Introduction

Catch a glimpse of what it’s like walking across America with the first video compilation of my adventure! My name is Edward Mjelde, I am a 24 year old recent college graduate from sunny San Diego, California. This is my story about how I gave away and sold nearly all my possessions and left home with a backpack to walk coast-to-coast across the country following the 5,100 mile American Discovery Trail in pursuit of beauty, truth, and a life of risk and adventure. My goal is to share the stories I have gathered from my adventure in hope that it will inspire people to take risks in order to chase their own dreams and aspirations. I have dubbed my epic adventure as WalkUSA, ”A Walk to Discover America and its People”.

Article Summary

In this article I explain the steps I took to prepare and educate myself about my journey and share the incredible stories of the people who helped me figure it out. I will share how I prepared myself with primary information, expert knowledge, and provide the process I went through in preparing my guide book and maps.

Previous Article

In my last article I introduced myself and shared the story on how I came up with my cross-country backpacking adventure, I explained how I physically prepared for my journey, and delivered some tips that helped me achieve my fitness goals that might work for you. Feel free to catch up and read it by clicking here: WalkUSA’s Adventure Series: Physical Training

The Plan

In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think “Dude, why in the world did I tell people I was going to walk across the USA!?” I really had no clue on what walking across the country would really be like! Fortunately, obstacles like this get me excited, I love challenges. The moment the idea hit I began to surmount the problems. The silence in my room was broken from typing and tapping away on my computer keyboard, conducting a grand symphony of information. Google searching, Wikipedia reading, Article hunting and Blog sniffing, I tunneled my way through the information on a quest to get a snapshot of the big picture.

Primary Information

Immediately, I knew I needed the insight on others who have walked across America in order to get an understanding of what a long trip like this would be like. In my Google searches I came across three names that stuck out to me, George Throop, Peter Jenkins, and Jonah Boyer. These are the incredible people have helped me understand what I might encounter during my own walk and have added inspiration in my own adventure. Primary information about my walk across the country came from reading Peter Jenkins books and through following George Throop’s and Jonah Boyer’s adventures.

George Throop

George Throop is a cross-country walker who has just finished his journey last year after over three years on the road, and he still continues to walk.  He walks in honor of his mother who died from cancer. His goal is to inspire others to live a healthily lifestyle and promotes that you can start by walking just 20 minutes a day. View the video above to hear his story. You can also view George Throop’s Website by clicking here: EnjoyTheWalk

Peter Jenkins

Peter Jenkins is a popular travel author who has inspired many people to get out and explore.  A Walk Across America was the first book he wrote as an account of his cross-country adventure in his 20s. Fresh out of college he hiked across America with his dog Cooper, an Alaskan Malamute. He started in New York and hiked his way down to New Orleans, met and married his wife, and then turned north to finish in Florence, Oregon. Peter Jenkins still travels and writes, in fact he just finished a two year trip across America in an antique station wagon and plans to share his adventure in another book.

Jonah Boyer

Jonah was 19 years old when he started his adventure across the country which he titled “DudeTrek”. He just recently completed the American Discovery Trail (ADT) and is now planning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I found out about Jonah after he had just started his hike on the ADT. I actually started WalkUSA while he was still continuing his adventure. Along the trail I would hear about him from those he encountered, read notes he lift in trail journals, and even stayed in the same houses with people who have invited him in along his travels.

If you want to learn about this young mans incredible adventure you can checkout his website by clicking here: dudetrek.com

Expert Knowledge

Following the stories about others was very inspirational and gave me drive, however I also knew I had to start acquiring the skills that would allow me to feel prepared and thrive during my adventure. The following three books are the titles that have helped me understand backpacking and survival principles. SAS Survival Handbook The SAS Survival Handbook is a compressive survival book and digital application (Android and Apple) which details how to survive in dangerous situations. The book includes many photos and examples, is fun to read, and  covers various topics. After reading the SAS Survival Handbook I felt much more prepared to take on problems I may encounter. I understood prevention, the signs of trouble, and had greater ability to recognize quickly my best survival options. The Advanced Backpacer: A Handbook of Year Round Long Distance Hiking The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide by Andrew Skurka provides an overview of backpacking systems. He is thorough in describing the advantages and disadvantages of gear in clear language and charts. It’s a quick read loaded with information and also a great reference guide. When it came to selecting gear and knowing options this book was one of my greatest resources. Andrew Skurka is an amazing long distance backpacker and a huge inspiration. Check out his website by clicking here: Andrew Skurka’s Website Fixing Your Feet: Prevention and Treatments for Athletes Before leaving on my trip I did my due diligence to figure out what the main cause of hikers failing to complete their long distance goals. I found that overwhelming numbers of hikers quit because of foot related issues. Fixing Your Feet is a comprehensive look into foot care starting with the premise that prevention is the number one goal. I credit this book in helping me make great decisions for selecting foot related purchases and teaching prevention and first aid. Due to this book I have had zero foot related issues.

