Man Walking Across America Makes Stops In The Keystone State

SOUTHEASTERN, PA — A man who has been traversing the country by foot recently made some stops right here in the Keystone State.

Isaiah Glen Shields is on a cross-country mission to see America in one of the most intimate ways — by walking across the land.

He has been documenting his journey through the likes of Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

It has now been more than a year since Shields began his trek and he recently made various stops in parts of Pennsylvania, including Valley Forge, King of Prussia, Chester County, the Norristown area, the North Penn region and the Lehigh Valley.

Patch caught up with Shields by phone on Wednesday, the first day he entered neighboring New Jersey, where he was in the community of Phillipsburg, just across the Delaware River from the Easton, Pa. area.

"I've never lived anywhere longer than about four years," said Shields, whose dad was active-duty U.S. Air Force.

Before his travels, which began from his driveway in Provo, Utah back on May 13, 2021, Shields worked in corporate finance.

He banked enough money during his two years of working that enabled him to have some savings for the road trip.

Shields graduated from Brigham Young University, where he studies strategic management.

"I had this fear of entering the workforce, starting a job, and then piling on a bunch of responsibilities and waking up about thirty years later," Shields said.

So, he did something that few 29-year-olds do — he hit the road. But not by car; he's using his feet to get him across the nation.

He considers himself among a community of "transcons," which stands for trans-continentals, folks who travel the country by foot.

Shields said that when he was in elementary school, he had dreams about becoming an explorer, but since that's not really a profession anymore, he would have to do it for more existential reasons.

Asked if he has had a favorite stop so far, Shields had this to say: "My favorite place so far is wherever I am right now. A real live-in-the-present kind of mindset."

Shields has passed through all types of communities, from rural to urban to suburban.

And he's met all types of people out there.

One major takeaway he wanted to stress to readers and those following his journey is that the world is a "far less dangerous place than we've been led to believe."

Shields said he is often warned about going into certain places, or towns, or interacting with certain individuals, but what he has actually found is the humanity in people.

"What people think is going to be the scary thing is like robbers and shady people in the night," he said. "The world looks a lot less like that than people think."

The danger from this type of lifestyle is not really from people with malicious intent, he said, but more so from drivers in cars, simply because he's walking and sharing the roadways with motor vehicles.

Shields said during his journey so far, he has encountered, "good folks going about their lives, trying to make a living for themselves and their families. And they find treating people with kindness to be a fulfilling way to live their lives."

So far, Shields has walked about 7,500 miles, he said. He often camps out in a tent but will occasionally spring for a hotel room. He has even been welcomed into peoples' homes.

When he was in Quakertown, Bucks County, a family who discovered it was his birthday invited Shields into their house to throw him an impromptu birthday party, he said.

There have also been challenges along the journey, typically things like the weather, wildlife, police encounters, and supply chain shortages.

He had some difficulties finding places with public accommodation early in his adventure, since he started out during the early days of COVID-19, a time when many businesses were shut down.

As for funding his adventure, Shields said he mostly uses the savings he built up, but he does have some revenue coming in from the likes of Facebook and YouTube.

That money, however, is minimal, and he stressed that he made no money from social media or sponsorships during the first 14 months of his walk. And he has taken on absolutely no corporate sponsorships, he said.

He's now 16 months into his trek.

Shields stressed that journeys like this are not for everyone.

"My message to people is not if you're happy, you better leave your desk job. That is definitely a life that can be meaningful ... and contributing to society," he said.

But he did say that journeys like this can be beneficial to certain people, himself included.

"I do think that there's a lot less risk in our modern day and age and that if you try something off the beaten path, you'll find it can be rewarding," he said. "I think there's a lot of reward to be found in undertaking a slightly unconventional lifestyle. I think there's a lot of growth to be had there."