Tracy Delp of Washington rides through Franklin County as part of her Coast2Coast for Cancer ride. The 3,500 mile journey ends in Delaware.
Tracy Delp of Washington rides through Franklin County as part of her Coast2Coast for Cancer ride. The 3,500 mile journey ends in Delaware. (Ryan Blackwell/Public Opinion)
CHAMBERSBURG -- It is painfully clear to Tracy Delp that cancer picks and chooses anyone, human or animal, and she wants to change that by riding across the country horseback, raising money for cancer treatments for people and animals.The 48-year old Washington State native is riding through Franklin County this weekend, in Chambersburg today.
"My mom is a colon cancer survivor. She died of pancreatic cancer in 2008," Delp said. "That year, on my birthday, I got the idea in my head to do this (ride)."
She thought about it for a year and a half.
"I decided I either needed to do it or stop thinking about it," she said.
The ride began with Delp and one other person in Ocean City, Wash. on Mother's Day 2011. She had wanted to either start or finish in her hometown, and figured starting there would give her a better gauge of the weather in the Rockies and Cascade mountain ranges.
When the pair hit the border of Idaho, he wanted to turn around.
That changed her plans. She trimmed a 5,000 mile route to 3,500 miles, with the end in St. Mary's, Del.
She continued on, with her horse, Sierra, a 13-year old former mountain horse from Delp's outfitting days; and her dog, Ursa, an almost 10-year old flat-coated retriever.
The trio got over the Rockies in 10 days. The mountain pass she rode over closed for the winter the next day.
The ride was postponed for weather until April of this year, when the roads opened after the winter snows.
Over the months of the ride, Delp has shared her message with everyone she meets: that together we can fight cancer. She accepts donations on a dedicated web site, www.coast2coastforcancer.webs.com. The money can be dedicated to supporting the ride (it costs $50 a week to keep a horse fed and in good health), or funding cancer treatments for people or animals - the donor can pick the cause. All funds donated to paying for the ride which exceed the cost of feeding and medical treatments for the crew of three are donated to the cancer treatment causes, Delp explains on the web site.
Also on the site are photos of her voyage across the country, many taken from horseback, with Sierra's ears in the frame.
The journey has not been without drama. The night after Delp crossed the Mississippi river she woke up ill - and that happened with one other river crossing, she said.
"There's something coming off that river that's not good," she said.
Sierra got sick from eating a toxic plant in Ohio, and Ursa was stepped on and suffered a split paw.
Through the safer roads of the journey, Ursa walks along side Sierra on a flex leash. In bad weather or along busy highways, she stays in the trailer, which is ahead of the team each day, driven there by a volunteer.
Delp either sleeps in the trailer, or is housed by people she meets along the way.
"Most places I land, they'll know someone two or three days out" to provide shelter, a shower and a washer and dryer, Delp said.
From time to time, she uses her cell phone to request an escort - primarily across bridges. She's had two bridge escorts in Pennsylvania and four total during the trip. They've been either police or fire crews, and one road construction crew even stopped working for 10 minutes while she and Sierra passed, which she truly appreciated, she said.
Anyone interested in donating can do so through Delp's web page, and follow the ride on Facebook: search for Coast2CoastforCancer.
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Andrea Rich can be reached at arich@publicopinionnews.com or 262-4764.
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