Camilo Ruiz set out from Orlando on foot in March with a cart full of gear and a goal that sounded almost absurd: walk all the way to Seattle. Seven months later, the 31-year-old was closing in on the finish line, pushing his supplies across the final stretch of a journey that drew more than $25,000 in donations, half of which goes to The Singletons, which helps families facing cancer.
Ruiz departed Orlando on March 9 on what was planned as a solo, roughly 3,100-mile cross-country charity walk to Seattle, according to the Three Forks Voice. By the time he reached Montana in late August, he had covered 2,417 miles from his Florida starting point, the paper reported. A separate report from 963 The Blaze described the 3,100-mile goal as Ruiz's own “ridiculous” target when he left Florida.
As reported by Arizona's Family, Ruiz walked 3,100 miles from Orlando, Florida, ending his journey in Seattle, Washington, and raising thousands of dollars for an Arizona nonprofit along the way. Half of all donations collected through the effort go to The Singletons, an Arizona nonprofit that supports single-parent families facing cancer, while the remaining half covers the basics of the road — gear, food, emergencies and the occasional place to sleep, per the Three Forks Voice's account of the arrangement.
Thousands Raised, Millions of Views
Apple Valley News Now reported that donations tied to Ruiz's journey had reached over $25,000 as his trek neared its end. The outlet's report noted that Ruiz documented the walk under the name “Low Life Wreck,” a project that had accumulated millions of views online.
The miles clearly took a toll. The Three Forks Voice reported that Ruiz had not gone a single morning without thinking about quitting, a candid admission from someone who was, by that point, nearly at the finish line.
A Shifting Finish Line
Apple Valley News Now reported that Ruiz was in Ellensburg, Washington, 115 miles from completing the trip. The End the Rat Race tracker names The Singletons as the journey's Arizona-based beneficiary.
Throughout the trip, Ruiz tried to walk 20 to 30 miles a day while pushing a cart loaded with his supplies, the Three Forks Voice reported. That pace carried him through stops across the country, including the Montana leg covered separately by Montana Right Now, before he closed in on Washington state.
Capping the Journey in Seattle
Ruiz had planned to host a meet-up day in Seattle on October 10 to mark the end of the walk and the fundraising push, according to Apple Valley News Now's report. The event was framed as a capstone to months on the road and a way to bring together supporters who had followed the journey's progress from Florida to the Pacific Northwest.
For The Singletons, the effort represents another contribution toward its mission of helping single parents navigate cancer diagnoses while raising their children. Ruiz's walk, stretched across half a year and thousands of miles of pavement, turned a solo trek into a cross-country fundraising campaign that reached supporters from Orlando to Seattle.