Preparing the Trail Guide

Many long distance trails have guides. Before leaving on my trip I prepared the guide book for my hike along the ADT using advice that I have gathered from backpacking experts. I did not know exactly what to expect during my journey, so I made every effort to provide myself with tools that I could use to make the planning process during my traveling be more effortless. The following video is the planning model that I used for my trip. During my first month of walking I found my planning very helpful, however as I gained more confidence and knowledge of the trail-life I found that I could have been prepared doing less. With that said, I would never consider my planning process a waste of time, going through this extensive planning required a deeper look into the trail to identify problem spots which were much easier to solve at home with access to a computer. There are many ways to approach the planning process, the intent of this video is to help show one way of going about it and hopefully spark ideas.

Maps

Having a map and compass, and more importantly knowing how to use them, has saved me many times from getting into sticky situations. Map Sources Some great sources for online maps come from Google, USGS (http://www.usgs.gov/), and MyTopo (http://www.mytopo.com/). If it is important to have detailed information of the area you are traveling I recommend using 1:24,000 scale maps which are available on USGS and MyTopo.  I also highly recommend using map resources at libraries, ranger stations, and state/national park websites. Finding resources from these providers usually creates less hassle then having to find maps from other resources and may also alert you about trail conditions. Digital Apps There are also a number of great apps for both Apple and Android, one of my favorite is Backpacker GPS Trails. Although it can run a little slow at times, it has the ability to overlay two different types of maps to reveal more detailed information about an area. You can also upload coordinate files to their website so trip plans can be pulled up on multiple devices easily. Maps can also be save for offline viewing, however it is limited in storage. For those who are seeking to find hiking trails around where they live I recommend the app AllTrails. It can be used to find a wide variety of hikes. One of my favorite features about it is that it compiles a lot of information about the trails including reviews, pictures, difficulty, and even may include map coordinates to the trailhead, very useful. Survival Note: Not all phones connect to GPS without a working phone signal, if you are expecting to use your phone as a navigation tool consult your providers network map in order to see if you will be in service.

Next Article

Be sure to keep your eyes open for my next article where I will be sharing what gear I will be using during my next 2,700 miles of my coast-to-coast hike. I hope to share how you can choose and organize gear for trips of your own, large or small. Till next time, “Cheers!”.

Every once in awhile we need a reminder of these simple but good camping tips

Catch a glimpse of what it’s like walking across America with the first video compilation of my adventure!

Introduction

My name is Edward Mjelde, I am a 24 year old recent college graduate from sunny San Diego, California. This is my story about how I gave away and sold nearly all my possessions and left home with a backpack to walk coast-to-coast across the country following the 5,100 mile American Discovery Trail in pursuit of beauty, truth, and a life of risk and adventure. My goal is to share the stories I have gathered from my adventure in hope that it will inspire people to take risks in order to chase their own dreams and aspirations. I have dubbed my epic adventure as WalkUSA, ”A Walk to Discover America and its People”. Summary: In this article I introduce myself and share the story on how I came up with this cross-country backpacking adventure, explain how I physically prepared for my journey, and at the bottom share some tips that helped me achieve my fitness goals that might work for you. Welcome to the adventure!

The Birth of The Idea

I had announced it November 2011 to my friends and family, I had decided I was going to walk across America after college. At first my mom didn’t believe me, my dad thought I was crazy, and some of my friends rolled their eyes, gave me a face palm salute, and said “Good luck!”. They hadn’t yet seen the fire I had burning in my eyes. This idea to walk across the continent was born inside me on a rainy day while I was in a state of primordially ooze, stressed and weary eyed, after I had just finished a late night/early morning college paper. I was feeling a bit overworked in life managing over 20 units in college, running my own college marketing organization, and working the graveyard as a server at the local Denny’s Diner.

I was awakened that night when I was sitting at my desk chair starring at my computer screen with a wide drooling mouth totally burnt out, knowing I had more to go. I sat there and must have had my eyes glued on the glowing computer screen for over ten minutes, the screen saver had come on. It started to float through images at the most melancholy pace that I felt my heart dip and slowly carve at my chest. I was feeling the feels while starring in front of me with a cow’s gaze at the images tumbling in front of my eyes. America’s heartland, mountains, rivers, oceans, cities, and towns were the subject of my attention. I loved where I was in California, but my heart started to make increasing scoops at my chest, I knew what it meant, my heart has told me this for quite a while… I really wanted to experience more. It dawned upon me that it was a priority that I take the trip I have always dreamt about. “Priority”… When I had this epiphany my eyes widened, my heart started beating madly, my head started running, and I knew the idea had hit. I had already dreamt about traveling by foot, at one point I moved all my belongings into a storage unit and lived out of my car in order to try and save money in hope that I could make a journey happen. I set up a cot on the beach and spent my nights sleeping beneath the stars. I took showers at 24 hour fitness, hung out at the local coffee shops, and at nights listened to the waves crash against the cliffs just missing me in its spray. I fell in love. School and life got in the way of my previous attempts but with graduation around the corner I knew it was time to get my plans in gear again.

