Plod Plans

Hey all, this is a logistical update post. Potentially less engrossing than normal fare, but possibly stimulating to those interested in behind-the-scenes matters.

I have completed two additional trips: the Washington and Old Dominion Trail in Virginia and an invented route on Cape Cod. I will post photos and musings from these two trips over the next two weeks. At least one will be paywalled, and I’ll try to make paywalled posts different or interesting in some way.

I have just purchased my first GoPro. It’s currently charging, and this week I will be recording video content in California and uploading here and to YouTube. I will always do some amount of writing, but I’d like video content to be a major feature of Ploddington as well.

In the second half of September, I am mulling two different trips. The first is based on Neil King Jr’s American Ramble and is a 330-mile rural walk from DC to New York with a focus on American historical sites. The second option is a 200-mile trail between DC and Cumberland, Maryland that would be more focused on nature and camping. I will decide which path I’m taking in the next week, but sound off in the comments if you have a strong opinion on which trail is more interesting.

To describe them briefly, King’s walk goes through Olney, Hampstead, York, Lancaster, Valley Forge, Philadephia, Trenton, Princeton, East Brunswick, Staten Island, Jersey City, and concludes in Manhattan. The C & O Canal path tracks Bethesda, Leesburg, Harper’s Ferry, Hagerstown, Berkeley Springs, Paw Paw, and Cumberland (with the option to proceed another 150 miles to Pittsburgh).

I will post more about King’s book, which is a sort of boomer-cringe opus of American history while walking, but very much worth the read. The reason I’m leaning towards the C & O trail is because there are free campsites along most of the route and this would mean a significant reduction in the cost of the trip. Going to NYC might require a Kickstarter, so let me know what you think of that.

To reiterate, in the next two weeks, we will have new video content, posts about the Washington and Old Dominion trail and Cape Cod, and a decision about which trail we’re taking in the second half of September. If you live along either route and want to walk with me, let me sleep in your backyard or do laundry in your house, reach out!