Issue Date: December 11, 2005

Doing Good

One man walks across America to help others.

After being diagnosed with congestive heart failure at 52, Carlin "Buckwheat" Donahue of rural Skagway, Alaska (population 862), decided to start walking his way to a healthier life. On his early treks, "I tried to remember every date I'd ever had," the gregarious Donahue, 54, says. "You think about first loves, lost loves and missed opportunities. I reviewed my whole life. Sometimes, I even talked to [people I've lost] out loud."

Although he takes nine medications a day, including an insulin shot for type 2 diabetes, Donahue's prognosis is much improved, thanks to his walks. And now he has turned his exercise program into a fundraiser for Skagway's medical center, Dahl Memorial Clinic, staffed only by a nurse, a physician's assistant and "little else," Donahue says. (The nearest hospital is 110 miles away by car.)

This fall, Donahue took leave from his job as tourism director of the Skagway Convention & Visitors Bureau and set out on a 5,450-mile cross-continent walk from Florida to Alaska to raise $250,000 for proper equipment. (He'll paddle another 2,000 miles.) Half of the $35,000 in estimated trip costs -- walking shoes, hotels, a cellphone and gear -- is coming from his own pocket. Donors have funded the other half of his trip, which he hopes to complete by Labor Day.

Donations can be made to:
Heartbeat Trail
P.O. Box 1236
Skagway, Alaska 99840.

To find out more, go online to buckwheat.info.

-- Jenna Schnuer