John and Lori Wingate are the outdoors type. They decided early on that they would take their time over eight months to ensure they could explore the American Discovery Trail, a contiguous hiking path across the United States.

However, the couple discovered some major drawbacks. Many times they found the trail leading them away from sources of food and water, thus making their trip in many ways dangerous. The alternative though was walking alongside roads with car traffic, which was also a nerve-wracking experience.

They camped out as much as they possibly could even though it was difficult not to trespass on private land along the way.

“We’d walk 20 miles in the rain and it would be difficult to find a place to camp so we had to spend nights in motels to get clean and stay safe,” says Lori.

Altogether they spent about 75 percent of their nights outdoors. To stay out of trouble, the Wingates spent the night in campgrounds, or asked to camp in a few backyards. Occasionally they were even treated to an unused barn or invited in to stay the night.

The 3500-mile journey took them from the coast of Delaware to the coast of northern California. Their main source of food was shipped in 26 boxes to predetermined post offices across the country.

However, John explains, “We couldn’t resist the occasional splurge on restaurant food when we came to a town that had those services….We especially craved fresh vegetables and fruit, which was surprisingly rare in most towns along the route.”

If they were to do it all over again, Lori admits they would have chosen a completely different route, maybe making their final destination Seattle or Oregon. Looking back she doesn’t see much reason to walk across Nevada.

“Some people really love it, but it is probably the quietest place I’ve ever been on the planet. It literally hurts your ears it’s so quiet,” she emphasizes. “Also, there’s no wildlife that ever crosses your path.”

If their trip could have been a few months longer she would have made it a multisport trip, and they believe hiking more mountain trails would have made the trip much more fun and much more interesting.

They both walked away from good paying jobs to make this journey. Lori was a Program Integrator for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics for the joint strike fighter program. Upon returning from the hike she landed her dream job with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Virginia. John is an engineer with Lockheed Martin and he walked right back into the same company under a new title. They since penned a book about their adventures, Two Views: Walking Across America.

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