Nick Walks America

Some good news. I finally have a safe, secure donations page for the American Legion Legacy scholarship Fund. So if you want to show your support for my walk and the good work the Legacy Fund does, please follow the link at the top of this site. I have also downloaded lots more photo's in all of the States I've been through so far, so take a gander at your leisure. I would be grateful if you could spread the word of my charity walk to everyone you know, the more people that are aware of it the more the charities benefit. And who knows, they might even enjoy reading this thing, there must be someone out there that does....

For once it was perfect walking weather with a chilly 80f breeze coming from the North, which was fine by me because i had 22 miles to go today before hitting Springfield. My breakfast barely touched the sides and it was a pretty unmotivated 11 mile walk to the nearest gas station so i could stuff my face. A giant sub & donuts, call to a friend back home and a call to an old school friend who happens to live in Ohio cheered me up and by late afternoon i was in Springfield.

My entertainment for the evening was Nancy, a fabulously kind, interesting and down to earth woman who also had a big soft rug of a dog named Apollo. She showed me the sights and took me for a drink and it was great to see the place from a locals perspective.

Nancy is a member of the Irish Club in Dayton, and without my knowing they put together a collection to help me on my journey. I was totally stumped and still am. Thank you doesn't seem enough, but thank you anyway Nancy and thank you all at the Irish Club.

I really hoped the big guy in the sky wouldn't give me another hard time for not going to church today as i had a date with Columbus. 12 miles out i hit the city limits, and was pleasantly surprised by the borough of Reynoldsburgh. the local council had cottoned on to the fact that a lot of American cities are ugly, so they've banned advertising boards, painted traffic lights and other ugly objects a smart brick red, and kept everything clean and tidy. There was even a sidewalk for people who couldn't afford cars to walk on.

Past the Interstate it was reality time. It was the sad realism of capitalism-money making skyscrapers on the horizon and here boarded up, deprived, pretty threatening neighbourhoods not a couple miles away from downtown. Downtown i spotted a load of West Ham supporters which was slightly surreal. something to do with a football(soccer) game. My evening was spent in the pleasant company of Jeff and his neighbours Christina and Mike. We had a good laugh over a tasty healthy meal and they were all round top guys for making me feel so welcome. Thanks for the couch Jeff!

Id decided to walk the 68 miles to Columbus in 3 days because I like to challenge myself and I'm a bit stupid. The sloping hills had turned into open flat farmland with the odd township every 3 or 4 miles which was perfect for escaping the sun. A colourful selection of barnets are starting to appear, ass one of my challenges is to grow my hair i figured maybe i should try and fit in with the locals and get the local chop, or is it the bush?

It was local raceday and i spent half an hour watching monster cars drag-race each other. Feeling all grrr and manly i walked to Kirkersville for lunch at the village tavern. The quiet lunch was interrupted by about 30 bikers stopping for a drink. Now bikers, especially some of the female ones, look as if they'd eat your kids just for looking at them. However if you've ever spoken to a biker you'll find they're actually really good guys and gals just up for a laugh. There's a lot of people so far on this trip i could have misjudged because of appearances or preconceptions, fortunately being an intuitive and fearless kinda guy I've pretty much spoken to everyone I've come across, and not a mugging in sight.

I caused my first car accident today of sorts. Some drivers, wokay most drivers rubberneck at me like I've invented something they've never seen before. Remeber this is the country where you can drive-thru anything except the toilet(although I'm sure someones working on it). The guy in question was turning right at a junction and failed to see the bright orange 4 foot high traffic cones because i was fa more enticing to look at. He was obviously embarassed because he sped off leaving the cone in the middle of the oncoming lane, so freaky jiker boy feeling partly to blame, dragged it back. Lucky it wasn't a car he hit, because i would have felt very guilty laughing at him so much, numpty. I finally parked up in a quiet town called Etna. new Condo estates surrounded the historic village, and i could almost smell Columbus on the horizon. Oh no sorry that's me.

