A 3,000 mile conversational journey by foot
This morning, I began my trial walk from Manhattan to Sleepy Hollow. The statue at the right, snapped just now at Van Cortlandt Park, is an apposite metaphor — indeed, a harbinger — for the bountiful marvels that this day shall bring. I’ll be updating my Twitter feed throughout the day. More TK.
Tomorrow, I’ll be walking from the top tip of Manhattan to Sleepy Hollow, New York. This village was previously known as North Tarrytown, until residents voted for the Washington Irving nominal makeover in 1996. It’s about an eighteen mile journey, but I’ll be talking with many people along the way, as well as live-tweeting and updating this site. I have been informed that there is a Headless Horseman Bridge. This could very well be a trap, but I intend to take up the matter with the good people of Sleepy Hollow.
This prototypical peregrination should provide a sneak preview of the big amble to come on May 15th. If you haven’t yet contributed to the Indiegogo campaign or you’re still not quite sure about this project, I’m hoping that the trial walk will give you a better idea of what I have in mind. I may be doing another one next week, schedule permitting. And thanks to all who have contributed so far!
More Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.
The third stage of the journey will push me slightly north, where I’ll be hugging the southern edge of Lake Michigan and heading into Chicago. From there, I’ll be hitting a number of small cities in Illinois that I had never heard about until I started planning this route. Then I’ll make my way into Iowa, where both Iowa City, Des Moines, and the heartland I have only known through headlines await the steady beat of my two feet.
More Maps: (1) Brooklyn, NY to Wintersville, OH; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.
Here’s the second stage of the proposed route. This will cover a little more than 400 miles. The pace will be somewhat slower in Ohio, due to the many wilderness areas and the mountainous region on the Buckeye State’s eastern side, which will greet me not long after I cross the Ohio River. But once I hit Columbus, the terrain will even out. And I’ll be moving northeast to South Bend, Indiana, which will put me close to Chicago.
More Maps: (2) Wintersville, OH to South Bend, IN; (3) South Bend, IN to Newton, IA; (4) Newton, IA to Lexington, NE; (5) Lexington, NE to Saratoga, WY; (6) Saratoga, WY to Orem, UT; (7) Orem, UT to Austin, NV; (8) Austin, NV to San Francisco, CA.
Google Maps only gives you 25 waypoints to work with. But here’s how the proposed walking route looks like from its rough starting point in Brooklyn, New York all the way into Wintersville, Ohio. And this is only about 500 miles, or one sixth of the total journey.
So to give everybody a sample of what I have in mind (and to encourage more Indiegogo donations to the campaign), I have two trial walks in the works: one that will take me from the northern tip of Manhattan to Sleepy Hollow (which includes the marvelous cemetery, pictured above), the other from Brooklyn to Hempstead. Each stretch is about 20 miles. I’m hoping to do one of these on Friday and, as I walk and talk with people, I’ll be offering reports in real time. More details TK!
I may be doing some trial walks for the project in Long Island next week to give potential Indiegogo donors an idea of what my 3,000 mile cross-country journey will look like. There’s a part of me that wants to do this for a few days, but I don’t yet have the tent and the equipment. However, I can still write some dispatches and conduct some oral history to give you folks a sneak preview. This is a hypothetical question, but is there anybody in Hempstead, Huntington, or Stony Brook who would let me crash on their couch for this test run? Any leads would be appreciated. Thanks.
As of this morning, the Indiegogo campaign is up and running. The campaign page documents the mission statement behind this project and outlines the perks. Please donate if you can and spread the word.
