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BEAUMONT, Texas — A veteran from Beaumont will soon step off on the journey of a lifetime.

Donald Root plans to spend the next six months hiking the Appalachian Trail while raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project.

It'll be quite the trek, but Root said he's ready, and he's promising a little music along the way.

“It's 2,193 miles end to end. It changes every year,” Root explained. You could say Root, 68, has been training for this walk all his life. “I'm going to have average about 14 miles a day. It's been a lifelong goal.” Root's inner strength is impossible to miss. He joined the US Army in 1972, and later, he joined the US Navy. "I served on 4 nuclear submarines for 20 years." Root was a commanding officer when he retired. “This will mount in my rucksack. And I'll carry it the entire way,” Root said, proudly holding a white flag he receive from The Wounded Warrior Project. He's attempting what's called a 'flip flop hike.' “I'm starting at Harper's Ferry which is about the mid-point. I'm going north to Mount Katahdin,” Root said. He hopes by starting in the middle, he'll miss the crowds.

His journey will follow the trail through West Virginia, "...through Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont. Then it crosses over New Hampshire in the White Mountains, and lastly over to Maine," Root explained.

“The first part of [his trip], it’s relatively flat, so I want to be in good shape by the time I hit the Green Mountains and finally the White Mountains in New Hampshire,” Root said.

Later, he'll return to tackle the southern leg of the hike in August, September and October.

From food to special shoes, Root has thought of almost everything.

“You got your tent, your sleeping bag, you've got to have a bear can to put all of your food in. A pack weight of 40 pounds including your food and water,” Root said. 

As for shoes, “They say they'll last about 500 miles.” He'll need to acquire more along the way. Root plans to camp in a tent, and around every ten days, he said he’ll likely stop in a hotel to clean up and get a hot meal. He says he's been busy preparing. “I spent a number of days hiking with a pack, without a pack, 10-12 hours a day, and I spend quite a bit of time at a gym." Conditions on the trail, however, will be mostly dirt and gravel.

With every step, he hopes to support his wounded colleagues. "I'm asking for $22. It’s a one-time donation that equates to a penny per mile. It's to recognize the 22 veterans a day that commit suicide," the retired captain said.

But there's another aspect of this trek. Root left the trail and walked back to his SUV. Secondly later, he was showing off a newly polished bugle. "It’s an actual bugle made by Scout Bugle and donated by Kyle Nelson out of Washington State.

Captain Root is a certified member of "Bugles Across America."

“I play bugles at veterans' funerals. And I have a number of friends in the Army and the Navy who have been wounded in the last 20 years of war,” Root said.

His minds will be on them and their families when he offers Taps every night -- for the fallen and the forgotten.

“I wanted to play taps every night. I've had a number of friends who have passed away over the years," Root said. It’s a special thank you to the men and women who didn't make it back from the battlefield. “I thought it'd be something different,” Root said.

He's calling his journey, "Taps on the Appalachian Trail." He hopes to raise $10,000, and he's halfway there.

Root's paying for the trip out of pocket, so all donations will all go to the Wounded Warriors. Root steps off on April 18.

MORE | Donate to the Wounded Warrior Project here 

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