I've decided to go for a different plan of attack today so that I'm not stuck in the afternoon humidity or heat. A month ago if you had told me to get up at 5am in the middle of the night then walk 12 miles before breakfast, i would be wondering who the strange person is in my bed asking the impossible. Now there are few things better than getting up and walking through the dead quiet morning morning fog whilst watching the sun rise. Unless you're married to a model and live in a mansion overlooking a beach. I don't, i live in a tent and I'm stinky.

So it was a morning walk to Zanesville with a long breakfast at Denny's on the way. Zanesville was an unusual place. It was the usual ghost-town norm for a large US town bar the main street traffic, but it had kept that old-style look-there were no shiny new buildings and you could almost imagine how it was in the old days. I happened to stumble upon Mark & Cole, 2 of the nicest attorney's I've ever met(okay they're the only 2 I've ever met but were still very entertaining). They kindly bought me coffee and we had a good chat over lunch. Even their mate the local Judge bought me a cookie. Apparently Zanesville is famous for its pottery, so i went straight down to see the famous Y-bridge. By now it was nearly 4pm and the humidity was taking its toll. I'm either becoming a real wuss or its getting hotter.

In the last couple of days I've had 5 offers of a lift from friendly Ohians. Saying 'no thanks' was like saying no to a date with the person you've fancied for like ever. It's sole destroying seeing people drive off into the distance but i will not go to the darkside, i will resist. Today was the end of rowt 22 and a visit to Cambrisge was on the cards. I was looking forward to boat rides down the river, hanging with the clever people and generally taking in ye olde vibe. Oh yea that's the other Cambridge. I don't like to put towns down, so i will just say that the locals were their usual friendly self and in its hayday it was a thriving railroad town. There was an ols scenic railway which i wanted to see, but yet again without a car it was impossible to get to.

Late afternoon i started on historic route 40, there must be something good to see down there. I have to say the S-bridges were pretty cool. I planned to camp juast before the town of New Concord but yet again i was hungry, so into town i went. Here i learnt my second lesson-don't eat food near the smell of roadkill.

I'm still undecided as to whether i should trek the 68 miles to Columbus in 3 or 4 days, i really really need a shower and a day off, and I'm worried that "it gun rain".

I've walked 453 miles in 29 days which has hit my target of just over 15 miles a day (the girls at work will be laughing at me for working that one out). My main aim for the next couple months is to exceed that whilst i have the most sunlight, as i won't be dragging myself out of my warm sleeping bag in the 6am dark come christmas.

It was not the happiest of days today(violin sounds) The landscape turned back into wooded hills as i entered the Ohio Hills funnily enough. It was also hot, 92f(33c)by midday. Id already drank my 4 litres of water by 3pm which i was a bit worried about until i came across an old store. It looked like it was right out of the 1920's, as did the owner. I felt bad that she had to walk the 4 metres to the cash register as my milk was starting to curdle by the time she got there bless her. All she managed to say was "it gun rain". Who needs weather satellites?

I finally dragged myself to Salt Fork State Park to find they only catered for RV's. I won't tell you my reaction. I could however have a cottage for the night for the cheapo price of $175. Forget ethnic minorities, its people who actually use their legs for-it may come as a shock-walking, who are discriminated against. It looks like I'll have to go to plan B, once I've worked it out.

I was hungry, and it was actually quite cold at 6am for the first time. I stomped 8 miles in 2 hours to the town of Cadiz for breakfast before the heat started. Tomorrow will probably be my first day of not seeing any people, shops or gas stations, so i spent most of the day chillaxing, eating and washing clothes. I've managed to reorganise my pack so i can fit extra food and 4 litres of water into it. It's gone from 'small child' weight to 'you should stop stuffing your face and get down that there gym' weight.

