Photo Story: Man crosses Michigan on stilts

BY TYLER SIPE

June 02, 2008 11:24 am

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He's the first to feel a drop of rain or flinch at blustery northern winds.

Blissfield resident Neil Sauter teeters 8 feet, 8 inches above the ground, so it isn't difficult to understand why he'd prefer a grueling ascent up a steep hill rather than perform a balancing act in a howling breeze.

Come rain or shine, Sauter, 25, is a temporary nomad. He covers nearly 20 miles a day on 3-foot-high aluminum drywall stilts.

"When I started walking on stilts a lot of people were in disbelief," said Sauter, who began stilt-walking last summer. "I'm pretty clumsy."

Sauter plans to walk nearly 830 miles across Michigan to raise money and awareness for cerebral palsy, a condition that causes physical disability in human development.

It's a task that's deeply personal for Sauter, himself afflicted with cerebral palsy; it mildly affects his calves and ankles.

Sauter's commitment helped him overcome first-day jitters, exhaustion, five falls and blisters and calluses on his feet and toes.

"I had some doubts after the first day," Sauter said. "But I always tell myself it's too early to give up."

Car horns honked, heads turned and cameras clicked as Sauter strutted into Traverse City on May 28. A few handed Sauter food, water and money.

He hopes to raise at least $17,000 for United Cerebral Palsy of Michigan by the end of June, when he takes his last step and ends the trip in the Upper Peninsula town of Iron Mountain.

"I thought it would be fun to ride my bike downstate," Sauter said of the day he can return home. "But I think my legs and feet will need a break."

Sauter will be in the Petoskey area today. To make a donation or find more information, visit the Web site www.stiltstory.org

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