The following is a Day 3 update by Greg Yost, who’s on the trail of the Walk for Our Grandchildren, July 19th-July 27th.
Reinforcements arrive.
After spending the last two days walking down roads and through valleys where Confederate and Union troops maneuvered 150 years ago, it feels only natural to think of the huge influx of new walkers this evening as fresh troops arriving just in time for our offensive to recapture the future from fossil fuels. Our forces have more than tripled since Friday at Camp David.
We’re in Harpers Ferry, WV, itself a place pregnant with Civil War history and meaning. Steve Norris, one the Walk’s originators, made those connections for us as we gathered for orientation in a beautiful field now dotted with our tents on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River.

Steve pointed out that just as our nation now finds itself addicted to carbon-sourced energy and in desperate need of deliverance, so it once was also addicted to slave-sourced fuel. The commitment, courage, moral seriousness, and sacrifice exhibited during Emancipation, a struggle for the very heart and soul of the nation, serves as a model for us now.
We’re ready. Tonight many of us arrived to this first Walk camp alone, not knowing another soul, but it was instantly clear as we shared our stories that we also share the same passion for tackling this matter of climate justice head on.
Walkers listened intently as organizers laid out plans for the week. The nonviolent direct action in downtown DC on Friday the 26th in particular will be an important step in advancing national awareness of a key climate issue pertaining to the Keystone XL pipeline.
The focus of the action (under wraps for now to maximize its eventual impact) is timely in a way that could not have been predicted even a month ago. However, more of us are needed to make the most of this opportunity to strike a blow at Keystone XL. This summer is our window of opportunity to steer the decision on this pipeline.
The pages of history are being written today. Be one of the writers! Go to http://joinsummerheat.org/dc/ for more information about the action and to sign up.
Tomorrow we move out. Youth, senior citizens, and all of us in between are on our way to the White House. More news from the front soon…
-Greg Yost for the 2013 Walk For Our Grandchildren
Click to read updates from Day 1 and Day 2 of the Walk for Our Grandchildren.
Follow walkers @_Grandchildren and #Walk4Grandkids on Twitter and on here on Facebook.