OK–I’m doing it!!

This Sunday, September 22 (my birthday), I’ll continue the Walk– from the White House to the Atlantic. (How can I walk across America, from the waves of the Pacific, and not reach the salty sands of the Atlantic?)
In private conversations, I’ve actually been talking for years about continuing the Walk all the way to Portland, Maine. Having walked from my home in Washington State through California and later Florida, reaching Maine on foot would complete the “4 corners” of the continental United States– the “Lower 48.” I’m confident I’ll make it all the way to Maine someday, but I don’t see reaching Maine as being likely this year– and maybe not next year either.
Though 100% of my commitment of walking from Washington (state) to Washington (D.C.) is complete, I’ve come to the decision that walking till my feet reach the waters of the Atlantic would be a good aim for the rest of this calendar year–and Long Island, NY, appears to be the perfect port on the Atlantic to achieve this aim. (I’ll walk New England some other time.)
From the White House, I’ll walk through the rest of D.C., and then Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City. I plan to reach the shores of the Atlantic Ocean at Long Island–which will probably take me till this December. These upcoming miles will largely proceed in the form of previous miles: I’ll connect all the steps from DC to NY, I’ll speak to schools and other groups as much as possible, I’ll blog on my website (enjoythewalk.org) and update FB, and I’ll have a somewhat flexible timeline and path en route to New York’s Atlantic seashore.
All that said, while it’s highly likely that I’ll reach NY on foot by December, I’ll stop short of making a firm commitment to finishing these miles this year. Though I’m pretty confident I can make it through, there’s also a small chance that exhaustion could get the best of me, as I’ve been on the road for a looong time. I’ve also learned to expect the unexpected–and I have no idea what sort of surprises may occur between now and then. (E.g., If I sustain another injury as serious as the bloody left-foot laceration in Richmond, I’ll immediately have to suspend the DC-NY Walk indefinitely.)
Financially, can I afford to do this?
No. But, I didn’t know how I was going to be able to afford to walk all the way from home to D.C. either, and strong determination coupled with plenty of help from my friends (new and old) made it happen.
Therefore, especially given that calendar year 2014 could very quickly bring me up to my neck in many other life and work commitments, and given that I still feel great residual walking momentum within after only having reached DC at the beginning of summer, I’ve decided it best to use this fall to continue the Walk from DC, aiming for the Atlantic via Long Island, New York.

Ready, Set, Go!!!

This map is a semi-rough sketch of the route I’ll walk from DC to Long Island, NY. I won’t walk all of these exact roads, and will often follow the guidance of locals as I continue along my path.