Fourteen and a Half Miles on Saturday

The first leg of the coast-to-coast walk is 14 miles, followed by a second day of 14.5 miles. I used to get tired riding in an automobile for that distance. I'd walked 3 and 4 miles before, even did 4.5 miles from my home to the university, but nothing like 14 miles. So I've been stretching out my walks, mostly on Saturdays, and they will intensify once the school year is over in late May. Recently, I walked from upper northwest Washington, past the Washington Cathedral, down Wisconsin Avenue, through Georgetown, down by the Potomac, the length of the national Mall, over to Congress, then south to the Nationals baseball park. That's about 7 miles; then took the metro home.

But more recently, I've been increasing the distance. Last weekend, I did 14.5 miles (and lived to tell about it). For those of you who know Washington, my hike went thusly: from my home west to Westmoreland Circle (Massachusetts and Western Aves.), then Western to Chevy Chase Circle (Western and Connecticut), down Connecticut to DuPont Circle (Connecticut and Massachusetts). Stopped for brunch at Circa Restaurant in DuPont Circle, then up 18th Street through Adams-Morgan, eventually over to Connecticut, then north and then the reversal of my trip.

This leisurely excursion, with several rests and lunch, took over five hours. It was on city pavement, and not over hill and dale, as I expect in my real hike. So I'm sure the real hike will be slower, but certainly not as rough on the feet as pavement. The critical question: can my ancient body recover after a 14 mile hike, and do it all over again--for 16 more days straight.

One of the joys of walking in Washington during the springtime is to see all the beautiful, monumental, and historical sites, with flowers in bloom, tourists everywhere, and the city alive with energy and excitement. On Saturday, I went past thousands of Avon Cancer Awareness walkers going the other way. Probably 98 percent of them were women, decked out in pink hats, pink ribbons, pink shoes; it was the first of two days of hiking for them, and from the looks of many, their enthusiasm would soon be overtaken by the reality of blisters and sore bodies. The walk is a two-day affair; I can't imagine what they would feel like on Sunday.