back yards, was taken in overnight by folks who offered food, lodging and a shower. His love of the outdoors, including experience as a winter camper, kept him going. He is thinking about becoming an instructor for Outward Bound, a national program that teaches wilderness survival techniques. Jenkins plans to return to St. Paul by train, tentatively arriving Dec. 12 and will rejoin his parents in Osceola. He'll also spend some time job-hunting in the Twin Cities and visiting friends in River Falls. Future walks could include the Appalachian Trail. ``He was going to take a left turn on the West Coast, walk down south through California and then come back across the Southwest,'' his father said. ``But he changed his mind, he was anxious to finish.''

Because of Jim's accomplishment, we received some wonderful e-mail.
I'll share a few samples with you.

To: jenkinsj@oz.osceola.k12.wi.us
From: nancy budrow
Subject: end of the trail
The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center welcomed Jim heartily this morning.
He walked in just after 10 a.m. PST and the mayor of Oregon City extended a welcoming hand.
Perhaps 30 people were there to greet him including several print reporters and Grant McOmie who hosts an environmental/outdoor feature program on a Portland TV station.
The Center presented Jim with several commemorative Trail gifts, and had a special cake, cider and coffee for Jim and the guests. He is so personable and interesting, his interviews will be wonderful.
It has been pretty stormy and rainy here. I think he is glad to be off the Trail!
Nancy

Date: Wed, 25 Nov 1998 16:15:00 -0800
From: "Garvin, Bryon"
Subject: Re: Jim
To: John Jenkins
Hi there again!
Well, as you probably know, Jim made it today!
We were able to meet up with him again and finish our story.
I wanted to tell you that there is a chance (not for sure yet) that we might make a link
from our KATU website to the webpage you maintain for Jim. It is likely we would direct
our viewers to your page so that they can see all the places he has been.
That would be on the night of the story airing (Friday). Anyway, I will try to let you know if
we are going to do that.

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E-mail Jim at Truthwalk@aol.com