It’s a long walk from Portage to Washington, D.C., but for Antonio Gutierrez, it’s a step – a lot of steps – in support of the Portage Recovery Association.
Gutierrez is raising funds in memory of his brother Erik.
Gutierrez was in Greensboro, West Virginia, on Thursday. He plans to reach Washington on Tuesday. “That will mark two years to the day that I came home and found him dead,” he said.
Erik suffered from mental illness and alcoholism, Gutierrez said.
“My parents got divorced when I was about 9 years old,” he said. Their mother was a “horrible alcoholic” at the time but has been sober almost 40 years now. Gutierrez and his siblings were raised by their father.
“A couple of my siblings are in recovery, and they’ve all been sober a couple of years,” Gutierrez said. He has abstained. “I can count on one hand, and I still have a couple of fingers left over, how many times I got drunk in my life.”
“You will not find one Republican in Porter County who will say, yeah, I’ve seen Antonio drinking at an event,” he said.
As of Friday morning, Gutierrez had raised $820 toward his $1,000 goal on his GoFundMe campaign. It’s his fifth time doing this kind of walk for charity. The previous times were to support pediatric cancer research.
The trek isn’t easy. Sleep accounts for just three or four hours a night so he can continue to make progress.
“I walked through Ohio in three days,” he said. “I’ll be getting into a second pair of shoes in another day or two.”
“I’m physically and mentally in the best shape of my life,” he said. “When I’m at home, I work out at the gym seven days a week.”
But even that isn’t the same as hiking a long distance. “You try to do all the training you can do on treadmills, on the local trails back home,” Gutierrez said, and get a false sense of being prepared. “When you’re out here carrying a backpack, 30 pounds on your back,” and you’re straining more than just walking at home in flat Indiana.
The mountains don’t offer support when you’re walking uphill, but downhill takes a toll on the joints. Gutierrez has been liberal in his use of tape to add some extra support for his limbs.
“This one here, it’s physically demanding on me for some reason,” he said. “I eat healthy, I take care of myself, and this is the hardest one I’ve ever done.”
When he’s done with this hike, he said, “It will put me right around 4,500 miles total.”
Gutierrez is carrying four liters of water, one liter in each bottle, plus a tent and toiletries.
He generally sets up the tent and camps along the trail. In the mountains, he’s found, there are rocks everywhere.
“When I’m around a hotel, I’ll get a hotel,” he said, to sleep on a bed, launder his clothes and take a shower. “You start smelling pretty quick.”
The weather hasn’t been kind. “No more rain. Please, no more rain,” Gutierrez said. “I have been soaked and drenched four or five times.”
“I’ve got a poncho, and you still get soaking wet,” he said.
Even wet, though, Gutierrez’s face still brightens when he meets strangers on the trail.
He tells his story, especially his brother’s story.
“Men, it’s OK to speak up. We don’t have to hold it in all the time,” Gutierrez said. “We tend to hold it in, but we need to speak up more. It’s OK to tell a man that you love them without feeling any other way.”
If you’re near Portage, he said, the Portage Recovery Association can help. Even to those who live far from Portage, he said, “I still say, call the Portage Recovery Association” to get help finding needed resources to help with addictions.
“Quite a few people hear the story, and they’re all in recovery, too,” he said.
To anyone who plans a long-distance hike, Gutierrez offers his wisdom. “Make sure people know what your route is, that somebody is tracking your route,” he said. “Always have as much water on you as possible,” and make sure you’re in great shape.
“Keep it slow and steady,” he said. “Stretch, stretch, stretch is the key thing.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.