Journal page

On-the-Road Reflections

Here is where we will be posting regular reflections on our preparations for the Peace for Earth Walk and on our experiences during the walk.

Peace for Earth web-log ("Blog")

Click here to go to our Travel Pod web-log (blog). There you will be able to view short videos that we will taking during our walk, along with interactive discussions we will be having with those who are following our progress over the six-month, 1,400-mile journey.

Peace for Earth journal

Tuesday, June 26. We are both laboring under hot, humid weather and pressure to pack and plan for the Friends General Conference Gathering in Wisconsin, beginning this weekend. At the same time, we're struggling to get materials ready for the PFE walk—final version of the PFE flyer, getting the PFE website up on the server, and readying the place for the house-sitter. It has been more than two weeks since we've had a good rain. We used up most of the water in our rain barrels giving the veggies a good drink. The garden is looking better than it ever has, but without our daily loving attention will it survive this weather?

Saturday, October 27. It's hard to believe, but we're actually leaving town in less than a week! We have been so busy getting ready for the walk that we haven't taken time to write more journal entries until now. But the good news is that all the busyness is finally paying off. The home place is almost ready for winter. The young couple who will be staying here during our absence are splitting and stacking next year's fire wood, to replace the three cords they are expected to burn this winter. We've been going over and over our packing list and making sure our clothing and equipment are ready for action. Ruah has been spending a lot of time on the telephone and computer setting up our intinerary and Meeting contacts. We finished our Walking in the Light study guide and have been working on different presentations, including sermons, that we will be giving. Our Friends Meeting is giving us a send-off this Sunday. Many other acquaintances have called or written to give us their best wishes. An article about our walk appeared in the local newspaper, and other articles previously appeared in Friends Journal, Quaker Life, Friends Bulletin, and even Newsweek. Look for us next on the network evening news!

Friday, November 9. Our trip west by train through Canada has given us opportunities to see many natural wonders. West of Toronto is the Canadian Shield (an extensive, billion-year-old subtereranean rock formation that has been exposed by erosion and glacial scouring) that goes on for hundres of miles. It is characterized by not only massive rocks but small lakes, short evergreen trees, and a very sparce human population. We noticed some areas where many spruce trees were dead or dying. We supposed this was the result of budworm infestations that have spread north because of global warming. The transition from the Shield to the prairie was quite distinct, and once in the prairie we saw Pronghorn Antelope and Mule Deer. Not long after leaving Edmondton, we could see the Rockies in the distance. The entrance into the Rockies was spectacular. A light snow cover allowed us to better see the contours and textures of the massive and rugged mountains. We saw many Big Horn Sheep, elk, deer, Canada Geese, and other waterfowl that we couldn't identify from the train. The trip really helped us understand how vast Canada's wilderness is. Even though from coast to coast Canada is about the same distance as the U.S., its population is drastically smaller. And so, humans have had less of an impact on wildlife, forests, and prairie. Nevertheless, the economy of western Canada depends a lot on various extractive industries, such as logging, tar sand development, and coal mining, which are a long-term threat. The Canadians' dependence on tourism helps mitigate the destruction somewhat, since many people come to see the natural beauty. However, along with tourism comes a certain amount of development.

Sunday, November 11. We have been staying in the Vancouver area with Ruth Walmsley and Tim Bartoo, who live in a cohousing community called Cranberry Commons. While staying in the community's guest room, we were able to appreciate the many advantages of this type of living arrangement. We used the community laundry center, then made tea and coffee in the community room. Being early risers, we had time for reading in a comfortable conversation nook in the community center. Ruth and Tim said the community room is used for common meals about once a week. They also get together with other families to watch videos projected on a drop-down screen. On our last night, the community room was used by young girls in the co-housing for a slumber party. Interestingly, even though the city required them to have a minimum number of parking spaces per living unit, the underground garage seemed to be only about half full, since some share cars, some have no cars, and almost no one has more than one car. The facility is one block away from public buses that run frequently. The is also served by a very efficient mass-transit system, including their Sky Train. The city is building an underground subway to the airport.

Friday, December 28. We are now in Hockinson, Washington. Another two-days' walk will take us triumphantly into Portland, Ore.

