Across the Middle and Down

[Perry Winkle]

I'll have a little over $4k, but it'd be nice to have some left at the end so I can fly home if I want to. And not be totally broke at the end of the road.

I plan to free-camp as much as possible. I need to get better at having spontaneous conversations that end positively, so I'm going to try and talk likely-looking folk into letting me camp in their yards or wherever. Some town parks let you camp for free, and I have a golden access pass for the National Park System, so I get great deals there (it's my Dad's). If worse comes to worst I'll stealth camp.

I'm also going to take my St. Christopher-on-a-chain with me so I can convince churches to make exceptions for me a bit easier.

I'm also going to look into using hospitality services* like WarmShowers and Servas.

Depending on how well I take to sleeping outdoors every night I might get a motel from time to time.

I plan to cook my own meals, but I'm sure that I'll stop for a restaurant meal occasionally (it's hard to do sausage, pancakes and french toast, etc. on a backpacking stove; though I'll probably give it a shot).

It'll be kind of chilly for the first month or so, though by high summer I should be getting into higher elevations and the northwest...

* These services connect cyclists/hikers with volunteer hosts that are willing to provide a meal or a place to sleep/camp.