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Army veteran's walk across the country stops in Joliet

The Herald News - 5/28/2017

JOLIET ? When Kyle Gerstenkorn asked his mother Liane if it was OK to invite a stranger to stay at their home for the night, she was not too sure of the idea.

"My first reaction was 'Heck no," Liane said.

But this wasn't just any stranger. Kyle got in touch with Erin Parete, an Army veteran, through the Couchsurfing app. Parete had been using the app to find places to stay at night on her walk across America. No really, she is literally walking across the county.

Her stop in the Joliet area was actually a notable one. She started in Rhode Island on March 25 and walks typically between 10 and 12 miles every day sleeping on other people's couches or sometimes camping outside with the equipment she brings in a kid stroller she converted to carry her things. She reached the 1,000 mile mark in Oswego on Friday. When she got in touch with the Gerstenkorn family, they welcomed her with open arms and let her stay for a few nights at their home.

"Gosh if I was her mom, I'd want her to stay here," Liane said. "I didn't know much about her but I said 'Yeah she can stay here.'"

So what drives Parete to attempt such a feat?

Parete is originally from Ohio and has lived all over the country. She's also traveled for her service in the Army from 2001 to 2003 as an engineer who helped build bridges.

When she was working on a bridge in Germany and lifting heavy parts, she fractured several bones from the waist down. She endured the pain but knew something was not right although she didn't discover the fractures until she went to the doctor a year later. So she left the service early because of the injury and started the recovery process.

"Walking is good for that," Parete said.

So Parete returned to civilian life and enjoying her loves of hiking and traveling. She's driven across the country but she wanted to do something a little different. Since walking had helped her recover from her injuries, she figured she'd just walk across the U.S.

"You never get to really see the country while you're driving," Parete said. "So I'm really getting to see it now."

Before she embarked on the 3,000 mile journey, she had to research what she needed to bring and read about other people's experiences who had also attempted the walk. Parete has to consume between 4,000 and 5,000 calories a day to maintain adequate energy.

She tries to use the Couchsurfing app as much as possible, but sometimes she has to sleep in odd places. The night before stopping in Joliet, she slept under a bridge.

But when she reached out to the Gerstenkorn family, they let her stay and even wanted her to stay a few more days than she originally planned. The family hung out with her and even planned a trip to Chicago over the weekend, all the while Parete is getting a good rest in for the rest of her journey.

"You get a good break every thousand miles," Liane's husband Pete joked.

Her ultimate destination is Half Moon Bay in California and while she doesn't have a set timeline in mind she estimates she'll get there in September. Parete said that she's made dozens of new friends on the walk which she said has helped restore her faith in humanity.

She said it doesn't matter who they are or what they believe, people all over the country have been very helpful to her and supportive just like the Gerstenkorn family. And that was part of the journey, to prove her belief in the goodness of people right, especially at a time when the country is so divided.

"Everywhere I go, Trump supporter, Hillary supporter? everyone (is) just inherently good and decent and helpful," she said.

But all this might still beg the question for some as to why Parete would choose to walk across the country, but for her the explanation is pretty simple.

"It's like climbing Mount Everest," Parete said. "Why do you do it? Because it's there. Because you can."

Erin has a GoFundMe page which you donate to her trip here.