Just a housekeeping note:
I'll be printing out a 40-some-page map of my route to Salt Lake City. This will be a lot better than carrying around the huge (and heavy) maps I'd bought along the trip. I'll be scanning images from a road atlas as well, to give me a big-picture view of the situation.
Keeping the map dry is going to be an issue. At this point, I think the cheapest solution is simply a binder with transparent insert pages, plus two layers of resealable bagging (Ziploc or Glad).
Another housekeeping task is checking up on the permissibility/legality of freeway walking in the states I'll be passing through after Idaho. I know that Idaho won't present a problem in terms of freeway walking; I checked. I still need to call the departments of transportation in Utah, Wyoming, and Nebraska. Beyond Nebraska, I seriously doubt I'll have access to the freeways: as my buddy Mike pointed out, the laws become more up-tight on that score the farther east one goes. (Then again, the state of Washington didn't allow me on its freeways, so some western states have their issues, too.) I know for a fact that my own state, Virginia,* won't allow me on its freeways, so the final walk home will have to follow smaller roads. With narrower shoulders. Ick.
That's been the most unpleasant aspect of the walk thus far: all those narrow shoulders. I don't like dodging traffic, and would like to see walking paths-- sidewalks or biking/jogging trails-- built alongside all roads (and bridges!) in the US. Sure, such a move would take up a bit more space, but I think it would cut down on the number of vehicle/pedestrian accidents and possibly even provide incentives for long-distance walkers who simply want to connect the dots between cities more safely than they currently can.
*Technically, Virginia is called a commonwealth, but we still say we have 50 states (see here).
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