Courtesy of Joshua Li

Last Wednesday, 41 people met on Cross Campus and began walking to New York City. Four days and many blisters later, 13 students, including one Stanford student, from the original group arrived at Grand Central Station, hollering and singing in celebration.

Many participants, regardless of whether they completed the journey, considered it a rewarding and transformative experience. Some students, like Bryce Falkoff ’29, signed up without knowing who else would be on the walk. At the end of completing the full trip, Falkoff said he had found a community. 

“It was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. It’s one of those things that you tell your kids, and something that you don’t ever forget,” Falkoff said. “It had to have been one of the most supportive groups I have ever been a part of.”

The idea for the trip started as a joke between four friends — Freeman Irabaruta ’26, Joshua Li ’26, Brian Moore ’26 and Michael Zhao ’26 — but became a reality after they dedicated many late-night hours to preparing routes, researching lodging and planning a budget. 

After compiling a seven-page-long planning document and color-coded map, the organizers extended an open invitation for anyone in the student body to participate in the walk. 

Their route roughly followed the Metro-North railroad along the Connecticut coastline, allowing an alternative mode of transportation for those who could not complete the entire trip. 

“Every Yalie has the experience of taking the Metro-North from New Haven to New York,” Zhao said. “But to say you walked from New Haven to New York is crazy. It’s such a trip of perseverance and patience.” 

The group took brief rest stops about every three to four miles and shared group meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The group planned to stay in hotels along the route each night. 

Along the way, the group encouraged unexpected hospitality. Dunkin’ Donuts donated extra food, a Chinese restaurant in Stamford offered significant discounts and a bakery in Greenwich gave them free baguettes and eclairs, Zhao said.

The group also received free lodging on the final night of the trip. They originally planned to stay in a hotel in New Rochelle, N.Y., but every hotel was fully booked or not affordable, Moore said. The organizers frantically reached out to student groups, fraternities and Yalies in the area, Moore added, and, finally, one junior agreed to host the group in her family home, accommodating 15. 

That night, the walkers also threw a surprise celebration for Kear O’Malley ’28, who turned 20 during the trip. O’Malley said that he had quickly forged strong friendships with the group, despite only having known one participant — his roommate — initially. 

“I was exhausted and that was one of the hardest days because my feet were really hurting that day, and when they brought out the birthday cake I was just really overwhelmed,” O’Malley said. 

Despite the physically taxing journey, the group persevered by finding joy in small moments. In addition to the birthday party, students celebrated major road signs and borders marking their progress.

“It’s really funny because the city line between the suburbs of New York and New York City was like in between an IHOP and a Wendy’s,” Moore said. “We were in the middle of nowhere, and then we crossed it and we were like ayyyy!”

Eliana Peyton ’26 was one of two female students who completed the entire walk to New York City. 

“We were very vastly outnumbered, but it was never ‘the men are leading the pack, and the women are following behind.’ I was in front a lot of the time,” Peyton said. “We’re all very attached now that we’ve been through an intense experience together.”

Li reflected about how the trip changed for the better when it evolved from the four senior organizers to a larger group of students.

“I really don’t think that us four could have done it without the rest of the entire group,” Li said. “The vibes would not have been there. The mutual support. We did not expect so many new friendships, so many new memories and the energy of the entire group.”

Driving from New Haven to New York City takes around 2 hours. 

Correction, Oct. 24: An earlier version of this article, including its headline, said that 13 Yalies completed the entire walk from Yale to New York City. 12 Yalies, not 13, completed the entire walk, as well as one Stanford student. The article also previously said that 41 Yalies gathered at Cross Campus to begin the walk. 40 Yalies, not 41, as well as the Stanford student gathered at Cross Campus. The article also previously said that three female students completed the entire walk. Two female students, not three, did the entire walk.