Detroit Lakes man discovers a new world walking every mile of Becker County's roads

It took him more than two years, 40 townships and three pairs of shoes. But Lowell Deede has walked every public road in Becker County — or about 2,156 miles.

Deede, 62, started out in the summer of 2013 at his home near Detroit Lakes, marking his path on a map, then pushing outward. He encountered trumpeter swans and friendly Amish folks. He met a father and daughter who invited him in for soup. He discovered a "small but special" memorial to fallen soldiers on the east side of Toad Lake.

"Instead of just going out and walking the same path every day," Deede explained by phone, "why not go and see some different parts of the county? "To me, it fueled a curiosity: What's over this next hill?"

The project took some backtracking down dead-end roads and loops that touched on miles already traversed. When he was done, Deede, a retired biologist, had walked a total of 3,007 miles. He averaged about 8.5 miles a day, he said.

His accomplishment has garnered attention: On March 10, Deede will speak to the Glacial Edge Chapter of the North Country Trail Association. Matthew Davis, the trail's regional coordinator, said he was "amazed" by Deede's project.

Davis has walked the Appalachian Trail and knows the "Virginia blues" that can hit about mile-1,000, he said. "You've been out there long enough that the newness has worn off," he said, "and you realize that you're kind of doing the same thing over and over again."

In Deede's case, the scenery was a bit less majestic, Davis pointed out.

Deede walked alone, when it fit in his schedule, driving to the county's outer reaches. The county is "so diverse, from a landscape perspective," said Deede, who worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.

Becker County's western edges are dominated by "wide open spaces" that were once prairie and are now farmland, he said. Southwestern areas are home to buffalo pastures, he said, while the northeastern reaches include Itasca State Park — "which is very wooded, lots of lakes."

Along the way, he saw deer, a bear, Canada geese. A surprising number of donkeys. A few dogs seemed eager to give him some trouble, but he made it without injury.

In his younger years, Deede, who grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin, was inspired by his uncle's tales about mountain climbers. While in college, Deede participated in an Outward Bound program in Colorado.

"I realized that the wilderness experience, the mountainous experience, was something that I really enjoyed," he said.

Deede might continue those mountainous missions in search of that goal. Or he might try the North Country Trail. Or … "There are so many great memories," he said, pausing. "I don't know, I might do it again."