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Why Would You Walk Across America?

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Why Would You Walk Across America? [This post is by 2011 thru-hiker Tyler Coulson.]

“Why do you want to walk across the United States?”

Get used to that question, because it’ll be the most common question you hear if you’re really considering walking across the continent. Every cross-country walker hears that question more times than can be counted. The conversation usually goes like this:

“I’m walking across the United States.”

“What?”

“I’m walking across the United States.”

“No you aren’t.”

“Yeah, crazy, I know.”

“Why?”

That’s pretty much how the conversation goes every time. Then, after you share your “why of the thing”, the person you’re talking to will usually say either a) I’d never do that, b) I could never do that, or c) well, that’s awesome. No matter what your reason, you will run into people who demand to know why. You don’t owe them an answer, but it’s nice to offer a reason.

Do you know why you want to do this?

There is no “right” answer to this question. There are as many reasons as there are people who have made the long trip. Here are a few reasons that I’ve heard:

  • To see if you can.
  • To test yourself.
  • To see the county.
  • To meet people.
  • To “find yourself”.
  • To raise money or awareness for a good cause.
  • To get in shape or to lose weight.
  • Because you are bored.

It’s great to have a reason, especially if you are the type of person who needs a reason. Society often convinces us that we must strive for significance, that we have to change the world. During and after my Walk, I was interviewed by the New York Post, the New York Times, Grantland, and a host of other media, and they each and every one wanted to know why I walked. When I was out there on the road, every person I met asked me why I would do such a crazy headed thing. More often than not, people were not at all satisfied by my answer–I don’t know why I did it, there are a lot of reasons. For me, there were a million reasons. But that’s not what people want to hear, not what people need to hear in order to sympathize with others.

People will need a reason, so you better have an answer ready. I didn’t have an answer for that question because it was so obvious to me why I was doing it that I never bothered to put those reasons into words that other people could understand. My Walk would have been a different experience had I had a reason ready to offer to the people who asked, if I had a “‘why of the thing” written on little notecards that I could hand out to the curious.

But you don’t need a reason. Believe me: There are a lot of us who made the long walk and still don’t know why. In the end, the Long Walk doesn’t have to change the world and it probably won’t change the world. But it will change your world.

HELP! How (and When) Do I Get Started?

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The idea of walking 3000 or 4000 miles is so daunting that it is difficult even to know how to begin to think about getting started. But if you slow down, put things into perspective, and develop a plan, you can scale down the hugeness of the project and get a grip on what you need to do.

Remember that a walk like this is a long, long process, and you likely can’t get ready for it overnight.

Step One:  Don’t worry!

First off, don’t worry if you don’t have a $1000 tent or a North Face technical fleece. Eventually, you will have to get equipment, and when that time comes, I’ll help you save a ton of money on equipment. But right now you are just planning, just thinking about this. It’s ok. Take deep breaths.

Step Two:  Don’t Tell Anyone Yet!

Now, don’t tell anyone your idea. Literally thousands of people each year decide that they are going to walk across America, and almost zero of them ever even start. This leads to a lot of embarrassment. So keep your plan secret for now. It’s just between us. I advise people to tell their friends and family about 6 months ahead of time.

Step Three:  Know Your Trail, Know Yourself.

Next, look at a map. It’s a long way from the right coast to the left coast, and there are millions of different routes. You need to decide if you want hike on trails or if you are willing to walk along roadsides. (Roads are way, way, way more dangerous.) If you want trails and limited roads, then you better research the American Discovery Trail. If you want to get out there and do the post-Apocalyptic trans-American Long Walk, then prepare for a lot of time besides roads.

In How To Walk Across America, I wrote that the first thing you need to do is to know your trail. Decide if you want trails or roads. Cities, or small towns? Will you cross mountains? Deserts? How far is it between towns? Between water stops? Will it be cold or hot?

That’s the first step of actual trip planning: Know Your Trail. It will take some research, and I’ll point you to resources in future posts.

Next, know yourself.

There’s no way around this: Walking across America is physically demanding, and you’ll need to know how your body will react to heat and to cold, to long walks, to heavy packs, to hours without water. You will not be able to plan how much water to bring on a given day, for example, unless you know both a) how far it is to the next water, and b) how much water you personally need to walk that far.

You’ll also need to know how long you can go without human contact, because there will be some long, lonely stretches out there.

Some of this knowledge, this knowing yourself, will happen on the trail. But you need to begin right now to think about these things. Be conscious of your water intake and your breathing. When possible, see how your breathing and your heartbeat interact with your walking pace. Try to be present in the moment as much as possible with your own body and your own needs. (It’s kind of like mindfulness, I guess.)

There we go: Those are the first steps. Begin here, by working to know your trail and to know yourself, and before too long you can be on the open road walking across America to raise money, to raise awareness, or just to have fun.

For more discussion on this, see How To Walk Across America.

How To Walk Across America Book Cover