It was today the turn of the Ohio state Police to stop me and check i hadn't escaped a mental asylum. They were also very friendly, gave me ideas of the safest places to camp and promised to keep an eye out for me. Route 22 was good today, it slowly went from a 4 lane highway with middle island and hard shoulders to what was eventually a small 2 laned road through sloping farmland, with stereotypical red dutch barns and noisy dawgs. The scenery is finally changing, it's taken 29 days but it's starting to sink in now that Im actually walking across merica. There's never a bar when you need one.

Just my luck. 2 miles from the Pennsylvania state Line the police decide to tell me it's against the law to walk on the highway in PA. So it was a 2 mile ride in the back of a police car to West Virginia State Line, all the while trying to convince the Officer that i was not an escaped convict, on parole or Australian. After checking my(out of date) Georgia driver license even the woman on the radio came back with "yea, I think he's clean?" Very paranoid they were, but also very polite.

After being dropped off in WV i decided to take a back road to the Ohio river so i wouldnt get into trouble with the fuzz again. It also added a few miles to cover my blatant cheating. I dont want to be remembered as "the guy that walked across America, except when he cheated and got a ride in a cop car". More trouble as i reached the only walkway over the Ohio river. 'Sidewalk Closed'. God was obviously upset that i didnt go to Sunday service in any of the many churches i had passed this morning. There was however no sign saying 'no walking in middle of bridge dodging cars', so that's what i did.

With PA and WV behind me in one morning i aimed for Route 22 again, Steubenville was not worth the visit from what i saw of it. I popped into the local police station on the way, no not to hand myself in, but to double check i could actually walk on Route 22. The answer was no, not for the first 14 miles. Out came my 2 mapreading skills again and another 4/5 miles were added to my original route, with a few extra hills for good measure. Luckily today i was on form, I'm not sure how far i walked yet but it's my best day so far, it's just a shame i cant feel my legs anymore.

Today has been really weird. I've spent the last 20-odd days with one goal-Pittsburgh. Now I'm not sure what to do with myself, i have one road all the way to Colombus, not much navigating to do and no hills to consider. The skies one big black cloud but it's really bright. Either my pack has grown or I've shrunk. It's the weekend and i should be in Lowes buying picture frames or taking the kids to the park, except i have no home and no kids. I have no job to go to on Monday. It's all a little freaky.

I went past a town called Hankie, and also spotted Nappies Food Service. Their slogan was 'You'll be happy with nappie'. I prefer 'It's the s*@t'. I really should have gone into advertising. Finally i was pooed on by a bird whilst setting up camp, like i said today has been really weird.

I met a guy at brekfast who was from the same town i was born in Michigan, small world hey. The chef who made my pancakes must have also been from the same diner i ate at last week, if you cant even make pancakes right then you should get another job, perhaps in McDonalds or one of those burger vans that sits outside nightclubs at 3am.

Leaving Pittsburgh was not only sad but also a nightmare. The only routes West were Interstates, so i had to use all 2 of my mapreading skills to navigate my way out. I finally made it to route(or rowt)22 by late afternoon. I treated myself to grub at crackerbarrel, the only place you can buy a meal and an armchair. I'm going to write ''no, I'm not Australian', 'i wish i was 25 but I'm not' and 'YES, I'm really walking!' on my pack. I was thinking about writing 'if you can read this I'm roadkill' but i thought that would just be tempting fate.

A quick thank you to Paul Cukanna who i met in Crackerbarrel. We only spoke briefly but he kindly donated some money towards my next meal. promise i will make it a good one Paul!

I can see why Pittsburgh was voted the best city to live in the USA, i love the place. After saying my goodbyes to Andrea i went back into downtown and hit all the touristy spots. I had dinner in a tavern and watched live bands in market square as the sun went down. It was almost sad that i didnt have anyone to spend the day with, but there were plenty of people to chat to; the really helpful guy from the Legion (sorry i forgot your name); the kids i gave cereal to so they could feed the pigeons(not forgetting the plaster i gave the girl after she fell running away from the pigeons) and Roy the 61 year old drunk who had perfected the art of conversation to befreind people and eventually pursuade them to buy him a drink. You cant sell to a salesman my friend.

