160.18 miles in 12 days (The total is higher than 140 miles because I have to bypass all freeways)
[Worldtrippers home] [Birthday walk home]
“The journey not the arrival matters.”
– T. S. Eliot
I had decided to walk halfway across California, from our home in the Bay Area to our vacation home in Gold Country. When we drive this route by car, it clocks out at about 140 miles. At a rate of 15 miles (about 5 hours of walking) per day, I could complete the walk in 10 days.
Because I wanted to be walking on my actual birthday, May 21, I scheduled the walk for roughly the last couple of weeks in May. Coincidentally, I would have a break in my current work assignments beginning on May 15.
Both my wife Gail and my son Joss expressed an interest in joining me. But because school would still be in session in May, they could only participate on weekends. Joss was especially interested in walking across the Altamont Pass in Central California, an historic immigrant trail that is now covered with windmills.
Here then were the parameters so far:
Halfway through the preparations, I suddenly had a “D’oh” moment. Instead of walking from the Bay Area to Gold Country, wouldn’t it be better to walk from Gold Country to the Bay Area? There were several advantages. First, I would end my trip at home, so I could crash more easily if I were utterly exhausted. Second, more of the overall trip would be downhill.
With this “flip” in mind, the schedule fell into place. Crossing the Altamont Pass would occur about halfway through the trip, so it fit perfectly into Memorial Day weekend. After several weeks of mapping and identifying suitable lodgings, here is the schedule I have ended up with:
| Friday, May 15 | Drive to Mountain home | |
| Saturday, May 16 | Walk to Mokelumne Hill | 9.25 miles |
| Sunday, May 17 | Walk to Valley Springs | 13.23 miles |
| Monday, May 18 | Walk to Lockeford | 21.05 miles |
| Tuesday, May 19 | Walk to Stockton | 15.25 miles |
| Wednesday, May 20 | Walk to Lathrop | 14.3 miles |
| Thursday, May 21 | Walk to Tracy | 12.08 miles |
| Friday, May 22 | Rest in Tracy | |
| Saturday, May 23 | Walk to Livermore | 15.34 miles |
| Sunday, May 24 | Walk to Pleasanton | 15.12 miles |
| Monday, May 25 | Walk to Fremont | 15.88 miles |
| Tuesday, May 26 | Walk to Milpitas | 12.61 miles |
| Wednesday, May 27 | Walk to Cupertino | 16.07 miles |
160.18 miles in 12 days (The total is higher than 140 miles because I have to bypass all freeways)