Undeterred by a forecast of freezing rain and snow, around 6 p.m. on March 7, 18-year-old David Sherbs Jr. made the decision to walk more than 30 miles from the One-Stop gas station on Broadway in South Portland to the Regional Transportation Center in Wells. 

“I wanted to visit relatives in Boston, and figured ‘Why not walk to Wells?’ It saves me $6 on a train ticket,” Sherbs said.

Sherbs is no stranger to walking. He said he has never owned a car and enjoys walking to his classes at Southern Maine Community College where he is currently studying to be an electrical engineer. Having grown up traveling all over the world, Sherbs said he has hiked trails in England, Norway and more recently at Acadia National Park.

“I find two legs and a sense of balance can get 

me most places,” he said.

Sherbs said he makes a point of refraining 

from the “dangerous practice” of hitchhiking wherever he walks. He said he usually carpools with friends if he needs a ride.

“If they can get me close, they just drop me off on the side of the road and I’ll walk from there,” he said. “My friends just think I’m kind of weird.” 

Despite protests from his aunt, who said it was far too dangerous to walk along the side of the road at night, Sherbs packed a bag with first aid supplies and other necessities to bring with him on the trip. He said vigilance was  something he learned from the Cub Scouts.

“Even if you’re doing urban walks you need to be prepared,” he  said.

Sherbs also brought a disposable camera to record his journey for the media. Sherbs said he decided to share his experience through an interview rather than an online blog  or a Web site, which take money and time to set up.

“I didn’t do it for pride, friends or a bet. Sometimes you just don’t need a reason. I could have done it for myself, but I thought if I got known a little bit it might be that much more influential to people,” he said.

In addition to taking photos of Dunkin’ Donuts employees, road signs and other sights  in Scarborough, Biddeford, Saco and Kennebunk, Sherbs kept a detailed log of his walk.  According to his notes, it took Sherbs nearly 10 hours to reach Saco, where he was stopped  by a curious police officer March 8 around 4:30 a.m.

“I didn’t really look that hot,” Sherbs said. “I was limping, my hair was down and I hadn’t shaved in a few weeks.”

After convincing the officer he was not out collecting cans, the rain-soaked Sherbs was allowed to continue to limp his way through the city. Sherbs said he was accompanied by the voice of Bob Seger drifting over empty car dealer lots that dot Route One in Saco.

“The elevator music combined with the sounds of the balloons; it was creepy,” he said.

Sherbs described how “walking at night makes you feel that you are the only person left after Armageddon” in a letter to his girlfriend in Alaska, who encouraged him to attempt the walk. 

“She spurred me into action,” he said. “Without her it would still be a plan on the drawing board.”

When he wasn’t jumping into snow banks to avoid traffic on his march, Sherbs said he passed the time by forming an excuse for his aunt, to whom he promised not to make the trip on foot.

“Deception is not deception if the person you are deceiving is trying to change what you like to do,” he said. “You can’t let other people try  to change you.”

Almost 15 hours after departing the One-Stop gas station, Sherbs reached the Kennebunk-Wells border and called a taxicab to bring him the rest  of the way.

“It was a pretty crappy night,” the cab driver, who wished to be called Denis D., said. “I said, ‘Why don’t you get a bicycle  buddy?’”

Once at the train station, Sherbs said he “was looking forward to a sock change” when he realized he had left his extra clothing at his apartment, and 

arrived at Boston’s South Station soaked, limping and tired.

“I came across this random guy who thought I was a veteran,” he said. “I thought ‘Do I look that old?’”

After his first experience with the U.S. road system, Sherbs said he “had nothing bad to say about this country,” but was surprised by the lack of  pedestrian walkways along Route One. Sherbs said he encountered long stretches of road lacking any kind of pedestrian accommodations and often had to walk in the breakdown lane. 

“Here it’s all about cars,” he said. “In England there’s a mixture.”

Aaron Huey, a renowned freelance photographer who has been featured in the National Geographic and Smithsonian magazines, has been a role model for Sherbs  since they began communicating via email several weeks ago. Huey completed a 3,349 mile walk across the country in 2002. 

“He said he doesn’t even like to walk, it just gets him where he needs to go,” Sherbs said.

Sherbs said while he will not be taking any more late night hiking excursions, he hopes to climb some of the tallest mountains in the northeast to inspire seniors who “want to find faith in the young. 

“Maybe these old guys can live a little vicariously,” he said.