HARRISON TWP. — He crossed the Mojave Desert.

He faced the elevations of the Rocky Mountains.

He braved the black smoke of forest fires in Utah, and temperatures reaching 111 degrees across the plains of Kansas.

“I was bit by a dog in California, too,” said 22-year-old Chris Praetzel, a Mullica Hill native.

It was all on foot — a total of 3,300 miles across the country — and all for a cause.

He arrived in Philadelphia on Friday, by way of Chester, Pa., and made the relatively short jog to his parents’ house in Mullica Hill on Saturday, where he stayed for an hour for some much-needed rest and hydration before moving on. He plans to finally end his trek at 10 a.m. Monday, when he dips his feet in the ocean in Atlantic City.

“It was all to raise awareness and register people to be organ donors,” said Praetzel, sitting on his parents’ couch. After more than 3,000 miles of jogging, he walked with a slight limp, but otherwise appeared in good health and even better spirits.

“It was a crazy adventure, a real roller coaster — I met cook people, great scenery, and I never who what I was going to see or who I was going to meet,” he said. “The Colorado Mountains are really cool, and sometimes people would join me for a stretch, once word got around about what I was doing.”

Organ donation is a personal matter for Praetzel. His younger brother, 19-year-old Brian, underwent a kidney transplant in 1996.

The new kidney came from an 18-year-old girl in Dallas, Texas, who died in a car accident.

The two families exchange Christmas presents to this day.

According to the Praetzel brothers, the experience changed both of their lives.

“It means a lot, and it brought our family closer together,” said Brian of his brother’s coast-to-coast run. “I think it could help people understand that something so simple can be so effective and change so many lives.”

Trying to raise awareness, Praetzel spoke with numerous people about donating organs, and even convinced a few to register.

He and his cause received media attention in Denver, Col.; Manhattan, Kan.; Kansas City, Mo.; Springfield, Ill.; and Indianapolis, Ind.; as he passed through.

Stangers donated more than $2,500 along the way, and what he wasn’t directed to spend on food will go toward the Gift of Life Donor Program.

“I was incredibly humbled by the kindness of strangers during the entire trip,” said Praetzel, who has previously completed three marathons and one 56-mile ultra-marathon. “People would offer me room in their houses — a shower and a bed — and I got a letter from Philip Oehler over at Woodbury Presbyterian Church, and churches let me camp out on their lawn, and some pastors even invited to their home.”

When his jogging stroller, which contained all of his clothes and supplies, broke down near Golden, Col., employees at a Home Depot fixed it for free.

When it broke down again in Kansas City, the Midwest Transplant Network bought him a new one.

Praetzel recalled a woman calling the cops on him at night near the outskirts of the Mojave Desert, because “I guess I kind of looked like a maniac with a baby stroller in the desert.”

When he explained everything to the officers, they left him — and then returned with a California Highway Patrol hat and bottles of Gatorade.

“Another woman in Denver gave me a can of bear mace and said I might need it,” added Praetzel. “I’m really glad I didn’t.”

Now, so close to the end of his journey, Praetzel hopes it was enough to change at least one life for the better.

“I really just want to make a difference,” he said. “If one person registers to be an organ donor, then I’ve accomplished something.

“I’ll be happy with however big this gets.”

Contact Jason Laday at 856-845-3300 ext. 228 or jladay@southjerseymedia.com.