Center Township man to hike nation to honor deceased son
BUTLER TWP — Chris Karenbauer probably would have paused for a moment when his dad said he planned to walk from his home in Center Township to Venice Beach, Calif., but he would have followed it up by hyping up his father.
If Chris — who died in 2021 at age 25 — heard that his dad, Terry Karenbauer, was making the trek in his honor, it may have left him speechless, according to his sister, Marina Karenbauer.
“I can almost picture him smiling and saying ‘Dad, that would be so cool,’” she said. “Chris was your ultimate hype man. I think he would be so proud of my dad. I think he would look at the project and just be happy at how we are able to help people.
“I would like to think he would be happy, and kind of freaking out that my dad wanted to walk across the country.”
Terry Karenbauer began planning this 2,500-mile journey last year, as he was building up the nonprofit Chris Karenbauer Project.
On Thursday, Feb. 27, Karenbauer took one of his regular walks at Alameda Park, which is part of his routine in preparing for the long journey, he said.
“Every morning I get up — I’m usually up about 5, 5:30 — and walk 5 or 8 miles,” Karenbauer said. “I come here, or walk at North Park. I’ve walked the Rail to Trails from here to Freeport and back numerous times. The Appalachian Trail, I have walked part of it.”
Karenbauer formed the Chris Karenbauer Project in 2022, as a way to honor his son by raising money for causes like women’s shelters and veterans organizations.
Aside from the fundraising aspects of the nonprofit, Karenbauer said the nonprofit is a way for him to tell Chris’ story, whose cause of death was ruled as a brain aneurysm.
“I try to present my story in connecting to people who have gone through things similar to us,” Karenbauer said. “They couldn’t come up with any kind of diagnosis at that point, until afterwards. They let us know that there might have been something going on with his spleen. It formed a blood clot, went up to his brain and he had an aneurysm.”
The project is an offshoot of a nonprofit that had existed when Chris was alive, and one he was involved in since high school. His sister said Chris was a giving person who helped people as much as he could.
“We started it up to live when he was alive. Chris was very involved in this charity from one of our teachers, the We Choose Joy Project,” Marina Karenbauer said. “He went out of his way to do additional things that weren’t associated with that project. He always had that very giving way about him.”
She said she only learned of the extent of Chris’ helping hand after his death, when a friend of his approached her at his funeral.
“He had a best friend, who, their mother was homeless. Chris would sneak out extra food for the kid. Some of his clothes would go missing, he would just shrug it off,” she said. “At his funeral his friend, who was one of the pallbearers, told us just how much Chris did for him.”
Through the walk, dubbed “Chris Crossing America,” Terry Karenbauer plans to raise money by speaking with people he meets en route, and having online sponsorships, where people can donate a certain amount of money per mile he travels. Terry Karenbauer said his son’s death led him to pursue more philanthropic efforts, and this walk is the culmination of that.
“What I’m trying to do along the way is not only raise money for the project but talk to other people along the way and kind of treat it like a documentary,” he said. “At the end of the day, what are we all here for? What can we do to help out other people?”
Planning the journey from Butler County to Venice Beach took some time, and Karenbauer got help from his daughter in preparing the route.
Through researching journeys similar to this one, he found a route that will seemingly be one of the most direct options to get across the country.
“I didn’t realize there what’s called the American Discovery Trail that goes from the East Coast to the West Coast,” Karenbauer said. “I've got to cut across Ohio and pick it up around Cincinnati. From there, there is a southern route and northern route. I will pretty much stay on that trail.”
Although the idea sounded far-fetched, and even unattainable, at first, Marina Karenbauer said it almost was not a shock to hear her dad say he wanted to make the trip. Out of all her siblings — her younger brother and Chris’ twin, Spencer, and her youngest brother, Alex — she said she was likely the best one to help her dad plan this trek.
“He said, ‘I want to walk from Butler to California.’ It was kind of like that record scratch moment — like what?” she said. “I was kind of like, how are you going to do this? It’s definitely an out-there thought. I had to put things into perspective for him.”
With the plan in mind, Terry Karenbauer mainly now has to focus on the other biggest challenge of the hike: endurance. While he said he walks a lot and has camping supplies that will help get him through the trek, he has been walking even farther and more frequently now to build up his strength for the trip.
“I usually can walk anywhere between 25 to 50 miles a day,” Karenbauer said. “I’m hoping to finish anywhere between eight to 10 months.”
He said he plans to depart in early April with hopes to avoid the snow in the Rocky Mountains and get to California while the weather is still warm. Attached to his travel backpack — which contains clothing and camping supplies — is a laminated flyer for the Chris Karenbauer Project, which has a QR code people can use to donate directly to the nonprofit.
Karenbauer told a story Feb. 27 about a woman he ran into at Aldi a few months prior, who he ended up giving a Thanksgiving turkey to as outreach for the Chris Karenbauer Project. He said he had several turkeys in his car when he saw a woman outside Aldi who he learned was having financial trouble. He insisted that she take the turkey, and a few months later, she donated to the project.
“What are the odds of that happening?” Karenbauer said.
To Marina Karenbauer, the fact that people, like her dad, are memorializing Chris through random acts of kindness is a great way of keeping his memory alive. He was a helper throughout his life, she said.
“Chris was always pushing people to be better versions of themselves; inspire people to do better and help out their fellow man,” she said. “Chris just wanted to be there to help people. We try to be better, and help people and make sure they have everything they can.”
The Chris Karenbauer Project has a Facebook and Instagram page.
