Update: Due to not having raised enough money before departure I have had to postpone and move the departure place of my walk. I will now be leaving from Los Angeles on August 24th.
On this trip I plan to travel the circumference of the United States by foot. This is an updated map of my route:
The trip is planned to last for 14 months, and will start on July 20th 2013. I will depart from Bodega Bay, CA and head due south into San Francisco. I am going to briefly break the trip up as follows:
Bodega Bay, CA to Mobile AL, with scheduled arrival in Mobile around December 20th. I plan to take a break for the holidays and hope to spend that time with my mom in Key West.
I will return to Mobile on January 10th 2014 and travel up to New York with scheduled arrival in New York on April 10th. I intend to take a 10 day break in New York to talk about obesity and spend time with friends.
My last and longest leg of the journey departs from New York on April 20th. I will head due North into Ontario Canada and walk around Lake Huron before I return to the US in Michigan. This is my Northern swing that will eventually return me to Bodega Bay, CA in Mid October 2014.
On this trip I will travel a total of 8873 miles on foot. I will go through 26 states.
I with speak with millions of people about Obesity and raise $250,000 before, during and after the trip to aid with our fight against obesity.
I will travel alone, although I am currently trying to train my one cat, Niles, to join me on the trip. Depending on his readiness he might accompany me. While I will travel alone it should be clear that my outreach efforts will bring me in to contact with a variety of people, at least when I pass through towns and cities.
My trip will be a wonderful mix of what the US has to offer. From deep wilderness, to the biggest cities and from suburban sprawl to fertile farm lands, I will get to experience all of it.
Along the way I will contact radio stations, print media, clubs, churches, schools and any other organization that can aid me in having a conversation about obesity.
A Conversation with America 
Looks good…can’t wait to see you in New York!!!
Canada too! And the beach! This looks amazing 🙂
Would love to hear when you expect to be in Oregon.
Hey There,
Oregon will be late fall 2014, I will be almost home by then as that is the end of my northern route. I start in N. California and head south on my southern route across, then up the eastern seaboard in the late winter / spring 2014, and across the north in summer of 2014, to end back on the west coast in fall 2014 and head down south to N. California. I need to have crossed the rockies before the snow in 2014.
Malene
May God bless and guide you on your journey! I would love to join and support you once you are in the New York area – please keep us posted and updated. You are an inspiration, Malene!
Thank you so much Michelle. Scheduled arrival in NYC is around mid April 2014. I intend to take a break in NYC actually, making sure the snows are really gone from my northern route, and speaking with folks. Malene
What an ambitious endeavor, Malene! I’m impressed! Keep us posted on your progress (wish you weren’t going alone…just sayin’).
Hey Betsy,
I was wondering if I would hear from you soon :). Did you notice I will be in both NM and MT? A lot of safety precautions are already put in place, and I will have strong home based support to keep taps on me throughout the trip – even while in the wilderness. There will also be people who join me periodically on the trip.
Malene
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