Since 2009, Lee Crafton — or Lee the Horselogger as he likes to be called — has been traveling across the country in a horse-drawn carriage, and now he’s on his fifth trip. His journey began in 2006 when he lost his ranch in East Glacier, Montana, after 27 years and dropped out of his PhD program. He took his life savings of $75 and a couple of horses and decided to explore the nation. Needless to say, Lee isn’t your typical 63-year-old. One year prior to his career change, he was diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 48 and had a tumor growing in his neck. Weary of chemotherapy, he opted for more naturopathic herbal treatments. Believe it or not, his tumor began to shrink, and before long his cancer was gone. Lee says his cancer diagnosis was a wake-up call, reminding him of his humanity and what he wanted to do with his remaining time. “If you’re unhappy and you’re under stress, you’re not going to get well,” he said. He went on to say that cancer woke him up and got him doing things he should have done years ago. In 2009, Lee had a 50-foot-long horse team and wagon. Today, he has one horse left, Jessie, who travels at 3mph. With no family, Lee wanted to seek out human connections from all walks of life. He travels to nursing homes and takes his horses to schools for show-and-tell. To provide for his needs, he picks up side hustles here and there, including pulling logs and transporting goods. He has lived without electricity, running water, or a motor-run vehicle for the last 18 years and has no intentions of slowing down. He is currently in Cheyenne, Wyoming, en route to Boston, Mass.
