Cameron Coupe spent the past five months walking from Seattle to New York.

That’s nearly 2,800 miles.

It took seven pairs of shoes, each with soles worn flat as a pancake; he filled one and a half composition journals with his adventures; and the shiny red cart he started out with, the faithful wheeled horse that lugged food, water, clothing, sleeping bags and tents, is now faded, torn and has a wobbly wheel.

The 19-year-old Freeland son left his freshman year at Washington State University, packed his cart with supplies and put one foot in front of the other. With his college pal Xander “Zan” Roman of Bellingham alongside, Coupe set out in June to walk from Seattle to New York City to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital. But, the trek was mostly to combat a general state of unhappiness, he said, to give himself a break from the anxiety of trying to figure out “what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” and to sate a wanderlust he didn’t know existed.

Out on the open road across 13 states, unknown territory to the pair of 19-year-olds, they often found themselves picking a path and not looking back.

“You go confidently in the direction you chose to go,” he said.

Born and raised on Whidbey Island, Coupe was ready for something new. He got what he wanted. As he described the trip in his mother’s Freeland home, he said every mile was completely different. That search for the exotic is what drives people to do such trips, Coupe said.

Some miles were more pleasant than others, he admitted, especially crossing Montana in consistent rain and wind.

“We looked so stupid sometimes,” he said, describing regular days in the Big Sky State of waking up to sunshine and putting on shorts and sunglasses only to be met with a downpour hours later.

The trip lasted 168 days, and the duo flew back in mid-October. During their travels the two teenagers slept a few yards from highways, in parks, in people’s yards and, when they were especially fortunate, people’s homes. 

Their diet was consistent, but limited. They mostly ate cold canned foods — pasta, chili, fruit, tuna — bread and peanut butter, and dry ramen noodles.

Of all the high-calorie, low-cost foods, tuna was the one that wore out its welcome first. Coupe said that at some point in Montana, camping for the night outside a truck stop in their tent, he took a few bites of tuna, set it down and knew he wouldn’t eat any more of it the rest of the trip or after, for that matter.

“I don’t think I’ll eat tuna again soon,” he said.

When the 2013 South Whidbey High School graduate left, he was clean shaven with a tightly-cropped haircut. Now, he sports the remnants of a goatee and his once-buzz cut hair spills out from under his baseball cap in what he said would otherwise be a “wiry afro.” His weight and build hardly changed, however.

Despite their sometimes ragged appearance, Coupe found exactly what he was looking for — the kindness of strangers. Most nights, they slept in a tent outside. But Coupe said they often received help from distant relatives, friends of friends of friends and complete strangers, such as one woman who put them up in a spare bedroom for almost a week in Illinois. 

“She wanted to adopt us after,” Coupe said. “When we left a week and a half later, she checked in on us.”

Other people gave them food, money or toted their packs ahead 25 miles to give them a brief respite. The daily average they walked was 25 miles, though some days were far less, including the shortest travel day of 6 miles.

After extended breaks, such as a two-week stay in Chicago, Coupe said he and his travel mate found it far more difficult to resume the journey.

“We forgot how long it takes to walk 25 miles … It’s the slowest transportation available,” he laughed.

He and Roman only got into a few arguments, mostly over directions, Coupe said. Though nothing got so bad that the other abandoned the trip.

“You’re not even with your spouse as much as we were with each other for five months,” he said. “Literally 24 hours, every day.”

They bonded over all seven Harry Potter audiobooks played through one of their smartphones via a portable speaker, which were charged by a solar panel the size of a hardback book.

Somewhere in Montana, Coupe’s mom and stepdad surprised them. Coupe recalled having a car come up behind them on a highway, moving really slowly. Eventually, the car pulled ahead and waited, then drove at their pace. Finally, Coupe looked over and saw his mom. He was thoroughly surprised.

Coupe also found some direction. He was accepted to the University of Washington in Seattle, and will enroll in January for the winter quarter. He still isn’t sure what he’ll study or what profession he’ll pursue, but Coupe said he feels confident in the direction he will take.