AUBURN – Bill Lake’s feet weren’t meant to pound the pavement.

“It felt fine when I could walk on the side of the roads, on the soft shoulder,” he said.

But constant pounding on the asphalt, made worse by a 50-pound backpack strapped to his shoulders, has ended his effort to criss-cross the country on foot.

Speaking from his home Friday, Lake said he managed about 200 miles in his 14,000 mile trip before bruised feet forced him to call it quits.

“The first couple of days, I was doing 30 miles a day and I felt pretty good,” he said. “Then, I was down to 10. And that’s about all I could do.”

Lake, 42, began his walk at the end of August. The goal was to log 14,000 miles for charity, visiting 49 state capitals over two years. He labeled his effort “The Great American Walkathon.”

He started on Sept. 1 in Augusta, walking to Belfast and the Atlantic Ocean. Then it was back to Augusta and on to West Paris. His trip ended in a motel there.

“My feet hurt too much,” he said. A trip to the doctor confirmed his fears.

“They said my feet were badly bruised and showed signs of borderline stress fractures, at least on my right foot,” he said. “I was risking serious problems like bone spurs, and he recommended I stay off my feet for at least 30 days.”

He tried everything to manage the pain, he said. He spent about $6,000 on gear, including the best athletic shoes he could find and walking sticks to help balance the weight. He also shed some of his gear early on, winnowing the 55-pound-pack to 43 pounds.

“That’s not bad, considering I still had to carry my own food and water,” he said.

It didn’t help.

“I had to face the facts that if I continued, I’d run the risk of doing permanent damage,” he said. “This was only 200 miles in, so if you do the math, I wasn’t headed for good things.”

He’s back home with his family. His wife, Fern, ended her bid for a seat on the Auburn City Council this week, as well. The couple has two children, Tegan, 16, and Logan, 14.

He hasn’t given up on the dream however. He imagines he could make the trek if I had someone along to haul his gear.

“I have the endurance and the muscles to do it,” he said. “But the bones wouldn’t take the pounding or the pack. If I could get someone to give up two years of their life to do that, that would help. But that’s if I could find that person.”