Over 125 members of the community trekked 100 miles on foot through rain, strong winds, and mud for a good cause over the weekend.

The good cause was the Life’s Worth Living Foundation’s ninth annual Walk to Wendover, which began on Friday, April 26. Bright and early, before 7 a.m., members of the foundation and those in the community who have lost a loved one to suicide, have struggled with suicide themselves, or were just there for support, gathered at Tooele City Hall to hear from an inspirational speaker before beginning their walk. The speaker was Jeff Griffim, a paraplegic. Although Griffim is paraplegic, he was miraculously able to raise himself from his wheelchair and take several steps before the walk began, according to Jon Gossett, the Life’s Worth Living Foundation’s founder.

“As soon as Jeff finished his story, he stood up,” Gossett said. “Right before we walked out of the front doors, he took about five steps toward me. He said he wasn’t going to let being a paraplegic hold him back. He walked. That’s pretty dang impressive if you’re a paraplegic. He really got everyone pumped up.”

At 7 a.m., participants headed out in the rain down Tooele’s main street, followed by two tour busses, a search and rescue team, and a van with port-a-potties on the back, and walked down Main Street toward 100 North, where they boarded busses and began walking again in a relay fashion down SR-112 toward Grantsville. When participants arrived in Grantsville, they walked as a group down Main Street and ended at the cemetery at the end of town, where they again walked in a relay fashion down the frontage road on the way to the Knolls exit off of I-80. Although the walkers did eventually make it to their designated location Friday evening, there was no shortage of problems.

“It was windy and cold,” Gossett said. “After lunch, I kept asking our bus drivers if the roads were alright because it was raining. They said they thought we were alright. We walked all the way down, probably 1/3 of the way, and all of a sudden it got really wet. We didn’t notice until we were right in the middle of it. We ended up sliding off the top of the road into the gutter. We sank the bus. We were stranded for about an hour and 45 minutes. It was slippery, and it was a mess. We had to call in West Side Auto to yank us out with the most hillbilly tow truck you’ve ever seen. It was just nothing but crazy.”

After the towing company pulled the bus out of the mud, participants pushed through and hiked the rest of the way to Knolls where they boarded busses and were driven back to Tooele City Hall. They arrived at 8:45 p.m. Normally, participants arrive back home by 6 or 7 p.m. on the first day of the walk.

“Everyone wanted to keep going after they got the bus out,” Gossett said. “There’s a testament to that, because you’re telling people not to quit and not to give up. We walked our butts off, and we got back late.”

After going home for the evening, surprisingly, all participants reported back Saturday morning at 6 a.m., ready for day two of the walk. After boarding buses again at city hall, participants were taken to Knolls, where they continued their walk. When they were dropped off, temperatures were in the 40’s.

“There were such high winds,” Gossett said. “It was blowing in our faces the entire time, and it was brutal and miserable. On the salt flats, there were 14-mile-an-hour headwinds, and the rain really just stung as it hit… It was pouring. In the back of my mind, I was like, ‘I got all of these guys into this. I don’t know how I’m going to get them out.’ It was hard, but that’s what we’re trying to tell people they can get through; it’s hard things.”

Luckily, around lunchtime, it stopped raining and the sun came out. Participants were able to comfortably walk the rest of the way to Wendover and check into their hotels for the evening. After checking in and getting cleaned up, walkers were bussed to the Peppermill Concert Hall for a concert. During the concert, country singers Katie Mathews and Ty Herndon performed.

“It seemed like everyone enjoyed the concert,” Gossett said.

On Sunday morning, participants were again bussed back to Tooele City Hall, where their journey ended.

“This was probably my favorite walk,” Gossett said. “Once you finish hard things and you realize you can get through them, I don’t know if it’s pride or what it gives you, but you look back on it and say, ‘Heck yeah, we can do it.’”

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