Good things happening in the bitcoin world, and it makes the walk easier.
Thank to gyft.com, certain hotel and motel stays can be purchased with bitcoin. This is a good thing and solves about 1/3 of the lodging problem.
As I have noted before, I am not at all adverse to camping on the side of roads if I need to. That is fine for the long expanses, but there are problems:
Doing in so in Cities is probably frowned upon. Vagrancy laws apply here, and that isn't even mentioned the basic safety issues.
I am sure that the law enforcement agencies that cover the highways would not appreciate a tent on the side of the road. That won't necessarily stop me in rural areas, but it is certainly something to consider.
Campgrounds and hostels have several advantages, most importantly meeting and talking with more people. Not to mention that they are cheaper than hotels. I would prefer these options whenever possible.
The 'possible' part comes into play here.
Between my own funds and donated funds, I want to be as frugal as possible. I have contacted a bitcoin-related charity that I believe strongly in, and while I can't give specifics, any bitcoin I have left after the walk will go to that charity. The more I raise, the less I spend, the more I have left, the more goes to a worthy cause.
Hopefully I will have more details on this soon.
Showing posts with label camping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label camping. Show all posts
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Today's challenge has been all about lodging for the walk.
I've written about it here before, but the route isn't going to give many opportunities for roadside camping (in LA? No way!), state campgrounds don't take bitcoin, and few hotels do. I have found that hotels.cheapflights.com can book hotels, but that makes the costs for the trip go up. Assuming $80 a night for 100 nights, given that hotels are available at every step of the way, that is a lowball figure of $8,000. I need to find ways to trim that down.
I've written about it here before, but the route isn't going to give many opportunities for roadside camping (in LA? No way!), state campgrounds don't take bitcoin, and few hotels do. I have found that hotels.cheapflights.com can book hotels, but that makes the costs for the trip go up. Assuming $80 a night for 100 nights, given that hotels are available at every step of the way, that is a lowball figure of $8,000. I need to find ways to trim that down.
Friday, March 7, 2014
Day 6 plan
Back to the 15 mile a day format, but decision to be made.
As you can see from the Google Map, the going is good, but there isn't much lodging available right in that area. I am hoping that the Los Angeles area Bitcoin Community can help me out there with information about hostels or other options.
Camping is out of the question through this part of the trip. I can only imagine what the law enforcement in LA would have to say about me camping in the 'good' areas, and I am too fond of my skin to try and camp in the 'bad' ones. That means a hard roof and a door.
Also at this point is a choice in routes between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I can shadow the I-5 through Bakersfield and Fresno, then back west to San Francisco (477 miles), or instead go up the coast through Oxnard, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz (489 miles).
I'm not sure that even though the inland I-5 route is shorter that it will be any easier. The 'grapevine' route rises in elevation and that alone will slow me down a bit. Also, the more populated the area, the more expensive it will be.
On the other hand, the coastal route will have its ups and downs, but be more level for longer (close to sea level), cheaper accommodations where camping is available, but smaller communities where I am assuming the thought of Bitcoin will be less pleasing to the merchants I will need to purchase from. The more populated beach communities will be more tourist oriented, and the motels available will be more expensive.
This is not a casual decision, either. The distance between LA and SF will be about 30 days of the walk. Roughly a third of the total mileage. Back tracking and going the other way won't be possible.
Decisions, decisions...
As you can see from the Google Map, the going is good, but there isn't much lodging available right in that area. I am hoping that the Los Angeles area Bitcoin Community can help me out there with information about hostels or other options.
Camping is out of the question through this part of the trip. I can only imagine what the law enforcement in LA would have to say about me camping in the 'good' areas, and I am too fond of my skin to try and camp in the 'bad' ones. That means a hard roof and a door.
Also at this point is a choice in routes between Los Angeles and San Francisco. I can shadow the I-5 through Bakersfield and Fresno, then back west to San Francisco (477 miles), or instead go up the coast through Oxnard, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Cruz (489 miles).
I'm not sure that even though the inland I-5 route is shorter that it will be any easier. The 'grapevine' route rises in elevation and that alone will slow me down a bit. Also, the more populated the area, the more expensive it will be.
On the other hand, the coastal route will have its ups and downs, but be more level for longer (close to sea level), cheaper accommodations where camping is available, but smaller communities where I am assuming the thought of Bitcoin will be less pleasing to the merchants I will need to purchase from. The more populated beach communities will be more tourist oriented, and the motels available will be more expensive.
This is not a casual decision, either. The distance between LA and SF will be about 30 days of the walk. Roughly a third of the total mileage. Back tracking and going the other way won't be possible.
Decisions, decisions...
Day 5 plan
Day 5 will be happy and bittersweet for me. I will be walking through Laguna Beach, the site of many happy times when I was stationed at MCAS El Toro waaaaaay back when I was stationed there. If all goes according to plan I may be able to stop there, but not for long as I will still have many miles to cover.
The '15 mile a day' rule may not be possible here.
At around the 11 mile mark there is camping at Crystal Cove State Park. The fifteen mile mark stops a few miles shy of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, and there doesn't seem to be good camping near there.
Costa Mesa hits at around the 18 mile mark, and I'm thinking it may be a good idea to get a hotel room there if possible. After two nights camping and three days walking I will probably be more than grateful for a shower and bed.
The route pictured clocks in at just under 20 miles for the day. I'm going with that estimate. Here I sit my my chair comfortable while I am making plans for the road, but I anticipate that I would rather cover the extra ground and end in comfort than end the day early.
The '15 mile a day' rule may not be possible here.
At around the 11 mile mark there is camping at Crystal Cove State Park. The fifteen mile mark stops a few miles shy of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, and there doesn't seem to be good camping near there.Costa Mesa hits at around the 18 mile mark, and I'm thinking it may be a good idea to get a hotel room there if possible. After two nights camping and three days walking I will probably be more than grateful for a shower and bed.
The route pictured clocks in at just under 20 miles for the day. I'm going with that estimate. Here I sit my my chair comfortable while I am making plans for the road, but I anticipate that I would rather cover the extra ground and end in comfort than end the day early.
Day 4 plan
Day 4 will have another hurdle, although anticipated: Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
It is about 18 miles through it, but only with I-5, so no walking. I could go around it, but that would add about 4 days of travel, and not necessarily easy travel at that.
I'm thinking the best option is 'cheat' to arrange a ride through. There are things that I will argue with the government about, but I am not just about to try and trespass on a Marine Base.
That having been said, it is about 7.8 miles from South Carlsbad Beach to the southern edge of Camp Pandleton. From the Northern edge, another 7.3 miles would put me at Doheny State Beach, where there is camping, again for $35. Same problems, but possible nonetheless.
It is about 18 miles through it, but only with I-5, so no walking. I could go around it, but that would add about 4 days of travel, and not necessarily easy travel at that.
I'm thinking the best option is 'cheat' to arrange a ride through. There are things that I will argue with the government about, but I am not just about to try and trespass on a Marine Base.
That having been said, it is about 7.8 miles from South Carlsbad Beach to the southern edge of Camp Pandleton. From the Northern edge, another 7.3 miles would put me at Doheny State Beach, where there is camping, again for $35. Same problems, but possible nonetheless.
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