Apr
08
Hike to the beach with my friends?
ByI live approximately 250 miles away from Savannah, Georgia and was wondering if it would be realistically possible for a few friends and me (Ages: 16-17) to hike roadside (on roadways that have adequate space for pedestrians…no highways) from our town to a beach near Savannah while camping in areas along the way (such as public parks). I am mostly wondering if this is legal and safe and if you think it would be realistic to complete in less than one month over the summer. We would most likely bypass Atlanta.
4 Comments
April 8th, 2010 at 4:54 am
Backpacking is a relatively slow endeavor. To complete the trip you’d need to hike almost 17 miles a day, without taking a day off. Hiking on roads, which are relatively flat and even would be faster than parts of the Appalachian Trail, but if you aren’t used to that kind of hiking you would find it very difficult. Most people would probably average 10-12 miles per day. Going around Atlanta could add quite a few miles as well, I’m guessing you’d need to walk closer to 20 miles a day.
Finding places to camp would be difficult. There is a lot of distance between most public parks and not nearly enough for you to sleep at one every night. Sleeping on someones land without permission can get you in trouble most places.
It’s a neat idea, but it would be physically demanding to accomplish in one month. The logistics would also hard, finding places to stay. Don’t forget about the cost, while transportation (shoes) and lodging (outside) would be cheap, you’d still need to get food. All that walking means you need to eat more and it wouldn’t be hard to eat several hundred dollars worth.
April 8th, 2010 at 5:39 am
oh it’s totally legal, people do this all the time for the adventure, but they usually do it along highways and hitchhike(just like backpacking in Europe), think of what people do during a eurotrip? they get rides once in a while, but it’s still a lot of walking, I don’t think you could do a round trip in a month, since once you get there, you want to be there for a few days right?
even though 250 miles sounds far, you can do it fairly quickly with the option of hitchhiking.
April 8th, 2010 at 6:07 am
Hiking is for the wilderness, not the roads. Why don’t you hike where you’ll get better scenery like a National park. Drive to the beach and swim. Hike into the wilderness and camp out.
April 8th, 2010 at 6:29 am
All public land has rules for usage and transient camping is often denied. County law officers
have long association with scofflaws and their favorite overnight habits. Roadways are no less deadly than the snake infested ditches that border them. If I was thinking of walking I’d eyeball entire route using Google Earth orbital photography. Learn what’s waiting for you.
I’d want railroad graded route to follow. An abandoned rail bed would be ideal. Those with trains require constant caution. An eight car passenger train takes nearly two miles to stop. Bigger freight trains need over three miles to stop. They don’t tend to stop until long past the point steel wheels have chopped up people. You’ll need to stay to one side of tracks most of the time. Fast trains create a suction effect that pulls people under them; this usually kills people caught in tunnels unless they lie down flat against nearest wall. Trains also drag things that can snag your clothing and drag you until there’s nothing left except pink slime on the stones. That’s a bad way to die. Heavy dangerous things fall off trains too. Most things at 50 mph will kill you.
If too many train crews see you the County Sheriff or Railroad Police will come. The sheriff may be nicer. Railroad cops are called “Bulls”. You don’t want to find out why. So you’ll have to hide from all trains that don’t sneak up on you. Hammocks would let you sleep easy under a sheet between fence posts or maybe in an orchard. Go Google the prospects in your region.
p.s. Go walk 10 miles. See how long it takes you. Then, go figure.