400

I haven't made an exact count of it, but in looking up the length of I-5 inside the state of Washington, I got a figure of 278 miles from one online source. While I roughly followed I-5 while walking south from Blaine, I zigzagged quite a bit, meaning the actual distance walked was almost certainly over 280 miles. In following I-84 from Portland to where I am now in Arlington, Oregon, I've gone at least another 137 miles if we calculate mileage by exit numbers. Subtract 8 miles for the courtesy ride in the police car, and the total figure's somewhere over 400 miles.

Perhaps because there have been so many fewer CouchSurfing homes and religious establishments along this "post-Portlandic" part of the walk, I feel I've really been earning my pay (er, so to speak). I look forward to the cool relief that fall will bring, though I do remember the cold and wetness of some early parts of my walk through Washington, and don't look forward to the return of that unpleasant combination.

So: somewhere in recent days, I passed the 400-mile mark. I don't suppose that that's cause for celebration; let's talk again when I hit 1000 miles! In the meantime, 400 is a nice, round number. Not worth a party, but I'll give myself a Homer Simpsonian "woo-hoo!"


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