Milestones

This week I hit a couple of milestones in my walking:

I finally made it out of Washington, into Idaho.

I reached one million steps since I started.

The route laid out by Google Maps took me along Highway 2 all the way from the Puget Sound to Spokane, near the Idaho border, with only a few small detours and shortcuts. But at Spokane, Highway 2 turns North before turning East again into Idaho, then stays close to Canada all the way across to Upper Michigan, where it seems to end at the bridge between Upper and Lower Michigan. We drove at least part of that route on the Lewis and Clark trip years ago, in Montana and North Dakota. However, as I am walking to Miami, and that route goes too far north, we are leaving Highway 2 behind.

From Spokane and all the way across Idaho and Montana, the walking follows close to the path of I-90, which runs all the way from Seattle to Boston. However, mostly the path stays a little north of I-90, I suppose because I-90 is a freeway and an interstate, so you don't want to actually walk on it.

After three and a half months crossing Washington, I should get through Idaho by the end of the month, as it's less than 100 miles to the Montana border. 

One million steps in out of seven million total, the goal still seems realistic. In the last fourteen days, I have caught up a quarter of the steps I missed in October and November. We have had some warmer days this last week, and it is easier to get plenty of steps in when the weather is good, so I anticipate that I can make good progress as we move into spring and summer.

The biggest potential obstacles I can see are if my feet or legs break down, or perhaps an illness or medical issue sidelines me for a long period. My body just needs to hold out for another six million steps.