For all the speaking I do of the Road Angels who’ve swooped in to assist me from all angles, I’d now like to share the story of my younger brother, Ryan Throop, who very well may have saved my life with his just-in-time advice in October 2009, just over a hundred miles and half a month after beginning the Walk.

It was Sunday morning, October 4th. I was preparing to leave the Cottage Grove home of host Adam Tull, when Ryan & Aunt Maurice suddenly called and said they were driving two hours down the highway to meet up with me. They arrived later that morning, meeting Adam and family before taking me to brunch.

Ryan and Maurice walked six miles out of Cottage Grove with me, each of them taking turns pulling their truck forward. We reached the point where over 100 miles of north-to-south state highways, which I’d been walking since Day 1, ran out. I had no other reliable way through the surrounding hills– especially as dirt mountain logging roads (my only option)– were notoriously dangerous and confusing, especially without a GPS at the time). Walking Interstate freeways is illegal, and I did not envision Oregon State Police tolerating me doing so. I therefore was ready to walk the train tracks, which ran parallel to I-5.

Ryan gave me a very, very clear warning: “stay off the train tracks!” Ryan explained to me that anytime that rail crews work the tracks, they always have spotters watching out for any trains which may potentially be coming. Ryan informed me that workers cannot hear a train coming– especially when the tracks are located next to a busy highway. Added to this, I-5 and the adjacent train tracks in southern Oregon are filled with visual obstructions: curves, hills and more amid frequently misty weather. In such conditions, there’s no guarantee that any locomotive engineer would see the sudden surprise of a man walking the tracks in time to sound the train’s horn.

I listened to Ryan’s warning, and his wise words very well may have saved my life. Through the many miles ahead, I would later learn that walking busy roads next to train tracks translates to almost never hearing any train coming. As massive as these trains are, sometimes two miles in length, I of course simply figured that the ginormous diesel engines powering the 2-mile long locomotive would be easy to hear. Not so. At least not always. Monster roadside trains have since snuck up aside me countless times across the states.

Thank You, Ryan and Maurice, for swooping in at the perfect time to steer me clear of imminent danger. Thank all of you Road Angels for descending at the ideal time to guide, host, feed and inspire me so well across the thousands of miles…

Ryan & Maurice