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Photo by Jim Craven Karen Shaw walks along the Bear Creek Greenway in Medford Saturday morning after beginning her walk across the state to promote Y2K awareness. Walking into Y2K Cross-state trek comes after just a week of planning By DANI DODGE As she set out on a 500-mile across-the-state walking trek from the Jackson County Courthouse at 6 a.m. Saturday, Karen Shaw fumbled with her camel pack -- a combination backpack and water supply. She hadn't worn it before, and needed help figuring out how the straps wrapped around her waist. Shaw admits she could have been more prepared for her month-long trip spreading the word about Y2K. She got the idea only a week ago. But, similarly, people aren't ready for Y2K, and that's why her trip is a good example of how people can rely on each other in emergencies. Y2K, short for the year 2000, refers to concerns that computers will fail to recognize the year 2000 and malfunction, causing disruptions in utilities and other vital services. "My concern is for the people in all these little, isolated communities," Shaw said. "They might not know about Y2K. And what they need to know is really simple: It's about reasonable preparation. Meeting your neighbors and learning who will be at risk in a power outage. "And I'll be spreading the idea that this can be a stimulus of community togetherness and resiliency." Shaw's hip bones jut out through her thin exercise tights as she adjusts the water hose from her backpack. Her arms protruding from a sleeveless T-shirt resemble bird wings plucked of feathers. Shaw said she plans to eat every few hours as she walks so she doesn't lose any of the 90 pounds she carries on her 5-foot-2 frame. And although her body appears frail, her determination is fierce. "This isn't about a super athlete proving something about their prowess," she said. "I'm not a professional walker, runner or anything. I'm doing this to get people's attention and feed them positive information." A 46-year-old teacher's aide, Shaw lives in Ashland. She has two grown children and is unmarried. ("Would anyone who was married do something this crazy?" she laughs.) Saturday, Shaw wore new Nike hiking shoes donated by the Ashland Outdoor Store. Along her walk, she'll be eating dried seaweed and Clif bars donated by the Ashland Community Food Store. For the first hundred miles or so, Art Armstrong, a member of the local Sierra Club, will drive his pickup along the route to make sure Shaw is getting enough food and water and finding places to sleep. After that she's completely on her own. Shaw expects to walk about 20 miles a day and end her trip in Joseph, where her parents, Mim and Duncan Lagoe, reside. Her mom will be relieved when she finally arrives. "She enjoys doing things that are slightly on the edge, but usually not this much on the edge," Lagoe said. "But she has worked with the Y2K group (in the Rogue Valley) and is very committed." During her trip, Shaw expects to contact church groups in the small rural towns she enters and rely on the kindness of strangers for shelter. "I want this to be like a preview of what it could be like during Y2k where we are truly dependent on our neighbors for survival," she said. She will try to spread smiles by passing out "Millennium Bug-Boppers," a packet with a 1-inch-long flyswatter in it to get the computer bugs. "It's not about spreading fear, but the ability to visualize the possibilities," she said. "I'm going to just talk to people about Y2K and see what they think about it and share what I know." Shaw worries that people will see her trek as a harebrained idea, and when she was first contacted by the Mail Tribune Friday, Shaw's first words were vehement: "I'm not a fanatic." She said she loves Oregon, where she's lived for 30 years, and felt a deep need to do something to help people prepare for Y2K. Having worked with children and seniors in the past, she is concerned about people not being ready for possible problems when the century changes from 1999 to 2000. After she completes her walk, she will be putting together Y2K information packets that she will send to all 212 libraries in the state. As she took her first steps of millions Saturday down Eighth Street in Medford, Armstrong shook his head woefully. He met Shaw less than a week ago when she contacted him because he leads Sierra Club hikes. He was astounded when, two days ago, Shaw had made few preparations. "It's a scatterbrained idea," he said. "But I'll help as much as I can." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA