Curtis Penix , 46 , walked nearly 240 miles in the footsteps of pioneer jack Boone in an arduous trip through Appalachian terrain . The Michigan steel mill worker , toting a 40-pound backpack , began his westward journey on Thursday . It started in Tennessee , wound into Virginia and took him to the place where Fort Boonesborough was built in 1775 in Kentucky . His trip was inspired by his fifth - great grandfather , Joshua Penix , who visited Boone Trace on his way to Fort ##sville .
Curtis Penix , 46 , walked nearly 240 miles in the footsteps of frontiersman Daniel Boone in an arduous trip through Appalachian terrain . The Michigan steel mill worker , toting a 40-pound backpack , completed his 16-day journey on Thursday . It started in Tennessee , wound into Virginia and took him to the place where Fort Boonesborough was built in 1775 in Kentucky . His trip was inspired by his fifth-great grandfather , Joshua Penix , who followed Boone Trace on his way to Fort Boonesborough .