Luke introduces himself, greets the community, and points out they're in Stillwater, Minnesota, showing the park and the starting location for the walk.
Luke explains that the Minnesota walk begins here at the birthplace of the state and outlines the ambitious multi-state route they plan to take, noting the 1800-mile scope.
He warns about extreme heat (about 110°F), scales back the day's mileage to 15–20 miles, and describes hydration plans, the ice bath, the Cadre van, and RV support for cooling down.
Luke talks about how these big moments separate us as humans, introduces the idea of 'Masogies'—difficult goals you work toward each year—and praises the community and terrain they'll traverse.
He shares practical safety measures: family advice to not overextend, using ice baths, a vehicle support strategy to keep people within a few miles of help, and a strict no-ego 'no hero' rule focused on youth mental health.
Luke notes teammates and contributors arriving, reiterates his personal preparation and 'why', then wishes viewers a great week and signs off with encouragement and gratitude.
How we doing everybody? It's Luke here. Happy Monday to you and yours. Happy Monday. Happy Monday. It's Luke Wentlundt. I've been here at CADRE since day one. It's always the best thing in the world to see this community. Thanks for joining along. Thanks for joining me. We're here in Stillwater, Minnesota today. Here we are. Beautiful Stillwater by the way. This is the Stillwater Park. And you guys ready for this? The walk around Minnesota starts today and it starts right down there and then we start and we go up the river We're gonna fall so this is actually the birthplace of Minnesota right here birthplace of Minnesota St.
Croix River Stillwater, Minnesota and we have a tooth about 1800 mile 1800 mile walk ahead so That's quite the ride. So gearing up for it. There's nothing really you can do to prepare. You just gotta have the mindset of, you know, I won't quit, I'll just keep going. We'll figure it out. And so yeah, starting the leap, taking the walk, leaving here in the next hour or so. And we'll be cruising from here at Stillwater and heading up our way to Duluth, Minnesota, up to Canada. and then over around and across to the Dakotas, down to Iowa, over to Wisconsin, back up to Stillwater and trying to hydrate.
Today's going to be a roaster. It's going to be about 110 degrees. You can see I'm just sweating right now, just standing. So yes, I will drink lots and lots of water. Today we are looking at about about 15 to 20 miles we had slated for 30 we had slated for 30 miles and we determined that um it's just best for all parties to like finish between 15 and 20 it's just going to be so blasted hot so drink a ton of water we have the ice bath set um you can't see it but because there's going to be a bunch of people gathering here soon as we continue to roll.
But so you got the cadre van over there. You can't really see it very well, but we have the cadre van over there with our sauna and we have that behind. Over on the other side over here, we have our RV and the RV has our ice bath, which is fantastic. So we got the ice bath ready to go. So at any time we can just jump in and cool down. And it's it's these are these are the moments that like I live for These are the moments that I feel really kind of separate ourselves as human beings in this world is to like put yourself out there and try something big.
I call them the Masogies. Masogies are things that are so difficult. So difficult that you know you have to work a little bit each year to try to achieve your big dreams and your big goals. And so one more time I just want to share like this is the most beautiful community One of the most beautiful communities in Minnesota. This is Stillwater, like I said, birthplace in Minnesota. It's pretty hilly. And honestly, it's like the last hilly stretch in Minnesota, basically, until we get to the Arrowhead region, which is north of Duluth, Minnesota.
So looking forward to having quite the trip, quite the ride. You know, my wife and kids just said, you know, don't do anything dumb, meaning like don't push or press yourself. You know, stay, stay smart, be medically sound, be medically safe as well. I love it. Jen Vrali says ice bath is key. You better believe it. Hotwired heat acclimation. But yeah, we are going to have a ridiculous, awesome time here together. The very first thing, like I said, is we're going to be safe. We have the ice bath ready to go.
We have all of our Dakine, Nathan, backpacks, et cetera, with all of our water. Our strategy is we drive up the vehicle five miles and then one individual walks back, one individual meets them. So I always say like, no matter what, you'll always have somebody by your side within two and a half miles, right? So you'll always have somebody by your side within two and a half miles, whether that's mental support, emotional support, physical support, you name it. And also nobody's going to be a hero today.
So there's that's that's off the table. No ego on this walk. It's all about, you know, what are we doing it for is youth mental health and that's just what it is. So nobody's going to do anything to try to be a hero or or out ego somebody right now. That's just that's not in the cards for us. So with that, wish us nothing but the best of luck. There's a group that's coming right now. There's going to be the first wave from the Cadre teammates. Of course, my friend Jason Lennox, contributor on our platform that goes live every Sunday.
He will be here as well. And I'm really looking forward to this opportunity and been working my tail off with my wife and my kids, spending the right time, taking it all in, making sure that I can be my best self before and after this walk. I always remember what we do it for. I always remember my why. I always remember, big goals and big dreams don't happen by taking a big risk. So big risk usually accounts for it as well. So with that, you all have the most amazing week. I'm sending love. Peace be with you.
And I'm gonna go crush this thing. We'll talk soon, okay? Bye-bye you all. Again thanks for joining in.
