Most people associate "adventure-walking" with a determined trek into a deep, sun-dappled wood, or across the scree slopes of an alpine range. A reasonable take, and one that thirty-years ago, I would have certainly agreed with. But the onset of maturity brings a rather different perspective. Nowadays, just pottering about my own backyard I frequently stop to observe things I have long overlooked, and wonder how that is so. A walk through the neighborhood reveals even more surprises, and the local state park is a veritable treasure trove of discoveries that had eluded my younger self. So my definition of adventure walking has changed. It is not about the miles invested, or the newness of the experience, or the remoteness of the locale, or the ruggedness of the terrain. For me, it's now about being present in a place, absorbing all that I can with fresh and inquisitive senses as I pass through on foot. It could be a woodland, sure, but it could also be a gritty urban street that I've driven down a thousand times without noticing.
Which brings us to this walk, and this blog. My wife, Rene, and I live near the East Coast Greenway, which is an admirable (and enormous) effort to string together a walkable/rideable route the length of the East Coast. In one of those "hey why not?" moments that I periodically live to regret, I suggested to Rene that it might be fun to walk from our house to New York City on the greenway. She gave me a winced, tepid okay, picturing the miles of road walking in store, but also lured in by the promise of great bakeries and Italian restaurants along the way (adventure eating is another one of our passions).
The plan calls for 13 days of walking , at a comfortable 10 to 18 miles per day, plus one final day just exploring around New York City. Total mileage is around 170, not counting the NYC day. We'll walk it in sections, here and there as time and weather permit. Rather than starting from our front door, we're going to begin the adventure in Delaware City, about ten miles "off trail". The alliteration of "Delaware City to New York City" just sounded funner, if that's a word (and it should be).
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