How Long Would It Take to Walk 2000 Miles
SOCIAL STUDIES — Geography
Have You Ever Wondered...
- How long would it take to walk across America?
- How far is it across America?
- Can you walk in a straight line across America?
Today's Wonder of the Day was inspired by EMMY. EMMY Wonders, "How long would it take to walk across the United States" Thanks for WONDERing with us, EMMY!
What's your favorite way to exercise? Some kids love to play sports. Others might like to run or ride a bike. Still others prefer simply to go for a stroll around the neighborhood.
If you like to walk, you probably also enjoy hiking. Those who really love to hike might one day take on a big challenge, such as completing the Appalachian Trail or the Pacific Crest Trail. A few brave souls might try something even more daring: walking all the way across the country!
How long would it take to walk across the United States? Flying from New York to Los Angeles can take several hours and airplanes travel several hundred miles per hour. Walking rather than flying across the country must take a lot longer. But is such a trip measured in days, weeks, months, or even years?
If you give it some thought, you'll soon realize that answering the question of how long it takes to walk across America isn't exactly straightforward. There are all sorts of factors that affect how long such a trip would take.
For starters, what route would you take? You could go from Boston to Seattle, New York to Los Angeles, or even San Diego to Miami. Walking across America merely means starting on one coast and walking to the other. The route you choose can have a dramatic impact upon the number of miles you have to walk.
To further complicate things, you can't just walk in a straight line from point A to point B. If you tried, you'd find yourself trespassing on private property, swimming across lakes and rivers, and climbing up and down mountains.
So do you want to stick to walking along interstate highways, which can be dangerous, or would you rather walk on trails? Thanks to the American Discovery Trail, the nation's first coast-to-coast, non-motorized trail, you can get from one coast to the other without relying upon heavily-traveled highways.
The American Discovery Trail stretches from Delaware to California, with alternate northern and southern routes through the middle of the country. All told, the trail covers over 6,800 miles. For our purposes, however, we'll average the mileage of most of the routes across the country, which gives us an average trip of approximately 3,000 miles.
There are many factors that can affect how quickly you can cover those 3,000 miles. How quickly do you walk? How many miles can you average per day? Will you walk every day? Or will you take breaks? What about tough terrain in the mountains and the desert? What about bad weather?
What will you eat and drink? Where will you sleep? Can you carry all the gear you need on your back or do you need to push a rolling cart? These are just a few of the many factors that will influence how long it'll take you to walk across America.
A couple dozen people have completed a cross-country trek on foot. Based upon their journeys, you can expect it to take about six months to complete such a trip if you're well-prepared. Of course, it can take much, much longer or, if you're an exceptional walker and planner, you might make it in less than six months!
Wonder What's Next?
Tomorrow's Wonder of the Day might stir up a lot of emotions!
Try It Out
Has this Wonder of the Day inspired you to walk more? Find a friend or family member to help you check out the following activities:
- Does walking all the way across the country seem a little crazy to you? Or does it sound exciting? Learn more about one man who chose to complete a walk across the U.S. when you jump online to read Man Ditches Job for 3,000-Mile Walk Across U.S. What do you think of his motives? Do you enjoy walking that much?
- If you think walking across America sounds fun, then you might be an explorer at heart. If you're serious about considering such a feat one day, check out How To Walk Across America online to learn more from someone who has completed the task. Make a list of all the things that had never occurred to you before. What do you think? Could you do it?
- Before setting out on a cross-country walk, it might be best to assess your physical capabilities. How can you do that? Get outside and walk! Find a friend or family member to go with you on walks. Start out by walking around your neighborhood for a mile and over time, work your way up to several miles. Or, if you prefer, head to a local state park or national forest and tackle a trail or two. Then, you could try walking across your town or city. You'll soon find out whether you're cut out for walking 15 or more miles every single day for months on end!
Did you get it?
Test your knowledge
Wonder Contributors
We'd like to thank:
Alice, Kevin, Rachel, Susannah and Sophie
for contributing questions about today's Wonder topic!
Keep WONDERing with us!
What are you wondering?
Related Wonders for You to Explore
Quit Select a Word
Quit
Drag a word to its definition
Word Match
Select a Wonder Word:
challenge
stroll
straightforward
completing
realize
route
brave
simply
dramatic
motorized
Word Match
Congratulations!
You've matched all of the definitions correctly.
Exit
Quiz Results
Not Bad
You have answered 0 of 3 questions correctly and your score is:
Share Results
How Long Would It Take to Walk 2000 Miles
Source: https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/how-long-would-it-take-to-walk-across-america