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Well here we are, reader, at the first post regarding my specific walking route.  I’d hoped to have the entire route loosely planned by the end of the day yesterday, but I’ve come to realize that mapping a complex route is more time-consuming than anticipated. To this point, I’ve only managed to make it through Florida.  The good news is that in mapping that particular state, I’ve already plotted the first third of the route. America has a long wang, as it turns out. 

The graphic above shows the route from the 10,000-foot view.  If you click the “View Larger Map” link, you’ll be whisked away to Google Maps, where you can zoom in to flea-on-a-dog’s-ass level, if you so choose.  But let’s ignore the simple joy of Google Maps for a moment and focus on the big picture. 

As you can see, I’ve decided to begin plotting the route in Florida City instead of Key West.  This is for a couple of reasons.  First, in routing, I discovered that a great deal of the highway that leads from Key West to the mainland isn’t actually (legally) walkable.  Plus, it appears to be a 100-mile stretch with few places in which to set up camp.  If these things are true (and I’ll know more once I get down there and can get the lay of the land), I may wind up having to drive that portion of the trip.  I know.  Lame.  Anyway, once I get to Florida City, the route will take me along the Atlantic Coast – and I’m pretty stoked about that.  The idea of being able to smell the ocean for the first 430 miles of my journey makes me all giddy and warm.

So I should probably get down to explaining how I came to the conclusions in graphic form above and in bulleted form below.  I’m ashamed to admit this, but I actually planned my rugged adventure around the availability of dog-friendly hotels.  I know.  Lame.  Again.  But I need to ensure that there are places where I can go to house Adama on the cheap while I conduct at least half of my Zero Days.  Plus, as things turned out, many of my stops will be in some of Florida’s larger cities, where wilderness will most likely be a little tougher to find.

Now, a little disclaimer: I don’t expect this route to go exactly according to plan.  There will be days that I fall behind and days where I stride ahead.  That being the case, any and all of the dog-friendly hotels and tent-bound Zero Days could be subject to change.  Fortunately, Florida appears to be the state on my route most laden with habitable areas close to or within civilization.

So without further ado, a bulleted version of my route: 

  • Florida City, FL to Kendall, FL (19.4mi)
  • Kendall, FL to Miami Beach, FL (16.2mi)
    • Zero Day: The Royal Palm Hotel
  • Miami Beach, FL to Fort Lauderdale, FL (25.1mi)
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL to Boca Raton, FL (23.0mi)
    • Zero Day: Tent           
  • Boca Raton, FL to Lake Worth, FL (18.4mi)
  • Lake Worth, FL to Jupiter, FL (23.1mi)
    • Zero Day: La Quinta Inn and Suites Jupiter
  • Jupiter, FL to Stuart, FL (22.4mi)
  • Stuart, FL to Fort Pierce, FL (21.3mi)
    • Zero Day: Ocean Village
  • Fort Pierce, FL to Wabasso, FL (22.1mi)
  • Wabasso, FL to Palm Bay, FL (22.3mi)
    • Zero Day: Jameson Inn, Palm Bay
  • Palm Bay, FL to Rockledge, FL (23.4mi)
  • Rockledge, FL to Titusville, FL (21.8mi)
    • Zero Day: Tent
  • Titusville, FL to Ariel, FL (22.5mi)
  • Ariel, FL to Port Daytona Beach, FL (23.9mi)
    • Zero Day: La Quinta Inn, Daytona Beach
  • Daytona Beach, FL to Beverly Beach, FL (23.1mi)
  • Beverly Beach, FL to St. Augustine, FL (26.6mi)
    • Zero Day: Tent
  • St. Augustine, FL to Greenland, FL (26.9mi)
  • Greenland, FL to Jacksonville, FL (13.6mi)
    • Zero Day: Red Roof Inn, Jacksonville
  • Jacksonville, FL to Yulee, FL (21.8mi)
  • Yulee, FL to Billyville, GA (23.7mi)
    • Zero Day: Tent

Total Days: 30
Total Walking Days: 20
Total Miles: 436.6
Miles per Day: 21.8

As you can see, I’ll be staying in a hotel about once per week (5 times in the course of the month).  The same is true of the Zero Days spent in a tent (4 times in the course of the month).  The lone outlier is “Ocean Village,” which I’ll hopefully reach by Day Eleven or Twelve.  Ocean Village is a place in Fort Pierce, FL where my family owns a condo.  I’ll take free lodging with four walls and a swimming pool any day of the week.  Particularly since I’ll be spending $404 on hotels while in Florida.

For those of you wondering why I’m being such a sissy on this walk, staying indoors all the time, consider that only six days out of the first thirty will be spent with a roof over my head.  And Microsoft Calculator tells me that sleeping in a tent twenty-four days out of thirty gets me exactly to my planned 80% tent-days.  Woo!  Also, consider the stretch between Ariel and Greenland, where I’ll be walking 23.9, 23.1, 26.6, and 26.9 miles per day consecutively.  Sissy that! 

Anyway, that’s the rub on America’s Wang.  Picture me giggling like a schoolgirl as I type that statement.  We’ve got a couple of variable days coming up, reader – Guest Post Thursday tomorrow and another holiday off on Friday – so I’ll just have to say that I’ll get back to you as soon as possible with the Georgia portion of the route.  Until then, enjoy the rest of your Hump Day.

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