Washington to Maine: Man walking across the contiguous United States reaches Connecticut

For Isaiah Glen Shields, taking a road trip means a continental crossing, on foot, with nothing but a cart holding one’s possessions.

Shields, from Utah, has been on a cross-country trek for personal discovery since May 2021. He has walked during the daytime hours from the westernmost point in the continental United States, Cape Alava in Washington. His goal is to get to the easternmost point, West Quody Head Lighthouse in Lubec, Maine.

Shields has documented his journey on his Facebook page, and on the You Do You YouTube channel, with 8,500 subscribers as of Monday.

“It was an idea that crossed my mind sitting at the work computer, and like some ideas, it stuck in my mind a little longer with a little more resilience,” he said. “Eventually, it sounded like such a grand adventure that I had to give up everything and go for it.”

Shields was in Norwich Thursday, and made it to Plainfield for Friday and Saturday. As of Monday, he was in Putnam, and expecting to make it to Rhode Island soon.

The trip has had challenging moments, including contending with traffic and wild animals, but it’s been a positive experience, Shields said Friday.

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Shields never heard of Norwich until he came to the city. He liked the city more than he expected, he said, calling the historic architecture and the Uncas Leap Falls “pretty.”

“It looks like it’s got a few struggles, but man, the foundation of the city is beautiful,” Shields said Friday.

He was also impressed by Norwich City Hall and the downtown murals.

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The people of Norwich have been friendly, he said, and wanted to know more about what he’s doing.

The Bulletin caught up with Shields on Saturday, near the Plainfield Police Department. Fans seeing Shields’ journey on Youtube and Facebook is a common occurrence, and they greet him, sometimes with food, when he strolls into town. One of the people he met is Melissa Johnson, who brought Shields a bite to eat from Matthew’s Catering.

“I know I was not able to do that, that’s for sure,” she said about Shields’ journey. “Sheer determination.”

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Shields asked Johnson where a good place to wait out the rain would be, and she said by the Subway in Central Village, as it has an overhang. However, Shields decided to stop a little sooner on the patio of Mercer Monument Works.

Picking up the conversation there, Shields liked what he saw so far in Plainfield, calling it a “quintessential New England town.”

“Maybe that’s partially because of the timing, because the leaves are starting to turn red on the edges,” he said.

Shields also had a good time meeting people and stopping by Hank’s Dairy Bar.

Johnson hopes Shields thinks of Plainfield as an outgoing and supportive community.

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“People reach out throughout the year who are struggling, and the town doesn’t second-guess jumping in to help,” she said.

To anyone who is thinking of going on a road trip, Shields said people should look toward places off the beaten path, and meeting the people there. He’s visited Seattle and New York City on his journey, but he felt nothing transformative happened for him there.

“All my favorite memories have been in places like Norwich that I didn’t know existed until I walked into them,” he said.

One of Shields’ favorite times “getting lost” was when a North Carolina man pulled over in his truck while Shields was pushing his cart. The driver offered Shields a place to stay, a property on the border of North Carolina and Virginia, along a river, that the driver built himself.

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Another time, a family from Thermopolis, Wyoming, let Shields stay in their basement for two days to weather out a snowstorm. Those two days, he read books to the family’s young children.

In August, Shields pinned an FAQ to his Facebook page, in which he says he doesn’t know what to do once he reaches Maine. As of last week, he’s deciding whether to end the walk in Maine, or walk back to his home in Utah.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich, Plainfield visited by man walking across the country