Hiker's Profile

Name: Skip Potts

Destination: USA

Average speed: 50 km a day

My experience: over 6000 km across America

12 tips for anyone who want to walk:



1) Buy good socks - I always scoffed at $12 socks until I started going through an average of a sock a day while walking 30+ miles. When I switched, bot only did they last but I stopped getting blisters.


2) Find your shoes - Don't buy into some extravagant hiking shoe unless that's what you are comfortable in. I wore running shoes my entire walk because that's what I liked and they worked marvelously. Also remember that when you run or walk a lot your feet spread so you might need bigger and even wider shoes than you are used too.


3) Moleskin - Moleskin is an adhesive strip that is fuzzy on one side and that you can put over blisters or 'hot spots,' if you used it before you get a blister then you won't get a blister. If you are even thinking you might be getting a blister, use it, it'll make life a lot easier.


4) Make sure you really want to walk. Probably you will go a ways and then catch a ride hitchhiking, that's just fine. If you want to do a distance walk, make sure before you ever think about it that it is for you, not fame or a charity or anything else because most of the time it will only be you.


5) Call ahead. You can camp plenty, but nothing feels as good as a warm meal and shower after time hiking on the road. If you can find a place up the road to bed down, do it, don't always wing it.


6) One place to find lodging is Couchsurfing.com, I would recommend using the website a few times and building up some references before ever hitting the road.


7) Have milestones. Overall, walking is not a physically tough way to travel after you get used to it, but mentally it can be very difficult. Have borders, milestones and general things to look forward to, even in a mostly spontaneous trip.


8) Mostly, you are alone with your thoughts, spend some time like this before you leave to see if you can do it. Many people get overwhelmingly lonely or have other problems.



9) Pack light, you will be carrying (or pushing if you have a jogging stroller) all of your things, it will wear on your body.


10) Enjoy yourself, live in the moment and enjoy the scenery and people around you on your journey when you run into them. Walking isn't fast, if you are just looking to get somewhere, you never will, it is all about the walk.


11) Have a back up. If you use a phone or map or nav system, whatever the case, have a back up, you don't want to get lost in the middle of nowhere. Carry back up tools and second or even third batteries for important electronics.


12) Don't limit yourself by walking. I walked the entire USA, every step, but when I took time off I allowed myself to get in a car. The purpose of a trip is to see things, don't miss out on something because of the very stubbornness that will allow you to succeed.

Author



Skip Potts: Let's see, I've been a lingerie salesman, a mathematician, a high rise window washer, a fry cook, a waiter, a university teacher (twice), a maid of honor, a joker, a smoker a midnight . . . no, wait, that's Steve Miller, but you get the point. I've done a lot things. I spent September 1st 2008 to June 6th 2009 walking across America for the charity PFEE.org. It was a time I learned about a true life and myself, and now I am searching for a way to hold onto that life in a permanent and meaningful way, to inspire others to live more and discover the world and all it has to offer.

What's holding you back?

Web Page:
People For Educational Equality

Blogs:
Walking Distance
Adventure Nerd