14 years ago, Steve Fugate took it upon himself to walk across America, as therapy after losing his son. Since then, he has achieved his goal 6 times, and is currently on his seventh attempt. Through his extraordinary journey, he hopes to spread just one simple message – ‘Love Life’. He started his latest walk on March 23, last year and is still going strong. He has already passed through 21 states and has 27 more to go. “My feet swell, my knees hurt, my legs hurt. I do not like walking. But I do it specifically for a reason,” he said. It’s estimated 67-year-old Steve has walked over 34,000 kilometers since he first set out on his legendary treks.

Fugate, a native of Florida, had never really been a fan of walking, but he found it to be a great way to spread love after he lost his children. 1999 was a particularly tough year for him. He was going through a failed marriage and his business had taken a hit. To make matters worse, his son Stevie, 26, was convicted of drunk driving. It was all getting a bit too much to handle, so Fugate decided to go trekking on the 2,167 mile Appalachian Trail, leaving his son in charge of the business.

Unfortunately, young Stevie was also dealing with several serious issues at the time and committed suicide. Fugate received the tragic news as he was trekking through Pennsylvania. “When he put a gun to his mouth and pulled the trigger, he ended my life too,” said the heartbroken father. After a brief period of grieving, he made up his mind to finish the trek. This turned out to be a life-altering decision. “When I was out there, something happened to me. I couldn’t imagine any other human being going through what I did. It’ll change your whole life.”

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Photo: Love LIFE Walk/Facebook

For a while, Fugate set up a non-profit organization to accept donations towards his cause. But he soon stopped. Now he refuses to accept any kind of charity. He only walks to raise awareness about depression and suicide, and to encourage people to love their lives. “I’ve lost both my babies. If I can love my life, anybody can,” he said. His constant hope is to dissuade people from taking the drastic step of ending their lives. “That’s the opposite end of the spectrum. If you love life, you’re not going to end it on your own.”

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Photo: Love LIFE Walk/Facebook

It turns out that one of the people Fugate helped was his own son’s friend. “A young man reached out to me and said, ‘I went to school with your son.’ He just wrote me and said he was in his 40’s now, and had gotten into drugs and a few other things. He thought that killing himself was the only way out.” But now the man is sober and free of suicidal thoughts for two years. “He didn’t do it because it would have made him feel rotten to do that to me. He didn’t even know me,” said Fugate.

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Photo: Love LIFE Walk/Facebook

Fugate always sets out on a walk with a sign that reads: ‘Love Life’. He says it brings out the best in people. Some people give him snacks and water, others offer him cash. “That happens all the time,” he said. “People think I’m homeless, but I’m not. But I never ask for money; the only things I ever ask for is a bottle of water or a place to charge my electronics, my phone and laptop.”

He needs his ‘electronics’ to be charged all the time so he can post about his journey on his Facebook page. Fugate has over 5,000 friends and he also runs a website called Trailtherapy.com. “I go on Facebook and I give everyone a barrage of truth and a barrage of acts of kindness. People say, ‘I’m glad there’s still good people out there.’ Still good people? What do you mean? They never went anywhere!”

14年前，在失去儿子之后，Steve Fugate 毅然开始了徒步走遍美国的治疗之旅。自那时起，他已然完成了6次旅行目标，现在他正在进行第7次尝试。他希望通过这种特别的方式向人们传达一个简单的信息——“珍爱生命”。这第七趟旅行自去年3月23日开始，目前然在继续。他已经走过了21个州，但还有27个没完成。他说：“我的脚肿了，膝盖伤了，大腿疼痛。我不喜欢走路。但我有一个继续这样做的理由。”据估计，自67岁的 Steve 开始这段传奇的徒步之旅至今，他大概已经走了超过34000千米的路程。

Fugate 来自佛罗里达州，他从来就不是步行爱好者，但是在他失去孩子们之后，他发现这是一种传播爱的绝佳方式。1999年对他来说，是极坎坷的一年。那一年，他婚姻破裂，生意失败。更糟的是他26岁的儿子 Stevie 酒后驾车被判有罪。生活如被风暴卷过，一片狼藉。于是 Fugate 将生意留给儿子打理，决定步行2167英里走完阿帕拉契小径。

不幸的是，Stevie 当时也遇到了不少挫折，陷入困境的他自杀身亡了。在 Fugate 费劲千辛万苦走过宾夕法尼亚时，他得知了这个噩耗。这位悲伤的父亲说：“当他将枪塞进自己嘴里扣动扳机时，我的生命也随之结束了。”在短暂的悲伤之后，他收拾好了自己的心情，继续完成徒步旅行。事实证明，这是个改变生活的决定。“当我抵达之后，我身上发生了一些变化。我无法想象世界上有人能做到我做的这些。这能改变你的人生。”

但是 Fugate 的麻烦还远没结束。2005年，灾难再次袭来。这次他失去了他的女儿，她在进行多发性硬化治疗时由于药物过量而死。这次他放弃了一切希望，结束了他的生意，再次进行他所谓的“徒步治疗”。他说：“我尝试过各种集体治疗，但是完全不起作用。所以，我开始了自己的治疗之旅，神让我得到了严格的一对一治疗。”

很快，Fugate 成立了一个非盈利性的机构，接受支持他目标的捐助。但又很快停止了。现在他拒绝接受任何方式的捐赠。他只为一件事而旅行着，提高人们对于挫折和自杀的意识，鼓励人们热爱生活。他说：“我失去了两个孩子。如果我都能爱我的生活，那么任何人都能做到。”他努力地劝阻人们不要轻易放弃生命。如果你热爱生命，就不会自己结束生命。

事实上，被 Fugate 救助的人里有一个是他儿子的朋友。“有人联系我，对我说：‘我是你儿子的同学’，他写信说，他现在年逾40岁，染上了一些恶习和毒瘾，他觉得只有自杀才是唯一的出路。”但是现在，那个人已经冷静下来了，他摆脱自杀念头已有两年。

Fugate 通常会举着一块写着“珍爱生命”的牌子旅行。他说这会为人们揭开生命美好的一面。有些人会给他食物和水，还有人会给他钱。他说：“这种事经常发生，人们以为我无家可归，事实并非如此。但是我从不会跟人要钱。我只跟人们要过水，以及为我的手机和笔记本电脑充电。”

他需要保持电子设备处于有电状态，这样他才能不停地在 Facebook 主页上更新他的旅行状态。Fugate 有5000多个好友，还开了一个名为 Trailtherapy.com 的网站。“我不断在 Facebook 上跟人家分享各种真理和各种正能量。人们会说‘真好，世界上还有这么好的人。’仍然有好人？这是什么意思？其实世上从来就不乏好人。”

事实上，Fugate 很不满电子产品让世界变得如此消极。他称这世界是个远比人们的想象要美好的存在。他说：“我站在了一个独特的位置看世界。在过去的14年里，我一直独自生活，我变得更了解自己。我呼吁大家爱生命，睁眼看看世界的美好。”

Fugate 总说，他的下一次旅行会是最后一次，但是目前他丝毫没有停止的迹象。他说，找到所要的那一天就是他停止的时刻。但是他想要的是什么？他说：“我不知道。但是当我得到时，我会知道就是那个东西。”