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Local veteran and supporters finish 50-mile trek in Lock Haven

LOCK HAVEN -- It was a long and winding road for one local veteran as he and many supporters walked 50 miles from Hughesville to Lock Haven to raise awareness for veteran suicide prevention.

On March 25, Sgt. Ryan Hayslip began his 50-mile trek from Lycoming County all the way to Lock Haven in order to spread the message.

Having served in the Army from 1999 to 2007, Hayslip understands the feeling many veterans go through daily when it comes to their mental health and struggles.

"They don't realize that there are other people like them that need help," he said before beginning the 50-mile walk.

Hayslip wanted to do something in order to give back and promote veteran suicide awareness.

After driving on Route 15, he saw some guys rucking. He said they gave him the idea of how he could go about giving back in order to promote awareness as well as a way to challenge himself. Prior to the COVID outbreak, he was an avid runner, though the pandemic slowed him down. He switched from a running pace to a walking pace during that time.

"I began brainstorming, coming up with ideas of what I wanted to do," Hayslip said.

The planning for his eventual 50-mile walk began as early as November 2021. When he started brainstorming for ideas, he thought about committing to 15 miles, then from there it was down to where he would be walking. He said he thought about walking around a track, do two-mile loops or a straight to straight. The idea then struck him, to walk to as many towns as he could.

"I was like you know what, I want to hit as many towns as I can, bring as much awareness as I can. That is why I decided to go from point A to point B. I routed it so that I could go through as many boroughs as possible on my way here (Lock Haven)," Hayslip said.

The walk started at 11 a.m. on March 25 at the Picture Rocks Fire Department in Hughesville. From there, Hayslip and others, both veterans and the community who joined in spreading his message. They walked through Hughesville to Muncy, Loyalsock, Williamsport and South Williamsport, Nesbit, Nippenose Valley, Jersey Shore, Avis and finally finishing at the Lock Haven Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Hayslip and several Lock Haven area veterans joined him on his last leg on March 26, walking with him to the very end, just before 11 a.m.

With help from others in each of the legs of the long two-county trek, it made the whole experience that much better.

"It went really good," he said. "We got the guy I saw rucking a couple days ago and actually met him. He said one of the things he learned was to have a speaker because we were all talking about head phoning it and listening to music. He was like 'have a speaker, so you guys can all talk and communicate. It will make your time go a lot better.' I am so glad I met him and he said that, because that was a big plus."

About 20 people and two retired service dogs pitched in over three of the four legs of the entire 50 miles.

"It has been very overwhelming and humbling with how much the community comes together with just walking down the road," Hayslip said. "We had people that pretty much walked every leg except the night leg … For the most part, all the other three legs we had people for the whole thing."

Once finishing the long trek, he was surprised by how well he felt after the whole thing, thinking he was not going to be able to walk.

"I honestly thought when I got here, I wouldn't be standing here like this and still being able to walk around talking to people," Hayslip said.

As for another walk for awareness for veteran suicide prevention, Hayslip said the thought is there with hopes to get more people, both veterans and the community, involved in the future.