The day was topped off with a trip up the Monongahela Incline, a cable car which takes you up Mount Washington with views of the city below. There was even a fireworks display from the Baseball stadium to enjoy. If i ever take any of you lovely ladies up the cable car at night, watch out because I'll be after you. It's one of those romantic destinations i will save to my wooing list.

Not much to say about today really, it was a 4am start just in case there were any hiccups on the way to Pittsburgh. Route 30 was not good, there were few places to walk safely and the scenery was store after store of everything you never wanted. Im tired, sore and looking forward to a day off. Im 4 days earlier than planned, so i deserve it.

I spent the evening with my old friend Andrea just north of Pittsburgh, and we had a great time seeing some locals bars with her friend Kelly. I also had the pleasure of meeting nana the legend that she is. Don't forget to send me those photo's! Thanks guys i had a really good time with you all. Err.

I didnt want to leave Ligonier. Its a place full of friendly people, attractive clean streets and houses and has a generally good vibe about the place. Another reason was because i knew I'd be slumming it in the armpit of Pittsburgh's outer boroughs for the next few days. My aim-try to get to Pittsburgh as fast as possible. I decided I'd try the 42 miles left in 2 days, it's not like it'll kill me. It was 7 miles following the river down the mountain until i hit scumsville. The thing i hate about these kinds of roads with Walmarts and fast food chains galore, is they all look the same and you could be anywhere in the USA. Now that freaks you out when you've walked 380 odd miles then start believing you're back on Staten Island. By the end of the day i was 24 miles from Pittsburgh. Looks like it's gonna be a long day tomorrow, and i can't even pull a sicky. More photo's have been uploaded for your viewing pleasure.

My last mountain, finally. 5 days of walking the equivalent of up and down Snowdon and then some takes it out of you, especially in 32c heat. Small flies are obviously attracted to myrich aroma of sweat and mosquito repellent as they had a good try and knawing my arms and face off last night. Badly bitten i marched the 1 miles to the top, where there were great views of....not much. It turns out that the best views were 2 miles across the ridge, and i had no inclination to take a 4 mile detour to stand and go 'wow' for 10 minutes. It's also bear country, and i wanted to eat, not be eaten.

After a quick cool down in Wayat's bar(the owner was explaining how he caught 2 bears 'at-it' in his back garden over the weekend, you dont see that every day)and it was back down the other side. I planned on stopping at Laughlington for the night because i thought the name was pretty funny, but i got in my stride and went on to Ligonier so i could hit the library early. But wait...no it cant be...a swimming pool AND a bar?! I was there before you could say flipper.

The hospitality i recieved by everyone at the 'Ligonier Beach' was beyond words. They fed me, watered me, and it was great to sit and chat to such friendly people all evening. They even let me spend the night there and i had my first decent sleep for a while. The beer may have helped in that though.

A dry rest day was just what i needed. Today was up and over the Ararat Mountain, a 6 mile uphill monster. The other side was a straight 5 mile ridge, my first boring straight road of many. The weather was pretty good so i stopped for lunch at the last gas station for 20 miles. You can guess what happened next-massive thunderstorm.

It was the nearest to being in a hurricane as i think i will ever get, deafening lightning, horizontal rain, the works. The station became a heaven for everyone within a 5 mile radius, and we all had a good chat huddled in the back room where i learned that this area is nicknamed thunder alley. They should really put that kind of info on maps. Today i learned my first lesson-when particularly close lightning strikes in the bible belt, dont shout 'jesus'. Sorry guys.

