Sheboygan veteran hiking Ice Age Trail to raise awareness of veteran suicide

Phillip Bock | Sheboygan Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Sheboygan veteran hikes Ice Age Trail Sheboygan veteran Anthony Salazar has set out to hike the entire length of the Ice Age Trail to raise awareness of veteran suicide and PTSD.

SHEBOYGAN - Sheboygan veteran Anthony Salazar will spend the next three months hiking across Wisconsin to raise awareness of veteran suicide.

The 30-year-old veteran, who completed two tours in Iraq as a marine infantryman in 2005 and 2013, has seen veterans struggle with returning to civilian life. In April, he learned a close friend from his second deployment had taken his own life after struggling with PTSD.

“He taught me everything I know about leadership,” Salazar said. “I was supposed to move out to California and work with him. We hung up on good terms, and then this happened and I felt like I could have done more.”

Salazar said his friend wasn't the first, and that the struggle to re-acclimate can be hard for veterans returning from active combat.

“I can count on two hands how many friends I’ve lost to suicide,” he said.

Veterans can talk about their issues among other veterans, he said, but often struggle to confide in friends and family. Along his walk he's raising funds for DryHootch, an alcohol-free safe haven for veterans to gather in Milwaukee.

“In the service we have pride in ourselves and don’t want to look weak,” he said. “Sometimes it takes a lot to get over that.”

Salazar himself began to fall on hard times after returning from deployment. Earlier this year, settling back into life in Sheboygan, Salazar said he felt himself slipping back into old habits of heavy drinking and depression — and had to do something drastic to change his life.

“For me, it took a lot of loss," he said. "There were times when I contemplated taking my life. If it wasn’t for one of my friends reaching out to me I don’t know if I’d be here for not."

To break his routine, and raise awareness of veteran suicide and PTSD, Salazar set out June 12 on a 1,200 mile journey along the entire Ice Age Trail.

He set out from Sturgeon Bay and hopes to end in Taylors Falls, Minnesota, in early September.

“I’m hiking 15 to 20 miles a day for the next 80 or 90 days consecutively,” Salazar said. “I just want veterans to know that I’m here, for them, regardless of rank, service, or whatever. If I can save one life, that’s good on me.”

Fitted with a hiking backpack full of gear and an American flag, Salazar crossed the 100 mile mark and made it Two Rivers on Wednesday. He hopes to make it through Sheboygan County next week.

Along the route, he is hoping to connect with veterans groups in each community and has invited veterans to join him on segments of his journey.

"I want my voice to reach those that need someone in their darkest time and let them know that they are not alone and that I am here and asking them to stay another day and walk with me," he said.

The hike has gone well so far, other than a lot of rain and more mosquitoes than expected, Salazar said.

"There are some segments where I can just walk and think, and then there are other places where I have to hurry the heck up because the mosquitoes are attacking me," he laughed.

Salazar is posting updates on his journey on Facebook at Facebook.com/1200milesThroughTheIceAgeTrail.

Reach reporter Phillip Bock at 920-453-5121, pbock@sheboyganpress.com, or @bockling on Twitter