The Need To Start Training

I will never forget leaving my apartment on a warm morning with tight jeans and my old unfitted backpack. I had stuffed it to the rim with a mixed batch of thrown together gear and way too much food than I needed for my two-day-40-mile practice walk from the door step of my apartment in to a nearby mountain. I had been already telling people that I was going to hike across America after college, when they asked how I was going to do it I would say “I have no idea, but I am going to find out.”. It was spring break and I was ready to get my feet wet again and rediscover what backpacking was all about. I wanted to find what it took to walk 20 miles a day, so I planned this walk to build that perspective. The first day was invigorating, winding myself on backcountry roads, discovering places I hadn’t known existed. By the end of the first day my legs were overworked and in pain, but I had achieved my goal of walking 20 miles and landed myself in a baseball park for the night to sleep.  I remember optimistically thinking, “What a success!”. The following morning, I woke up to discover my legs no longer worked. I tried to get up but my muscles were so tight that every movement brought pain down to the core of my bones. I tried stretching, and it helped, but it didn’t help on beating the pain. I had 20 more miles to walk till I could go home, but I could only put in less than 10 painstaking sloppy-foot-pride-filled miles before I called my friend and had to ask her to pick me up, I had been defeated. It was easy to see that if I was going to do this I would need to get in shape.

Working Out

I didn’t waste time, I knew I had to get to work on my body. I had been to the gyms before and I realized it wasn’t for me. I needed something I can do easily, on my own time, that didn’t require having to drive somewhere to get it done. I decided to try out P-90X, an intense home workout program which requires about one and a half hours of devotion everyday for 90 days with the promise of getting amazing results. The results were truly phenomenal; the work outs were long and strenuous, but easy to do. The only work out gear I used included a pull up bar and 4 sets of weights up to 25 pounds. I feel my results are a true testimony that you may not have to get a gym pass to get your body in amazing shape.

After a month of P-90X I started including running and sprint training into my work out. I went from not being able to run a mile, to managing one with over a 10 min mile time, to my quickest single mile in my life clocking in at 5:51 seconds. I loved incorporating running into my regiment and decided to make the leap to train for a half marathon. In January 2013 I completed the Carlsbad Half Marathon in just over 2 hours before I left for my walk in March 2013. I became physically prepared to take on America.

Tips on Achieving Fitness Goals

Some people have found my results to be inspiring and have asked if I had any tips on getting in shape. From my experience  I offer these words of advice: Find a workout program that works for you. We all have different fitness goals and there are many ways to achieve them. For me gyms were too much of a hassle to get to during my day, working out at home was a solution which allowed me to avoid excuses. Keep records on what you are doing. You don’t know what to do if you don’t know what you have already done. Keeping detailed records allows you to create goals. Example: “ I did 20 push-ups last week, this week I am increasing to 25”. Reward yourself with something you like. You might find that it’s fun to reward yourself to keep motivation high. Find rewards that keep you energized and only reward yourself when you deserve it. For me I enjoyed a happy helping of beer “typically a training no-no, but lets be honest” ,fresh fruit smoothies, and lox asiago cheese bagels . Keep at it. No workout program was a success in just one day. Even if you just do small things everyday, the work you put in can amount to grand results. Create a larger goal. There is an old quote by Daniel Burnham, an amazing architect and city planner: “Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably will themselves not be realized. Make big plans.” Find something that you can aspire to. It can be a bet with a friend on who can do more push-ups at the end of the month or a future organized run you can participate in. Anything that is big enough and meaningful enough to get you going and keep you motivated. Start. You can’t get there unless you take the, often painful, steps of beginning. The first days may be challenging but as you stick with it, it becomes routine, it truly does get easier, and you start to see results. Our bodies are all different, but my experience shows that it may be possible to change your fitness level in a matter of months. I challenge everyone to reach towards their highest goals and to persist in finding joy in getting around life’s many challenges.

NEXT ARTICLE:

Be sure to keep your eyes open for my next article where I will be sharing how I planned my hike. My hope is that it may shed some light on how you can plan your own hikes, large or small. Till next time, “Cheers!”. Check out the Next Article in this series: WalkUSA’s Adventure Series: Planning