American Discovery Trail: Hennepin Canal Parkway

 

Hennepin Canal Parkway

A journey of ten thousand miles begins with a single step.

Dennis Stambaugh

The original Chinese proverb only says a journey of a thousand miles, so if we change it to ten thousand, I guess I should attribute that to me.

I do not remember that first single step, but I do know the date: October 1, 2021. Since I put my phone in my pocket each morning, the first step was probably next to my bed, headed off to get breakfast.

This week I am walking on the Hennepin Canal Parkway, a linear state park that covers almost all of the eighty miles of this last Illinois segment, starting at the Illinois River and ending at the Mississippi River and the Iowa state line.

If I am really going to cover 10,000 miles (and that is the plan, assuming I stay alive and ambulatory), then I am currently only 40 miles past halfway. Since I started close to three years ago, it is safe to say it will take me at least three more years to get to 10,000, although my pace has slowed now that I am granting myself days off, so it will take close to three and a quarter years at my current rate.

Just the remaining distance from Western Illinois to Point Reyes on the California coast is over 3,300 miles, nearly as far as my entire walk from the northwest corner of Washington State all the way across the country to Miami. At 130 miles per month, here is what I expect for the rest of the American Discovery Trail:

• Reach Iowa: Next month, October 2024
• Nebraska: February 2025
• Colorado: June 2025
• Utah: December 2025
• Nevada: April 2026
• California: August 2026
• Point Reyes: November 2026

After Point Reyes, I will need another year to finish off the 10,000 miles. By that time, Jackie will be retired and ready to take me travelling all over the world, but we will find a way to get it done.