On March 27th, 2024 I set out from Cape Henlopen, Delaware along the American Discovery Trail in an attempt to walk to San Francisco.

The American Discovery Trail gets quoted as being 6,800 miles long but that is counting the section in the middle where north and south options exist. From my research the southern route is the default and generally considered better by people who have done both and that's the way I went. This makes the trail 5,000 miles long though few people stick to the actual route as countless shorter road walks can easily cut a coast to coast hike down to only 3,000 miles. Anecdotally I found a number of folks who went coast to coast in around 3,200 miles.

I tried to set an aggressive but manageable pace sticking to the actual route and everything went relatively smoothly until I reached Colorado at which point I caught the flu which apparently led to me developing some pretty severe planar fasciitis when I got back on trail. I also managed to break a rib through a random fall walking along a road in Utah requiring more time off trail to rehab.

Eventually I was forced to the season on October 25th, 2024 after 3,592 miles in Moab, Utah. This was after fighting severe foot pain for the last 600 miles. I ended there because the next sections involved remote areas with long food and water hauls and any exit or return would be a lot more complicated.

Due to medical issues by plan to return in 2025 had to be delayed for a year. I hope to return to Moab in fall of 2026 to complete the remaining miles.

That all changes after 1,992 miles when the Atchafalaya splits off the now massive main channel and heads down to the gulf via a quiet series of gator infested swamps. Meanwhile the main river gets even bigger and busier passing by Baton Rouge and New Orleans before it's own quiet finish out past Head of Passes. Both are considered by the community to be valid finishes to the Mississippi Source to Sea.

One might be excused for wondering why the Atchafalaya is considered a valid finish to something called the Mississippi Source to Sea.

As near as I can tell this is mostly due to concerns of the heavy barge and oil tanker traffic in the main channel past Baton Rouge. When we did our initial research we found most people seemed to take the Atch. Possibly influenced by occasionally over the top fear mongering about the main river just not being safe.

There is also the justification that the Atchafalaya is where the main flow of the river would be going if it wasn't for the Army Corp of Engineers waging their ongoing battle to keep the ports of New Orleans and Baton Rouge operational.

In actuality I'd argue it comes down to it's shorter, it's quieter, and it's an easier finish logistically.  

In the summer of 2023 we paddled 2,450 unforgettable miles down the Mississippi River from the headwaters in Minnesota all the way to the gulf.

Since then one of my passions has been spreading word about just how accessible, and seriously underrated, this trip is. For anyone interested in long-distance adventure in the U.S. the Mississippi River is truly a top tier experience.

Short version: get a used Souris Quetico '17 or similar type canoe and enjoy.

After completing the trip ourselves and comparing it to several years of posts from others attempting it one thing stands out: a lot of people make it harder than it needs to be. And a good part of that comes down to gear particularly boat choice.

I’ve seen countless posts about brutal portages usually paired with photos of overloaded heavy plastic or metal boats stacked high with too much gear. 

As someone who liked to do thru hikes that are more on the remote end and who uses my phone heavily for shooting / editing / posting videos on trail I am well versed in the ins and outs of how to keep electronics powered on trail.

The initial planning phase of any big hike can be daunting much less a 4,900 mile walk across the country on a loosely defined route of roads, sidewalks, and occasional trails that is rarely attempted much less done successfully.

When I started looking seriously into the American Discovery Trail I had some struggles even with a strong background in thru hiking. My goal with this post is to give you a place to start as far as basic resources. Other posts will cover what the trail is actually like, gear suggestions, and other topics.

This write-up can be considered a supplement to my pre hike planning and prep video which can be found here: