Walking America Couple walks through Bangor during 12,000-mile, 50-state trek

BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - Walking 12,000 miles across all 50 states: that’s the mission a Missouri couple has been working to conquer for the past four years.

Torin and Paige Rouse have dubbed themselves the Walking America Couple. The pair has amassed over 80,000 followers on Facebook where they delight their fans with their adventures.

To date, the Rouses have traveled almost 8,000 miles in 29 states since they started this endeavor in 2022. Tuesday, their journey brought them to Bangor.

Why walk?

When we caught up with the duo in Brewer, Torin told us when he met Paige, he had become disillusioned working in the corporate world and found he was happier with less.

He added the real reward in the connections they’ve made.

“It was right around our third date I think that said you should sell everything you own and move into a backpack with me. I didn’t say yes immediately, I laughed,” Paige said.

“But she didn’t say no!” Torin said. “A lot of the people that you see popping up in the comments section are people that we’ve shaken hands with, or who have hosted us, these thousand of connections across the country-- they’re not just people who have blindly found us while doomscrolling, they’re people who have seen us on the side of the road that we’ve met in person.”

One of those connections: a fan they ran into at the River’s Edge convenience store who gave them a hug and bought them a pizza.

To follow along with their journey, look for Walking America Couple on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.