Taking A Walk

by Dwayne Phillips A constant companion on all 1,100 miles of walking was my Eddie Bauer Trailhead backpack. I guess the correct term is a “day pack” as it is big enough to carry the things you need in a day hike. I carried food, camera, band-aids, sun block, bandannas, extra clothing, sometimes a computer, […]

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by Dwayne Phillips There are a lot of name-brand pieces of apparel out there that people recommend for walking and other activities. Most of them are over-rated. Here is one that is not – the Tilley Hat. I bought one of these on suggestion of a friend. The money was more than worth it. I […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Walking a thousand miles down a U.S. highway is a fairly unique endeavor. You learn to do some unique things very well. In other words, you become very good at things that no one else values. One such thing area of expertise that I acquired was judging a quarter mile. I can […]

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by Dwayne Phillips Perhaps this is the first installment of several on this topic. We shall see: Most horns honking at me: Alabama Most people per day stopping and asking me if I wanted a ride: Mississippi Most southern accent: Alabama Most non-American sounding accent: South Louisiana Most buildings built in the 1700s: Virginia Most […]

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by Dwayne Phillips This was a day made for a walk in the country. It was 40 degrees in the morning and 70 in the afternoon with clear skies and no wind all day. I walked 17 miles today. Wonderful. I walked through the towns of Poplarville, Derby, and McNeill, Mississippi. Poplarville is a big […]

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by Dwayne Phillips A side story… One day last week when the sun blazed most of the day and the temperatures reached into the 90s… I was at the motel for the evening. I was walking down the hallway towards my room. In front of me was an old couple (almost as old as me […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I am happy to report that I have a new logistics routine. My older brother has joined me as a support driver. He drives me to the start point of the day, meets me for lunch, and picks me up at the end of the walking for the day. No more backtracking […]

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by Dwayne Phillips In Georgia and Alabama, there are mile markers along the side of Route 11. I don’t recall seeing these in Virginia and Tennessee. These mile markers are a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that it is easier to keep track of my progress. I know how far I have walked […]

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by Dwayne Phillips I carry a little notebook and pencil with me while walking. Here is a photo (right) of them sitting next to a coffee cup for scale. I use a notebook from Moleskine, but just about anything would work. I use a little pencil like those that golfers use to keep score. I […]

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by Dwayne Phillips The first question people ask me when I tell them that I am walking from here to there is, “but how do you do that? Do you sleep on the side of the road? Do you …” Here is the method I have used for the past two weeks (Chattanooga to Tuscaloosa). […]

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