As with many trips, Steve Vaught's trek across the US was about more than just the simple act of getting from one place to another.
"I'm glad that I'm here, but for me it's never been about the destination," he said as he crossed the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey to Manhattan more than a year after he began the trip to lose weight and find happiness. "It's been about the journey."
Vaught, 40, began the roughly 4,828km trek from his home in Oceanside, California, to Manhattan on April 10 last year, when he weighed 186kg and was suffering from severe depression after he accidentally killed two elderly pedestrians while driving 15 years ago.
He ended the journey on Tuesday about 45kg lighter.
Along the way, Vaught slept in tents and motels and went through 15 pairs of shoes, more than 30 pairs of socks and six backpacks. But he did not travel with a pedometer or measure the food he ate, and he said he aimed to change his behavior -- not just his weight.
"This is not about obsessing about numbers, or times, or dates, or miles," he said. "It's just about going on a walk and, sort of, having time to get things straight."
Vaught's path wasn't a straight one. He spent a week at a Texas hotel, where he went off antidepressants, and he returned to California for Christmas and then to work out with a personal trainer.
Vaught chronicled his progress on a Web site, thefatmanwalking.com, which lists the names of dozens of supporters in 26 states. He has signed a book deal, and his trip attracted the attention of documentary filmmakers.
As Vaught began walking the span from New Jersey to Manhattan on Tuesday evening with a flock of cameras and reporters, a passing bicyclist yelled, "Hey, that's the walking dude! Congratulations! Good job!"
Nicoline Biggio, who went to see him complete his journey, said her husband has been following Vaught's progress but had missed the finale because he was out of town.
"I think it's great that he's finished his goal," Biggio said. "So few of us actually keep them."
Vaught posed for photographs on the bridge with the New York City skyline in the background and standing in front of the "Welcome to New York, the Empire State" sign. Once he reached the other side -- his final destination -- he spoke to reporters for a few minutes on the street before being picked up by a black sedan that took him to a hotel.
His first order of business at the hotel, Vaught said, was to "put on some new socks."
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
A senior US military official yesterday warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders. Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions, but they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control. Samuel Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference. Paparo “underscored the importance
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
RSS