My route for walking across the country mainly followed the American Discovery Trail, and at first I intended to walk every single step of the trail without exception. I managed to stick to the trail all the way until West Virginia, when I was tempted by the solitude and scenery of walking along the railroad tracks. Once I had deviated from the original plan, I discovered that navigating as I went was much more exciting and enjoyable. Some of my fondest memories from my adventure occurred in places I never planned on being. I would often just ask the local townspeople for advice on scenic route-planning, and they were usually gave good suggestions. There are many miles that are not shown in these maps, some of which came from making a wrong turn or while walking into town, and some of which came from side-trips I went on like going to see my brother in Chicago for Thanksgiving. Every time I got a ride, however, I did my best to get back to the same exact spot that I left off, and these maps display that continuity. Spending the time to make the maps ahead of time gave me the security of having a plan, but allowed me the freedom to choose whether to follow it or not. Sometimes weather or soreness would slow me down unexpectedly, and other times adventure would come knocking and I would consciously choose to alter my course. Ultimately, I learned to take life one step at a time and to enjoy each moment for what it is, instead of constantly worrying about the future and letting the present whiz by at the speed of life. What you’ll see in these maps are the thousands of towns, and forests. farms, plains, mountains, lakes, rivers, canyons, deserts and much more, that I walked past during my trek across the country.
View Dudetrek Route (1 of 3) in a larger map
View Dudetrek Route (2 of 3) in a larger map
View American Discovery Trail (3 of 3) in a larger map