It had better not be sunny back in England because this rain is starting to take the Michael. Today the town of Bedford was my savour, and a very nice town it was too. Lots of little shops, hapy tourists with flowery clothing to laugh at, and surrounded by cloud covered mountains. I even had a proper coffee in a posh coffee shop like the upper class snob that i am innit.

Something had to be wrong though, I'm not that lucky. Aah the sirens again, the yang has returned. Luckily of all the places i should run for shelter i ran into a laundrette. A few dollars and a bit of sunshine later everything was clean and dry enough to stop people being repulsed by my very existence.

The last few days of hills had taken there toll so i decided to have a rest day at Shawnee State Park. The cmp warden couldnt do enough to make sure i had a nice pitch away from screaming kids, and the shop owner donated some food to me. Even the other campers were really friendly. Once they regained control from laughing at my midget tent('where's the rest of it?!', 'where are you sleeping?' and 'how'd you fit it onto your truck?' were favourites) i was offered a barrage of burgers, campfire wood and company. My faith in America ha been restored.

More rain and more mountains. This time it was a 7% gradient ascent, and i stormed it. I was overtaking cars, trucks, cyclists, even deer although to be fair they were all going the other way. Breakfast was at my first Denny's at last, 2,000 calories of meaty heaven on a plate. My main concern today was how to dry out all my wet kit, as it was still raining. Wet kit means extra weight, sore feet, extra hasle and general misery. I chatted to a guy cycling from Pittsburgh to Maryland and he suggested stopping in a day at Shawnee state Park as another monster mountain lay behind it.

By the end of the day i was probably at my lowest since the walk began, it hadn't stopped raining and my kit and feet were very wet. But hey, tomorrow everything will be dry, and i have some fireworks to celebrate 4th July whoopee!

I'm finding walking easiest in the morning, so like a superhero i attacked another montain before breakfast. The 4 mile ascent i was like a machine, the 4 miles descent i was walking like Mr Bean. It's so much easier going uphill. The heat and humidity has been unbearable today so i faffed in McConnellsburgh until late afternoon then took a leisurely stroll to my campsite in Saluvia at the bottom of tomorrows badboy mountain.

On my way to Saluvia my nice stroll was interrupted by scrub Mountain, didnt see that one coming. I was now walking up the mountain like Mr Bean. At the top i ws welcomed by Scrub Mountain bar. the local landlady gave me enough advice to walk to Pittsburgh blindfolded and the pub regular Randy was kind enough to by me a couple of cold bers. It's a shame i'd already eaten as they served steaks the size of your face that you could get free if you ate it in an hour.

It was a hot trek to Chambersburg to pick up my GPS card and some new socks from the local post office, kindly sent by my bro. Like all historic towns in PA I've been through so far, Chambersburg had a very well kept centre with a roundabout and historic boards filling you in on all the history of those naughty Confederates, then it was houses, food outlets, supermarkets, churches and finally the open road.

I spent the afternoon playing with my GPS looking for the nearest bars(i did find one on route 30 but it turned out to be a cornfield, some programmer at Garmin is laughing at me right now) and wandering towards my first set of big momma mountains. I still can't source a gas cylinder for my camping stove and with no Wendy's or 7/11 in them there hills i may be going a little hungry tomorrow. Roadkill anyone?

Cracking day off yesterday. The camp staff gave me a nice spot out of the way of screaming kids and noisy horses. I think it was a case of hiding me away because it was my one tent to about 200 camper vans the size of houses, it's not quite camping in my eyes when you take everything and the kitchen sink but hey. Gettysburg downtown was the expected tourist trap nightmare, but the battlefield and monuments were well worth a visit.

So today was back on the Lincoln highway, going West towards the looming mountains. It was a 1,200ft ascent before a 600ft decent to Caledonia state Park, where there were more showers and annoying kids waiting to finish the evening. I recieved my first injury today in the form of a stone being hurled at my inner thigh by a passing truck. A few inches higher and it would have been goodbye Barry White and hello Maria Carey.