Peninsular Thinking

Tracy Delp, the 46-year-old Port Orchard woman riding across the country to raise awareness and funding for cancer, is at a temporary standstill.

Delp and her riding partner Dan Shanafelt, 23, set out from the Pacific Coast with a team of horses (and one mule) on Mother’s Day, appropriate since Delp lost her mom to cancer. The team traveled on highways, back roads and trails, through small towns, mountains, forests and desert land.

They found people who opened their doors to them, fed them and pointed them down the trail. Much of it was glorious. Much of it — especially as they traveled through the desert of Eastern Washington — was pure hell.

One day they expected to find water, but had none. How hot was it? Ursa, Delp’s dog along for the journey, had to wear boots to keep from burning her feet. One of the horses was bitten by a snake, thankfully not a rattler.

After that they carried water, but the stress took a toll on everyone, Delp said.

Shanfelt and Delp made it to the Idaho border in mid-July. There they parted ways.

In her blog and in a telephone interview, Delp said simply, “Dan has decided that he will no longer be riding across the country.”

Shanfelt did not call me back to explain his side of the story.

“This decision has required that I rethink the initial route, as at this point I will be the only human to continue coast 2 coast,” Delp wrote in her blog.

Delp has cut about 800 miles off her route, and she will avoid wilderness areas.

“I can be a whole lot of dumb, but I’m not stupid,” she said. “Going through the wilderness by yourself is not a good idea.”

One other small detail to be worked out: Who will drive the support trailer along the way. Family and friends were available early in the route. Later, Dan drove along stretches where Delp’s unsinkable faith didn’t provide angels along the way.

Delp, now back at home, is working furiously on this and other logistical details. When she gets it together, she’ll head out, picking up where she left off.

It seems everyone is doing some kind of marathon these days. I wonder why you never hear about the people who don’t finish the race.

I asked Delp what about just saying, “I got this far and called it good?”

Aside from consideration of everyone who’s donated money, goods or services to make the trip possible, Delp said, she doesn’t feel pressured to continue. But she also feels no pressure to quit.

“For me, I set my sights on Delaware. I don’t have a reason to stop,” Delp said. “Yeah, there were things that really sucked, but overall, this has been amazing.”

Delp recently got a bit of good news. Her project is in the running for a Pepsi Refresh grant. The company is awarding money to people whose ideas for improving their communities receive the most votes on the Pepsi Refresh website. Currently ranked 52nd in this round of voting, she stands to earn $25,000 if online voters help her make the cut.

This round of voting in the Pepsi Refresh contest ends Aug. 23.

Delp’s journey also has me thinking about how, in this very virtual world, we all seem to be craving adventure. Maybe that explains the popularity of shows like “Deadliest Catch” and “Man vs Wild.”

Maybe that explains why everyone these days has a bucket list that includes far more than sitting on the back porch rocking away the sunset years.

What’s on my list? I’d like to be one of the people who sets off fireworks at a professional show. I’d like to learn the hula and how to play piano. I’d like to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef. And that’s just for starters.

So what’s on your list?

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The Kitsap Sun’s story on Tracy Delp and Dan Shanafelt, who are riding across the country to raise awareness of cancer, received considerable interest from other publications, including the Tacoma News Tribune, Seattle Times, Seattle Post Intelligencer and others who spread to word of the pair’s 5,000 mile journey.

We also heard from Beverly Casey of Kingston, whose cousin Larry Stevens rode (on horseback) almost the same route in the 1980s. Casey has lost track of Larry, who is said to have met a woman along the trail and married her. But Casey still had a clipping from the Cowlitz County Advocate, dated May 14, 1986 which documents one leg of his journey. (see below, keep scrolling, the whole article is there)

As of Tuesday evening, they had made it to Yelm, according to their blog.

After departing from Ocean Shores on Mother’s Day (May 8), they made their way to Hoquiam, where on May 9 they received a police escort across one of the city’s main bridges. Earler this week, I spoke to Det. Sgt. Shane Krohn, who said the Hoquiam Police Department is used to giving escorts to log trucks escorts, but “to my knowledge, we have not done the horse thing before. It was definitely interesting.”

The Daily World was kind enough to share the photo with us. I call it “Urban Cowboys.”

JACOB JONES | THE DAILY WORLD Rider Tracy Delp, on Andy, and Dan Shanafelt, atop Rosie, trot across the Riverside Avenue Bridge in Hoquiam on Monday morning shortly after starting their Coast 2 Coast for Cancer ride in Ocean City to raise awareness and money to fight the disease, which effects both people and animals. Hoquiam police closed the bridge during their crossing. The plan to travel about 5,000 on their journey to the Atlantic Ocean, sharing their message along the way. For more information or to provide support visit: www.coast2coastforcancer.webs.com.

The team circled back to Port Orchard via trailer late last week to take care of some last minute logistical details before hitting the trail again on May 15.

Happy trails guys.

Here’s the clipping from Beverly
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On Friday, Tracy Delp’s five horses and one mule meandered the pasture, going about their business as usual, eating, maintaining pecking order within the herd, pooping, and enjoying some last-minute primping and hoof care. They seemed unaware that Sunday, Mother’s Day, they were to embark on a 5,000-mile trek across the United States, to help raise awareness of cancer (see today’s story in the Kitsap Sun).

But Delp and Dan Shanafelt, who will accompany her on the road, say the animals knew something big was afoot. Delp, who owns a business as an animal interpreter, says she can communicate on a deep level with horses, dogs, cats and other species. From animals, she gets mental images, emotions and even phrases in her mind. So while members of the team may not have gotten every detail, the horses and Rosie the mule were all in on the excitement of starting the journey, Delp and Shanafelt said.

They are eager for adventure and all of them — chosen for this reason — enjoy a day of work.

The horses will walk 20 to 25 miles a day, rotating in and out, three at a time. The resting horses will be trailered forward by a team of family and friends, who also will re-supply the group along the way. Like any athletic team, the horses each bring special talents and attitudes to the game.

See a gallery and learn more about the horses (and Rosie the mule) by clicking here.

Learn about the team’s long ride and follow their progress on the Coast2Coast for Cancer blog.

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