Newsflash: Instead of a single long walk from the Idaho border to Seattle in September, I’m breaking it in two. I’m going to walk from the Columbia river to Seattle in September 2016, and from Idaho to the Columbia in the spring of 2017.

Here’s why. Spring, when the temperatures are lower and water is more plentiful, is really the best time to walk eastern Washington. Also, splitting it in two will allow me to proceed at a more leisurely pace. I can take two weeks for each half, rather than three weeks for the whole thing. Less stress, no 20-mile days, and more time to meet the locals.

I’m still keen to have friends walk with me for a few days at a time along the way. Check out my updated schedule to see where I’ll be, when!

Bonus: Here’s a photo of my mate John Stone and I setting out for an overnight test run on the cart last month. Note the beers open before we leave the parking lot.