My walk around America

“alright, i'm starting over so i can tell you what i'm trying to do here. I'm not walking for a particular cause, i plan to do wilderness hiking along with road travel, ap, pc. As of right now i have earned no money, the money i have now is going towards a backpacking trip in the canadian rockies. and no i'm not going to live in the woods and eat poisonous berries, wherever all that came from. thanks for the comments though, as for sponsorship i don't exactly need one company to pay for everything, but i would appreciate it if i could find a way to get donations from individuals or several different companies. Whatever helps i guess, i'm still in the planning stages, summer is coming quickly, and as soon as i am done with school my planning will pick up a bit, thanks for your help, let me know of anything i should be doing, planning or trying to earn money thanks. And for anyone interested ya can check out my web page on my trip i took last summer at http://www.geocities.com/camp_menogyn17/Hommes2001.html”

“simer, check out Sheltowee's journal on trailjournals.com. He's already on his Walk Around America. You might get some ideas from him.”

“Here is a wild suggestion, but a serious one.
There are TT'ers all over the U.S. and Canada. Hike from one TT'ers place of residence to another's until you get to where you want to quit. This will be a kind of sponsorship, as the TT'ers would house and feed you. You could take digital photos of everyone, (except Newgirl), and post them on the site as you travelled. This is one damn good idea, so I hope someone does it. I will be the first to volunteer to let your stinky backpacking body bed down at my place. Also, my wife sure can cook!”

“That's fantastic idea!

Do it!

Do it!

Do it!”

“Well, thankyou, Skully. If you like this idea, we will have to keep this thread at the top until everyone sees it.
Do you think Simer is the man for the job?”

“Hard to say without more info. A trip through the Canadian wilderness with a group is one thing. Will this trip be solo?

With the right support I think he can do it. Are TT'ers the right support...?

It would definitely take far less cash outlay on his part and he'd get to meet a lot of really good people.

What do you say Simer? Are you up for it?”

“I would be jealous that I wasn't doing it, myself. But we could all live vicariously through whoever takes the idea and runs (hikes) with it.”

“Yeah, I wish it was me too. Ah well, we can dream can't we? My highschool history teacher used to tell fantastic stories about hiking/hitchhiking around the USA during college breaks. Cool stuff. I hope he does it.”

“You can stop by my place in california!”

“I would love to met someone who actually does that kind of stuff”

“So, for those just checking in, we are proposing that this "Mr. Hike Around America" simplify his need for sponsorship be hiking from one TT'ers residence to another's. The TTer would provide him with a meal or two, and put him up for a night. Who will sign up as sponsors?
If he doesn't take us up on the idea, we, (Skully, vyx, and I), would like to get someone from TT to do this. It is a great idea.
Should we start a different thread for this idea? Where is everybody?”

“Surely we're not the only ones who like this idea?!”

“I will entertain with blues and bar-b-que in Memphis.”

“Hey honey. Is it ok with you and the girls if someone I met on the internet stays over tonight?

hmmm...”

“It worked out pretty good for me!”

“Bed down with skwerl
Be forewarned: many large nuts
may occupy bed”

“Well, no, we aren't the only ones who would like to see this happen. We were just the first few to respond, and I took the liberty of using your names to add credence to an idea. OK?
Don't be a spoil-sport, Violin. However, I'm sure that we could get Iced Tea to sponsor for a night if you are too afraid.
Thankyou for your support, Kleetn, but could you let the dude sleep on your floor? He might be allergic to nuts.”

“Well actually, I thought we could get Ice Tea to run an FBI background check on him first ; )
.”

“I'll finally be making the move up to Portland, Maine very soon, just waiting to finalize some negotiations and it looks like it's 90% that it'll happen.

I'll volunteer my place for a night, I have a comfy couch!”

“I like the idea but I gotta say, the number of nights one could spend as a guest of a TT'er, compared to the number of nights where no TT host is available, would be so small...it would be almost no help in terms of financing the trip.

Does sound like fun, though!”

“Surely there's at least one in every state! It might not defray all of the costs or even most of them, but it would help. And it would make such a cool trip!”

“Here i come right? I don't know how much it will help for financing trip, but it sure would be nice to have a place to stay, good food and all, even if it is just once in a while and for one night. I appreciate the opportunity, if you are all interrested, it sounds like a great idea. glad you liked my web site, thanks for the support. Let's keep this one going alright, thanks.”

“I'd love to be able help ya out if ya come through/near Ohio. Food, beer, someone to walk with some. Keep us up to date as to your route and stuff.”

“I have a pool and a pond,,,,,I think the pond would be best for you!!!

Do you have a trade or a art that you could profit from on your travels? Like the 'tinkerers' of old. Could you get a grant or loan for this 'research' from somebody? (Publishing houses, Mag.'s) If you document(journals, photos) everything you might be able to make some $$$ selling it.

I thought I saw something similiar to this idea on the 'Today Show' several months back. This guy and some friends travel the backroads of the USA in a camper I think. Filmed the whole thing for the most part, might have written a book and produced a doc. film. Anybody now what I'm talking about?? It looked interesting.

I thought we had a resident bear that is doing something like this already!!!”

“Heeheehee, Jerbear does immediately spring to mind when this topic comes up!”

“Violin, Ice Tea and myself must think of the guy's safety, too, you know. He would never make it alive hiking up the NJ Turnpike to get to our houses.”

“Methinks yer talkin' welfare, here.

You asked for suggestions about how you could come across some funds beforehand. I'd suggest you GET A JOB! Save, then do it when you can afford it, and not rely on handouts from others. You could prolly estimate your costs at mebbe $2.00 per mile.

