Wednesday, March 25, 2009

my route up to Salt Lake City

When I get back to Walla Walla, I plan to hang a few days and interview some folks, then move on. The slog to Salt Lake City looks to be a little over 40 day's walking-- close to a month and a half, the way I figure it. The specifics follow.





Day 001: From Walla Walla to Milton-Freewater
11 or 12 miles

Day 002: From Milton-Freewater, OR to Pendleton, OR
30-32 miles (killer!)

Day 003: Pendleton, OR to Emigrant Springs State Park
about 25 miles

Day 004: From Emigrant Springs State Park to Hilgard, OR
19-20 miles

Day 005: from Hilgard, OR to La Grande, OR
about 8 miles; stopping here for 2-3 nights; hoping to create an "event" at Eastern Oregon University in town

Day 006: from La Grande, OR to North Powder, OR
around 25 miles

Day 007: from North Powder, OR to Baker City, OR
about 20 miles

Day 008: from Baker City, OR to Pleasant Valley, OR
13-14 miles

Day 009: from Pleasant Valley, OR to Nelson, OR
about 15 miles

Day 010: from Nelson, OR to Huntington, OR
about 18 miles

Day 011: from Huntington, OR to Ontario, OR
about 30 miles (ass-kicker)

Days 012 and 013: from Ontario, OR to Caldwell, ID
33 miles over 2 days (crossing into Idaho!)

Day 014: from Caldwell, ID to Meridian, ID
16-18 miles

Day 015: from Meridian, ID to Boise, ID
about 15 miles; will stop here and rest for 3 nights; if I can do something at one of the local universities, all the better

Days 016 and 017: Boise, ID to Mountain Home, ID
about 45 miles of NOTHING over 2 days

Day 018: from Mountain Home, ID to Hammett, ID
about 20 miles

Day 019: from Hammett, ID to Glenns Ferry, ID
about 10 miles

Day 020: from Glenns Ferry, ID to Bliss, ID
almost exactly 20 miles

Day 021: from Bliss, ID to Wendell, ID
17 or 18 miles

Day 022: Wendell, ID to Jerome, ID
11 or 12 miles

Day 023: from Jerome, ID to Twin Falls, ID
about 14 miles, leaving I-84 to cross the Potato Bridge on Route 93 (Perrine Bridge)

Day 024: from Twin Falls, ID to Hansen, ID
about 11 miles

Day 025: from Hansen, ID to Hazelton, ID
around 14 or 15 miles

Day 026: from Hazelton, ID to Heyburn, ID
approximately 22 miles

Days 027 through 034: from Heyburn, ID to Tremonton, UT (112 MILES!! HOLY CRAP!!)
about 112 miles over 8 days(!!)

Day 035: from Tremonton, UT to Corinne, UT
about 17 or so miles

Day 036: from Corinne, UT to Willard, UT
about 13 miles

Day 037: from Willard, UT to Marriott, UT
about 13 miles

Day 038: from Marriott, UT to Layton, UT
about 18 miles

Day 039: from Layton, UT to Centerville, UT
about 15 miles

Day 040: from Centerville, UT to Salt Lake City, UT
about 14 miles (with plans to stay in SLC about a week to rest and talk with the locals, with students, etc.)





If you have information on places to stay and/or people to see while I'm in any of these cities and towns and campsites, join my Facebook group, also cleverly called "Kevin's Walk," and leave information. Each leg of the journey, as laid out above, has been made into its own discussion topic. Click the topic on which you might have some information and leave a remark. Stuff I'm interested in (as always):

1. People willing to act as chase car drivers. This takes a real load off, as my primary worry becomes simply covering the distance without worrying as much about the state of my knees.

2. Places to stay. What doomed me financially was the frequency with which I stayed in various motels (plus two infamous trips into actual hotels, which are substantially more expensive).

3. People who, knowing my plotted route, are willing to zoom by me and toss water my way. Water is far, far more important than food. With all the fat I carry, I'm not worried about becoming dizzy and weak from starvation or malnutrition, but as I discovered during that first part of my journey, water matters, and I ended up guzzling a lot of it in the 108-degree heat of the high desert (where I ended up getting picked up by a police car and driven 8 miles to Arlington, Oregon). There are some really stark, empty areas coming up, and I'll need water for damn sure. And hey, if you want to toss me some food, I probably won't say no. Unless it's full of onions.

4. People who want to stop and talk while we walk. Or while we're in town. I still need to buy my extra mike for this purpose, but I'll be equipped by the time I leave.

5. Road and weather conditions, as well as any notable animals to watch out for, and whatever camping advice might be needed.

6. Clever ways to keep batteries charged for both my phone and my laptop. This is going to be a huge problem when I hit those barren stretches.


_

5 comments:

Jelly said...

Hey Kevin - how about a solar battery charger hmmm?

Kevin Kim said...

I've got one, and have learned the hard way that such chargers suck. I left mine exposed to the sun for three days, and got only a few minutes' charge after all that time.


Kevin

Becky said...

I might be able to work out an interview with an Episcopal minister if you're interested. She's in La Grande, and I have contacts there. Let me know if you're interested and I'll see what I can do.

Once you get into Idaho, I might be able to help some. I've got contacts in Caldwell, Meridian, and Boise. Most are Adventist, of course, but I know some people who might know folks of other religions. There are PLENTY of Mormons in Boise, if you're interested. I do have a couple of contacts there.

I might be able to scrounge up some contacts in Twin Falls, but I make no promises there, and again, they'd be Adventist.

Once you're out of those areas...I might be fairly useless. Unless you're going through Ohio. I've got a few contacts there. And Tennessee might work out, but we'll see. We'll have to see where you go.

I guess my help will be mostly hope for a place to stay and some food/water. As you move to each new leg of your trip, let's see what I can do. Stay in touch.

chuck said...

hey kevin, Pleasant Valley and Nelson, Or. NOTHING there Heyburn to Tremonton,Ut. NOTHING but critters, mostly badgers,deer,foxes,coyotes,snakes, NO water.... it gets hotttt. you will want a chase car for this stretch for sure

Kevin Kim said...

Becky,

YES TO EVERYTHING!

Chuck,

Thanks, as always, for the travel wisdom. Here's hoping I can arrange a chase car with someone.

And Wyoming, when I get to it, is going to be a larger version of the same thing: 430 miles of NADA. Will definitely need a chase car in Wyoming if I hope to survive until Nebraska.


Kevin