Day 41 – Council Grove to Herington, KS
I could safely shut off the gps today. While the Flint Hills Nature Trail will eventually extend from Council Grove to Herington (if you believe Google Maps, it already does!), it remains a work-in-progress for this volunteer-run organization. As such, the ADT’s approach to Herington is simple: follow Highway 56 from Council Grove directly to […]
Day 40 – Admire to Council Grove, KS
The first sign that you’re approaching Council Grove is a narrow stone tower, made all the more striking by the prevailing flatness of the scenery around it. That tower is the Kaw Indian Memorial, or the Allegawaho Park (depending on who you ask), and it is dedicated to the remains of the unknown Indian. The […]
Days 38 & 39 – Lawrence to Admire, KS
I had to fight myself for a bit to stick with the ADT leaving Lawrence. Why would this westbound walker want to suddenly turn left and head due south for some 28 miles? Madness! I realized, though, that the goal is to get walkers onto the Flint Hills Nature Trail, which originates in Ottawa, the […]
Day 37 – Eudora to Lawrence, KS
This is the fourth time in my life that I’ve crossed the US on the ground. The first came when I was a kid, on a family trip back east to see clumsy, extended family members, visit cemeteries, and attend cultural sites. The second took place in college, when we did a band tour across […]
Day 36 – Olathe to Eudora, KS
Today’s walk felt like a rebuttal from the Katy Trail. “Don’t like all those shady trails, huh? How about you try walking on the nearly-non-existent shoulders of well-traveled roads for the better part of 27 miles, with only one chance at a break?” After one car whipped past with about a foot of space between […]
Day 35 – Kansas City, MO to Olathe, KANSAS
Walking “through” Kansas City was actually quite nice! Again, I’m not actually anywhere near the center, instead skirting the southern edge between Raytown and Olathe, but I see why the ADT designers took this approach. There’s shade-a-plenty through here, starting first with the Blue River Road past Swope Park and the zoo; as an added […]
Days 33 and 34 – Windsor to Kansas City, MO
I feel like I have emerged from a labyrinth. For more than a week, each mile of each day’s walk has been largely indistinct from every other mile. I’m sure botanists and ecologists would recoil in horror at that statement and I acknowledge my damning ignorance of flora and fauna, but on a sensory level […]
Day 32 – Sedalia to Windsor, MO
I finished the Katy Trail today, or at least the sizable chunk of it that the ADT follows. Not to worry, though, I won’t be losing the security of long straight-aways and flat gravel tracks quite yet, as I transition here, in Windsor, to the Rock Island Trail, following the old Rock Island Railroad. The […]
Day 31 – Boonville to Sedalia, MO
A running diary of today’s walk: 5:30am: The alarm blares and I spring to life. I can’t claim that this happens every day, but I know this will be a long one and I’d love to finish by 4pm if I can swing it. I pack everything with moderate efficiency, swig some coffee, and hit […]
Day 30 – Huntsdale to Boonville, MO
The Katy Trail’s historical bonafides extend beyond the railroad. Frequent placards along the way chart Lewis & Clark’s expedition through here. I appreciated the chance to read about their first aid kit’s contents: “Rush’s thunderclappers (laxative), calomel (fever), laudanum (pain, sleeplessness), tartar emetic (induce vomiting), mercurial ointment (venereal disease), Glauber’s salt (laxative), jalap (laxative), and […]