[Written on Monday July 28] I'm trying to remember what our host in Kuna, Ginny, said to us about this portion of our route. There was a shrug, a knowing smile, a bit of a smirk perhaps. Something like: "Yeah, there's no real way to get from Kuna to Mountain Home." - I mean, of course there IS a way. But it's called Interstate 84. And no matter how badass we asphalt warriors are, we don't do interstate . So the two days worth of distance between our last hike and our home in

[written on Day 24 - July 27] Okay. This was a rough day - with a nonetheless smooth finish. There were some fiddly bits with today's route itself, including a kind of U-turn at the end of the route and some roadblocks for Libby due to the Boise Ironman Triathalon (the outdoors badassery of Boise - and Idaho in general - is kind of breathtaking. I mean: our hosts in Kuna, Ken and Ginny Greger, backpack in the mountains with their llamas!). And so - I hit a bit of a wall in m

[written on Day 24 - July 27] Friday we walked from Caldwell to Kuna - a trek that reminded me of our very first day on the road, when we walked through Eugene, Springfield and into the McKenzie Valley. From full-on city to full-on country. But this was even more surreal, since a huge chunk of the walk was along a wide busy suburban sprawl street - with landmarks like Lowe's and Les Schwab. As I took the second half, I snaked into the back streets of Nampa, walking along the

What we say at Liberty Walks: The Walk keeps Walking . In order to manage 2800 miles in just five months, we need to keep up a nearly continual pace of 20 miles a day. That means that if any given Walker needs a rest at any point, we nonetheless keep moving forward. So - while both Bob and I have taken rest days before - nonetheless, we made up the mileage that day either by having just one of us on the road, or by having Libby "walk" for us (she walks a bit faster than we do

Today we officially made it to Idaho. But we've nonetheless managed to cross the Snake River - the natural border between Oregon and Idaho - four times: we crossed it once when we drove to our lodging last night in Payette, ID.... Then for a second time when I drove Bob back to Oregon in the inky pre-dawn to start his hike today in Nyssa... Then for a third time as I drove back to Idaho to pick up our newest pilgrim, Ed Markiewicz, who'd flown into Boise... Then fourth and f

[Written on Day 20 - July 23] Bob and I left Vale at dawn, and I met him in Libby about 7 miles into his morning hike - so that he and I could cross Keeney Pass together. We were on the deliriously beautiful desert back road to Nyssa - Lytle Road - and the morning felt perfect. And the poignancy of all those travelers, some 250,000 of them, their wagon wheels catching the grooves of the Oregon Trail, mile after mile, wending toward their future. I'm aware that in many ways

Lightning keeps striking. Today the Vale Pool - the only active swimming facility in the 9930 square miles of Malheur County - was closed due to lightning. I nonetheless strolled by, checking out one of the city's many historical murals - this one detailing the history of the "Nat": the geothermally heated 'natatorium' that inspired the pool, built in 1908 on the site of a hot springs and serving the area as a bona fide sanatorium. (The Murals of Vale are a wondrous thing, b

I met Matt Davila today. "We love Vale! We moved here from Elko, Nevada. That was not a good place to live." BUT, here, Matt tells us, things are quiet, the town is quaint, folks are older, and it's a great place to raise kids. "The schools here are AMAZING." On the other hand, he shares with an apologetic shrug - a sort of go figure gesture - his house's ceiling just got split open by lightning. On July 4th, almost exactly as we were arriving at our very first stop on this

"There's a whole lot of nothing between here and Ontario," Julia told us yesterday. Today Bob and I walked a lot of that nothing, and it wasn't nothing. It started with a delicate pink sunrise, and then carved through the pale sages and light russets of the high desert, up and over Eldorado Pass and into Mountain Time (yes, I guess Eastern Oregon really does end up being Idaho), and then down into the valleys that make my heart soar, lined by cows and finally, sadly, past a f

Julia bought the Stratton Station in Unity, Oregon three years ago. Built a cabin. Made Unity her home - coming out west from southern Ohio, farming land. "Farming culture is different from ranching. Farming's more communal. But there's a rugged individualism here. You're maybe going to wrassle with your neighbors over grazing rights and water and fences - but at the same time, you'll come together, bring your bulldozers, put out the fires destroying everyone's land. Self-rel

There's something lonely about a forest road... especially if you're literally walking it alone.... I found myself melancholy today, high on a hill hiking through the Malheur National Forest - home of some of the oldest trees in Oregon: ponderosa, douglas fir, white fir, lodgepole pine, larch... And then the road dipped down, and suddenly there was meadow. Why does the valley do that to my heart? The land spread open - and something opened inside. My soul sighed, and the cows

Writing this a day late... last night I collapsed after one-too-many mouthfuls of mashed potatoes... Yesterday was a hybrid day - most neatly captured by my experience walking through the drive-through at the Timbers Bistro in John Day, when I was picking up a peach smoothie for Bob. This was Day 1 for us of No Driver . Bob and I divided the day: he walked the morning, while I drove support. I walked the afternoon while he returned the favor. Actually - that's not quite accu

Hey. No one said this would be easy. If it were easy, it wouldn't need to be done. The day began with the sweetest, coolest babbling brook. My tootsies were so achey and still swollen from yesterday's walk. Deliciousness! And then we said goodbye to our driver Matthew. I started looking at maps, thinking through the route, planning how to manage the several days before our new driver arrives. And... then... a few hours into a very sweet and lazy "zero day": our new driver con

Hey gang - without much fanfare, we've passed a milestone: 200 miles from home. Washington is 200 miles closer. And, I'm indulging myself a little. It's just two of us walkers right now (a third joins us next week), and today is our last day with Matthew: our driver for the start of our trek. A personal emergency is taking Matthew back to Eugene. I will miss his poetic soul, his incredible music playlists, his depth of spirit. What a privilege to spend nearly two weeks in pil

Okay, Esty here... My first post on our website (but I've been trying to stay in touch on IG and, eek, TikTok. You can find me there @libertywalks25). Today was what thru-hikers call a "near-o" - a day of low-mileage (as in rhymes-with-zero: which would be a complete rest day.) Bob and I decided to take it a little easy, just a sweet early morning 14, because the sun in this glorious high desert is no joke. It's kind of deliriously happy-making to be done with the day's walk

7.9.25 - I'm writing this from the comfort of my own kitchen table, having been driven home by trail angel Janet last night after we arrived in Sisters, OR. Oh my goodness what a different experience it was walking on the 242 rather than the 126!! But I'll get to that... first, I want to brag on the Super Duo, who walked 28.5 miles on day three and came into camp looking tired but so very happy. Cheersing with "stranger beer" - a gift from a trail angel along the way! That a

Before setting off each morning, the walkers circle up to remind ourselves and one another of the way we walk. I'll post the words here, because they are the central guiding principles for how we are engaging in this adventure: The Way We Walk The way we walk is a living, embodied, breathing expression of why we walk. We affirm our core values in the way we carry ourselves and relate to those we walk alongside and meet along the way.   ·       Respect – We leave places bette

Esther, as she is in most things, is a fearless and fierce walker - she charges ahead, head down, back straight, arms pumping, and she and Bob blazed a trail so far ahead that at times, we lost sight of them. You definitely have to have stamina to keep up with the super-duo!

May the frenzy we feel now be but a distant memory once we hit the trail and realize that really, truly, we have everything we need. Plus enough tinfoil to wrap the entire RV three times over 😂

Launch is this Friday - we’ll be meeting at the Buddha Eye Temple in the morning and will begin our walk from there (after coffee, tea, snacks, and an orientation around safety and the rules of the road).