You'd be more than welcome to stop by the house for some hots and a cot.
Can you chop garden weeds?
Can you clean and prepare fish?
Push a lawn mower?
Do windows?”

“The sad reality is if he waits until he can afford it, he'll be sitting at his computer at age 41 wondering why he never made that trip (kinda like me).

Unless one has the good judgment to be born rich, one can rarely afford "it."

We gotta live vicariously through somebody--might as well be simer.”

“Well... i don't quite know what we're gettin at, as of right now i have a job flippin burgers, and will be saving up for this first year before i take off. I'm not trying to get a free ride across the country, but some outside money would help. I'll probably journal most things, and take some pictures, ya can maybe check out the pictures i took on my hommes, at my web site. I don't know where to go with any of that though. Anyways, i'll keep you all up to date on what's happening on my side, I still have a while before i leave, thanks again everybody.”

“It really isn't that hard to save money, if it's what you really want to do. You just make it the priority and don't spend money on anything that isn't related to your goal. If you look at how you spend your money, you'll find that a lot of it is extraneous - car payments, cell phone, cable TV, DSL, cappuccino, whatever. I've done four long distance hikes. I work as a secretary - which isn't that well paid. My first hike I was working a minimum wage, which at that time was about $3 an hour, if that. Of course, I worked 10 hours a day to make up. I have no children (if I did, they'd be the priority, not hiking) so I can designate all my extra money toward travel. We all pick our priorities - sometimes it's family, sometimes it's friends, sometimes it's 'security' (either job or retirement), sometimes its appearances (clothes, house, furniture, car) -- you get to choose. Trouble is, most people don't look at their priorities, they just spend without thinking why and whether there is a better use for the money. If you have a financial goal, whatever it may be, you can generally achieve it (barring really bad luck or bad health) if you are willing to make it your priority. Of course, the non-monetary price may be more than you are willing to pay.”

“I can't understand people who know how to save money, what with the price of titanium and all.

Could be aliens.

Marvin?”

“Say you walk 3000 miles. At $2.00 per mile, it would cost $6,000.00 - cheap.

Flippin' burgers PLUS another job (60-70 hrs. per week) and you could save-up in a matter of months. A "matter of months" ain't much young man - patience!

BTW -
I think it could be done for less than two bucks per mile...

If you go broke, you could get a McJob and hole-up with some'ol skank for a couple weeks, then move along.
(Anybody remember "Then Came Bronson"?)”

“That highschool teacher that did it when he was in college--he took seasonal jobs whenever he ran out of money. Road construction, construction, ditch digging, whatever he could get on the short term. It works.”

“Simer, thanks for checking back in. I was beginning to think you weren't serious.
Phil did a survey of all of the states and I think there are only a couple that are not represented by TT'ers. I seriously think that, if you are serious about this, staying at the TT'ers houses that wanted to participate would save you a bundle. You would get the experience of a lifetime, meet some of the best people on the planet, and we would love to track your progress. This hike would also serve us in getting to know one another better.
Again, I think you should consider this option.
E-mail me any time and we can discuss this further. dpjp8@yahoo.com”

“This all reminds me of a school buddy was only moderately interested in gainful employment upon graduation around 1980. His solution, ride his bike from Toledo, Ohio to Seattle, Washington. Start work in Seattle. Low budget doesn't even begin to describe it. It took all summer. Had to stop and work many times on the way. He would often just knock on a farmers door and ask if he could pitch a tent in the back 40. Networking at a local diner often worked. Rural cops were helpful. In general, people were very helpful. Food and showers were often offered by what amounted to strangers. He got enough work to get by. I would like to think times have not changed that much. The hardest part of the trip was Minnesota and Wisconsin. The roads over the rockies were graded but the old river roads in the Midwest were killers. He told me when he got to Seattle, he looked at his legs and they didn't even look like his.
It can be done.”

“Many fire departments and churches are good for a place to sleep sometimes.”

“Are you starting to see what I see? There are folks who will help out without you waiting for a "grant" or some official sponsor. You should also read "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon just to whet your appetite.
In 1976, some Buddhist monks hiked from LA to NY to attend a conference on peace at the UN. We gave them a place to sleep and some meals when they walked through Kansas. A local young man was really excited by what they were doing and decided to join them. I gave him my brand new hiking boots and he promised to write each week. I got the better end of the deal as I was able to travel the country without leaving home. He attested to the kindness of ordinary people wherever they went. You ready?”

“I'm beginning to see how things are building up, i don't plan on walking by the mile, 2 bucks a mile or whatever, distance doesn't matter to me, neither does time really. What i want is to meet the people, and you all are a great start, and i want to see the land. This is more than i could ask for, and i was also thinking... maybe i'm crazy, but you guys gave me the idea. k, if i contacted everyone i knew, friends/relatives and all, i could come up with a few places to stay along the way, along with churches, farm land, crashing places along the road, or whatever happened to come along the way. Then if i had all of my friends from around here come up with some people around the country, friends/relatives, and then you guys all come in, and anybody you know... maybe i'm dreaming, but this all came to me while i was flipping burgers today. anyway, it's worth the thought, and if i knew i had a place to stay and a warm meal along the way, it just might work out. anyway, you can tell me what you think, and i'll get back to ya, thanks.”

“The first hurdle, as far as the folks on this site are concerned, would be to let yourself be known. You would have to e-mail some people and maybe meet one or two who could vouch for you. Where are you at?
I will be willing to help you plan this trip. It will take some time to plan, but it would be worth the effort.
Get back to me.”

“let me know what u want to know, and what u need to help me out here, i'm open to anything, i'm not sure what you're trying to get at here, e'mail me at simer190@hotmail.com thanks for the help.”

“I'm gonna start a new thread to find out who's all interrested in this idea, and where everyone is at”