Jake Sansing

I got out of the Army in 2011 and went back to my home state of Tennessee to open a recording studio. About six months later, I lost everything in a tornado, so I began walking between towns to look for work. After walking between towns and looking for work for about three months, I began to feel like there was nothing for me there, so I decided to walk across America.

August 2012, I sat out for my cross-country trek. With little to no money, I spent the next four years traveling on foot from Tennessee to Delaware, to California, to Florida, to Alaska, back to Florida, and back to California again.

After spending four years lugging a 60 lb backpack all over the country, I had developed some issues with my knees and hips, so I threw in the towel and made my way up to Wyoming. While I was there, I began living and working on a ranch, where I was a ranch hand and also did construction. I ended up marrying the ranch owners daughter, but we got a divorce a year later, so I was homeless again.

After leaving Wyoming, I made my way back to Tennessee, where I spent the next three months writing a book about my travels. I was still homeless at the time, so I lived in the woods behind a hospital and would keep my laptop charged by using one of the power outlets on the outside of the building. At night, I would retreat back to my tent in the woods.

Once I had finished writing my book, I set up a book signing at a local library and sold every copy. I then walked to a neighboring town and had another successful book signing. And then I did it again in another town..

At that point, I had saved up about $500, so I took a bus from Tennessee to San Diego, California. Once I made it to San Diego, I got a second backpack, which I kept strapped to my chest and loaded with twenty books at a time. I then walked from San Diego, California to Seattle, Washington. I then turned around and walked back south.

By the time I had reached Los Angeles, California, I had sold enough copies of my book to purchase a vehicle. I then got a job working for Amazon. I lived and worked in Los Angeles for about three years before I’d had enough of it, so I got rid of everything and took off walking again.

After leaving Los Angeles, I began walking east until I made it to Utah. At that point, I had the idea to walk from Oregon to Maine, with the idea of promoting my book to try and sell enough copies to start a non-profit campground for veterans with PTSD. So, I turned around, made my way back to California, and then up the coast to Oregon.

I then spent three years pushing a cart across America, trying to sell enough copies to make my dream of a campground for vets come to fruition. However, that didn’t happen. I just wasn’t able to sell enough books. However, I did end up writing another book about that journey, so now I have two books.

I am currently walking to promote both of my books, which you can find in the links below.

I have been through every state in the US except for Hawaii.

I do not have an end goal or destination at this time.

I do not have a planned route.

I have traveled about 18,000 miles so far.