Why hike across America?

When I was a kid growing up in Manhattan, I had this idea that everything outside my city was wild. This one memory has stuck with me since I was four or five- my mom and I were standing on a sunny beach in some exotic place, New Jersey most likely, and I distinctly remember telling her that I wished we lived in America. In my imagination, Manhattan was not part of America because America had beaches and streams and more than one bird species. It had mountains and lakes and pine trees and fresh air. Manhattan, however, had none of those things. We later moved to Norway where most of the country is in fact wild. I'd like to think that my dream of crossing America stems from an early fantasy of a wild America, and a later fascination with the Norwegian wild, one that I was able to explore and nurture.

But why hike? Molly and I get asked this question a lot. "Why not drive?" some people ask. "Why not bike?" Sure, it takes less time to drive or bike across the country, and any form of transportation will beat hiking in energy efficiency. But that's part of the point. I don't want to be efficient. Hiking is a slow process. Getting from A to B is only one of many goals. If I wanted to get from A to B I'd hop on a plane to San Francisco and be there in six hours. Hiking requires a certain amount of concentration, and focus, and in some ways its like meditation. Our hike will be a 365 day, 5,057 mile meditation session through the woods, meadows and mountains of America.

OK, that sounds really tree-hugger-y and romantic and dreamy- I don't hug trees but I'll be the first to admit that I am a dreamer. I dream hard. The truth is that our trail will take us through farm land, across busy highways, past diners and strip malls, and through parts of the country that are completely at odds with my childhood fantasies of a postcard-esque America.

I've been slow to realize that hiking 5,057 miles won't be a piece of cake. I sometimes catch myself thinking about the hike simply as a warmup round for harder, more challenging expeditions in the future- Alaska, Greenland, Siberia, Lapland- the list of dreams goes on. But as Molly has rightfully pointed out, hiking across America is kind of a big deal. Its not as extreme as the tundras above the arctic circle, but its a challenge unlike any I've taken on before.

So, this hike means many things to me, and it means a whole different set of things to Molly. At this point, precisely 366 days before departure, no one reason overshadows the next. Maybe it'll become more clear as time passes.

Martin