We apologize for the long time since our last eco-journal entry (though we have been more regular with our web-log ("blog") entries). The main reason for the gap is that we have been finding much less time for journaling than we had anticipated. When we have stayed in someone's home, for instance, much of our non-walking time has typically been taken up with conversations with our hosts, who are eager to hear about our walk and our backgrounds, as well as share their own stories. It has been a very rewarding experience. But we still plan to use this page for more general reflections, as opposed to reports of specific places we have been and people we have met that we have been emphasizing in the blog.

Here are a number of other things that have turned out differently from what we had visualized in our planning for the Peace for Earth Walk:

1) After about 350 miles of walking—anywhere from 8 to 18 miles a day—We have been bearing up much better physically than we had expected, given the fact that we hadn't found time before we left Vermont for the long "training" walks with gradually heavier loads that we assumed were essential for building sufficient endurance for the 1,400-mile trek. Happily, from the day we walked out of Vancouver, B.C., more than six weeks ago, we have never had any problems with aches, pains, or exhaustion. We have continued to gain in stamina every day, and by the time we left Bellingham, Wash., for Victoria, B.C., after our Thanksgiving break, we were sure that we had the "right stuff" to make it all the way to San Diego.

2) We have had to experiment with better clothing and shoes to enable us to survive the typically rainy and cool winter climate of the Northwest. For example, we both recently switched to different jackets, gloves, and hats that are better designed to be both water-repellant and breathable. We also had to give silicone spray treatments to shoes that had been purchased on the understanding that they were "waterproof." When we have to walk in the rain we still wind up damper than we would like, so we have to change to dry clothes at the end of the day to keep from getting chilled.

3) The back roads we sometimes have to walk along are often much less pedestrian-friendly than we had hoped. Occasionally there are no shoulders to speak of, and we have to depend on our reflective gear to make sure drivers give us a wide berth. We have never felt in any particular danger, but such walking conditions tend to take more effort and concentration and leave us more tired at the end of the day, not to mention allowing less opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery of the region. At this point, we wouldn't recommend this approach to future long-distance walkers until more roads have been upgraded to properly support pedestrians and bicyclists.

4) We are making more use of private cars than the term "walk" might suggest. For example, in order to plan the shortest/safest route from town to town, our local contacts often have to drive over the proposed routes in advance of our arrival. Also, when the distance between two stops is close to 20 miles (which means we would be leaving and arriving in the dark) we sometimes get a lift part way in the car of one of the host families. Whenever possible, however, we will be using buses to get around sections that aren't safe to walk or when necessary to keep on schedule.

Next time we'll reflect more on the ecological issues of the Northwest that we've been learning about during our walk. •

February 10, 2008. We stopped over at Sierra Friends Center near Nevada City, Calif,, only a few miles short of what we have roughly calculated to be the half-way mark on our 1,400-mile Peace for Earth walk. As we walk along busy highways, we are constantly reminded of the acute dilemma that modern civlization faces because of its increasing reliance on fossil fuels, given the impending peak (if it is not already a fact) of world petroleum production. No growth-based economy can be sustained without a growing source of cheap energy, and study after study shows that there is no other likely source of energy that is capable of filling what will soon be a growing gap between supply and demand.

So we watch with amazement the thousands of people (many smiling and waving) roar past us daily in ridiculously oversized and overpowered cars and trucks, racing back and forth from jobs that are often absurdly long distances from where they live, all of which suggests that they are generally oblivious to the global energy pileup that lies not very far ahead. The prevalence of huge four-wheel-drive pickups being used to carry only one person to and from work is particularly appalling, given the fact that 95 percent of the energy in the gasoline is lost to waste heat, and that 95 percent of the remaining energy is dedicated to propelling two or more tons of steel, glass, and rubber 65 miles an hour. Only an tiny fraction of the energy that is being turned into water vapor, smog, and greenhouse gases goes to moving the vehicle's occupant. In the great majority of cases, there is no need for four-wheel drive, except to cultivate a more macho image. A muscle-powered bicycle is incalculably more efficient. But along many of these roads there is no room for a bicyclist to travel safely. A public bus is also much more efficient, but few communities offer adequate bus service. The more aware and sane among us need to get out of our cars (if possible get rid of them) and begin taking radical steps to end this insanity while there are still options. We need to look at our fast-paced, high-consumption lifestyles in the perspective of the immense suffering that will be borne by future generations if we don't change. It's not enough to change our personal habits. It's not enough to trade in the old gas-guzzler for a hybrid. All of society must rapidly shift rapidly to a sustainable mode, and that will happen only if we get organized and change the system by working together.