November 30, 2005 Ted Keizer calls himself a hiker. But when you consider he used 14 pairs of shoes to walk 1,500 miles in less than two and half months, that might be an understatement.
On Tuesday, Keizer—who also goes by “Cave Dog”—became the first person to hike 30 miles in all 50 states in 75 days.
The task, dubbed the Duofold Hike 50 Challenge, began in Keizer’s hometown of Portland, Oregon, on September 15 and ended this week on 2,876-foot Mount Jo in the Adirondacks. In between, he traveled through sand dunes in Colorado, tropical forests in Hawaii, battlefields in Georgia, and snowy peaks in New Hampshire.
“I had a wish list of hikes all across the country—from Montana to New York to Hawaii—and now I’ve done them,” Keizer, 34, told Outside Online. “It’s incredible.”
Keizer had dreamed of hiking in all the states ever since he learned about Bob Marshall, the founder of the Wilderness Society. Marshall came up with the idea to complete a 30-mile hike in all 50 states, but when he died suddenly in 1939, at the age of 38, he had only completed hikes in just over 40 states. So Keizer took the challenge on himself, as a way to honor a man he calls “an American original.”
“What better way to give tribute to someone than to do what they love—and what I love,” Keizer said.
Praising a past legend was just one facet of the trip, which was sponsored by outdoor apparel company Duofold.
“Seeing the country, feeling it on your feet as you pass over it, you get a real appreciation for how rich and diverse this nation is,” Kaizer said. “That was one of the main components of this challenge.”
Kaizer traveled from state to state in a fully-equipped RV—with the exception of Alaska and Hawaii. He completed two 30-mile hikes roughly every three days—about the equivalent of running five marathons every week for two and a half months. The record-setting journey will be featured in an Outdoor Life Network documentary titled Live Your Passion, which will air in December.
In each state, Keizer encouraged hikers to join him on the trail, for one mile or all 30. The turnout, Keizer said, was “inspiring,” adding that in Michigan, over 40 people gathered to hike in the Manistee National Forest.
Keizer, who works in politics when not on the trail, also holds the world speed record for climbing all the 14,000-foot peaks in Colorado (ten days, 20 hours, and 26 minutes, set in 2000) and for hiking the 46 high points in the Adirondack Mountains (three days,18 hours, 14 minutes, set in 2002).
With this challenge, however, the motivation was a little different.
“It wasn’t about speed,” Keizer said. “It was about enjoying the scenery, and appreciating the area.”
