Day 9 – After Leavenworth to St Meinrad, IN
I’m a bit embarrassed by the rage I unleashed in my last post towards the ADT designers. Not that I wrote it–I’m trying to be as genuine to the experience as I can in these posts, and that’s how it was–but that my mind went there. I spent yesterday evening trying to make sense of […]
Day 8 – After Corydon to after Leavenworth, IN
Today stopped going as planned around 2am. I’d like to say that a particularly biblical peal of thunder roused me from slumber, but it was more likely the cacophonous lashing of rain on my hut’s glorious roof. Either way, I was up, and it was wet outside. Nothing to be done, I watched a few […]
Day 7 – New Albany to after Corydon, IN
I powered out of New Albany ready to feel like a new man, suitably stuffed from the hotel breakfast buffet and eager to power through the opening miles. Before long, though, I settled into a steady trudge–not struggling, by any means, but not exactly setting the ADT on fire. I was back on a minor […]
Day 6 – After Bennettsville to New Albany, IN
Every once in a while, I do something nice for myself. Today was one of my more generous moments, scheduling me for an easy 10-ish miles to New Albany. I’m glad to write that a) I didn’t need it and b) I’m utterly thrilled to have it. It’s pretty sweet when the rest days come […]
Day 5 – Lexington to after Bennettsville, IN
“Choices,” Jerry said. “If I could give you one piece of advice to impress upon your students it would be that: the importance of making good choices. If you don’t make good choices in your life, and make bad choices instead, then someone else will be making your choices for you.” I had a big […]
Day 4 – Clifty Falls to after Lexington, IN
Have I mentioned that it’s hot? Everybody’s first comment to me as I arrive in a new location, sweat-drenched, is that I picked a hell of a time to walk here. I heard on the news last night that the hottest temperatures of the year are sweeping through the area. It’s been around 90 pretty […]
Day 3 – Friendship, IN to Clifty Falls State Park
Two short stories from today: 1) I walked with enthusiasm this morning, despite sleeping terribly. There was a sign at my campground in Friendship advertising Cheryl’s Country Store in Cross Plains, so the promise of fried eggs and hashbrowns helped me pull the first five miles in just over an hour. When Cheryl quickly informed […]
Day 2 – Lawrenceburg, IN to Friendship, IN
The pattern at this point–and I’ve been fortunate enough, in multiple ways, for this pattern to have well and truly emerged–is that the worst days of a long-distance hike, especially at an accelerated pace, tend to be the third and fourth for me. The first is usually a breeze–I’m fresh and healthy, and my body […]
Day 1 – Cincinnati, OH to Lawrenceburg, IN
Day 1 of my trek on the ADT is in the books. I started walking around 7:30am, after getting dropped off by the airport bus on 5th and Elm in Cincinnati, and finished up just after 5pm, in Lawrenceburg, Indiana. I love having a long first day, and this certainly delivered; I was particularly motivated […]
Walking The American Discovery Trail
I completed my first long distance walk in 2002. Like a growing number of Americans, it wasn’t in the USA, but rather on Spain’s Camino de Santiago. That marked a turning point in my life; I’ve continued to walk on pilgrimage, alone and with students, almost every year since then. I just returned from my […]