Gear: We will be pushing all of our
gear in the Chariot Carrier Cougar 1
baby jogger as well as any food/water
supplies we might need for that
particular day. Some of the most
important items being packed away
are sleeping bags, a three-man tent, a
GPS unit, dry-fit clothing, spare tires
and bike pump, an adventure medical
kit, CamelBak, Black Diamond
headlamps, an extra pair of shoes, flashlights, reflectors and of course a frisbee!
Shower: We realize this is not going to be the sweetest smelling trip but are willing to sacrifice a bit of comfort for a lifetime of memories. During our time on the road we will have three options for showering and cleaning our clothes. First, we will be stopping in hotels every few days during the trip. This will be a great time to wash our clothes and take a nice hot shower. Second, we will be carrying with us a portable shower. This is basically a giant bladder with a shower head attached to the end that holds enough water for a four minute shower. Finally, if push comes to shove we will be keeping our eyes open for any body of water that might be in the area. If you have a swimming pool in your back yard, we might be stopping by!
Shoes: We plan on changing our shoes every 400 miles and expect to go
through a total of 7 pairs a piece. It doesn't seem practical to carry 21 pairs of
shoes with us all the way across the country. Instead, we will be sending shoes
to local post offices along the way every two to three weeks. We have recently
been given shoes, hats and running gear thanks to Saucony and the VP of
Product, Pat O'Malley. He contacted us after reading about our journey and
wanted to help. A special thanks to Saucony and Pat.
Sleep: We fully expect and are prepared to be sleeping in our tent each and every night. We welcome this lifestyle and are looking forward to it (to some degree). However, we plan on stopping in different hotels periodically throughout our journey whenever we might need too. And, again, we are optimistic and encouraged that the generosity and kindness of complete strangers will show up during this run.
How Its Going To Work
Day-To-Day: With a four month time frame in mind and a total of 2,800 miles
to cover we expect to travel an average of 25 miles a day. During this time we
will be taking one day off for every 10 days of travel. We also have design this
run with seven additional days of rest built in just in case we need them.
The only exception will take place when we travel to the Grand Canyon. We have specifically planned out our route to take us to the Grand Canyon for a little rest and site-seeing. However, this scenic detour has addeda couple hundred miles onto our trip.Because of this, we plan on camping out at least two nights before continuing on with our adventure and enjoy some time off to rest and recover.
Food: We plan on stopping in a restaurant or local diner twice a day for a very large breakfast and an even bigger dinner. These will be our major meals for the day that get us from town to town and eventually across the country. However, on days that require us to travel more than 20 miles we expect to pack up our cart with supplies and head on down the
road. We will also never refuse food from kind strangers we meet along the way. So if you see us out on the road, don't be afraid to stop and chat for a few minutes.