My trip to Rome (on foot).
polycounter lvl 17
Hey guys,
In less than a month I'm going to travel to Rome on foot from where I live!
.
It's going to take about 4 months to get there, if i walk 25km a day, 6 days a week. I'm going by myself, with backpack and a tent, and see where it goes.
So any thoughts on good routes to take? I haven't figured it out entirely yet.
And if you happen to be on the route from the Netherlands to Rome (Italy
) and don't mind me shamelessly sleeping over(I'm a cheap bastard)/coming by for a beer or something give me a shout!
Anyways, I'm really looking forward to it, and I'll post a link to the blog i'll be keeping here when I have it set up.
Am I crazy or what?
In less than a month I'm going to travel to Rome on foot from where I live!
.It's going to take about 4 months to get there, if i walk 25km a day, 6 days a week. I'm going by myself, with backpack and a tent, and see where it goes.
So any thoughts on good routes to take? I haven't figured it out entirely yet.
And if you happen to be on the route from the Netherlands to Rome (Italy
) and don't mind me shamelessly sleeping over(I'm a cheap bastard)/coming by for a beer or something give me a shout!Anyways, I'm really looking forward to it, and I'll post a link to the blog i'll be keeping here when I have it set up.
Am I crazy or what?
Replies
this is realy going to be an "into the wild" story, but then more like..
and you'r going just by yourself!
respect man, i hope you experience a great trip!
(btw, what did the people around you say when you told them?:P )
(haha but all kidding asside, your like what 19? Your folks letting you travel on foot for like 4 months to rome? Thats freakin nuts man! Make sure you seriously keep up on your art on your travels, sketch book in hand, and camera in the other)
Rens: There where 2 types of responses:
about 80% 1: what?! your crazy dude! you sure? by yourself? for four months? why don't you just take the plane? haha.
about 20% 2: Really? cool! i'd love to do that myself some day! good luck man!.
my parents where ok with it, they just want me to be happy and do the things that make me happy
seforin: great idea! that'll make it even easier to get acquainted with new people
Yeah, I'm turning 19 next friday
Pliang: sure!
I still need to buy me a good camera (reasonably cheap, sturdy (foolproof haha), and light. (i want to keep the weight down to about 15kg's) so any ideas on what camera to buy? or just an 8mp 100€ camera?
Good Luck
[dutch]Mijn oude stagebegeleider heeft precies hetzelfde gedaan, je moet z'n blog van toen eens lezen: http://naarrome.blogspot.com/ [/dutch]
Succes!
It does sound like a great adventure, just stay out the woods and watch your back!
I don't think there's anywhere tremendously cool for me to walk to that far away. I guess I could walk to Phoenix AZ. . . blech.
bring pencils, pen, and lots of paper for sure. an iphone is useful too if you have a place to charge it.
Good luck and have fun. I am really looking forward to the pictures.
I've been there before, though it was a group trip, I didn't do any of the planning lol.
Be careful also, Italy is pretty damn ghetto in areas. Don't wander into dark alleys or dodgy bars. I remember there were strikes and we couldn't get a train, so try to have a backup plan or extra emergency cash. Stay near the entrance/exit on public transport if you ever want to get off lol. Maybe this is all obvious to a European.
I look forward to seeing photos man
if you are open for advice on your travelpack:
keep the tent simple, you have to carry that fucker, so having one with heavy tentpoles/beams is silly. in fact i'd probably say not to even worry about a tent, and just keep a rollmat, and a sleeping bag, as it's a lot lighter, and you can keep more room for other essentials.
if you're walking that far each day, make sure you drink around 4-8 litres of water every day. try not to eat a lot in one sitting, but rather, eat often and little. munch things like peanuts, unsalted, for good slow release energy.
shoes are important, and make sure you have money for a spare pare of both shoes, and socks. you'll want to change into a new pair of socks at least once each day, possibly twice. foot hygene is paramount. if your feet start to hurt because they're "unclean", you won't be walking far.
unfortunately i'm in the opposite direction, or i'd offer you a sofa for the night.
I think if you take the highway your more up to 1500km, but remember its on foot
so every road isnt as straight as the highway, up hillz downhillz? that means that he would do alot more aditional km's to get there.
man you will have feet of steel when you get back, walking hot coals wont be any problem after this trip...
maybe..... you should do this running,
give the press a headsup, and call yourself forrest gump!
I JUST FEEL LIKE RUNNING!
I still don't know my entire route yet, I live in Overijssel, just between Zwolle and Deventer. (Elshof 1, Wijhe).
I'm going to bring a (lightweight) tent and knock on a door when I've reached my destination for that day. Then ask if they'll let me put up my tent in their garden and maybe use their toilet. As rent I'll pay with my crazy stories. haha.
I've heard some nasty stories about the ghetto life of Rome, about some couple that where walking there for cherity being raped and robbed etc... but I'm so tought that the baddies will flee from me. I laugh in the face of danger hahaha. (lol).
Gir: thanks, I've got some fine lightweight equipment, and I intend to keep the weight below 15 kg, probably 10. The shoes I have cost me about 200 € (or was it 300?), so they should hold out for a while. And I've got some spare money available.
bounch: haha sure! I'm not doing it for the walking in itself, but mostly for the adventure, not knowing where you'll sleep that evening, and being forced to meet new people. Don't know why but it rhymes with me
On foot it'll probably be about 1600 - 2000 km. But that all depends on the route, so I still have to figure that out. I don't want to end up walking beside the highway all the time
Thanks again for the kind words everyone!
Also look for walking socks, which have some additional layers of fabric where you need them!
Good luck, it will be great!
He probably asked to camp in someones garden.
25km a day is nothing, I think you'll do this in much less than 4 months. 2.2 km per mile (sorry going to deal with miles):
trip is 682 miles
Figure average speed of 3.5 mph (how tall are you?). That's 195 hours.
At 6 hours/day (an easy estimate- If you sleep for 8 and walk for 6, what else are you going to do for 10 hours?) that's 32.5 days. Double that, and you're still at 2 months (I always compare by saying, Roman armies usually moved about 20 miles/day, and they had to have time to pack/destroy/set up an entire camp. You should be able to do at least 20 miles/day).
Obviously make sure you train beforehand, those first few days with even a 10km pack are going to be grueling on your back. And get a good walking stick! Factor the weight of the water you'll need into your gear as well.
Maybe take a practice hike, for 10 days or something- if you start out and find acquiring food is much more difficult than you thought, and you didn't plan on buying it, you will be in for a struggle.
Please be safe, there are some not-good people around.
I didn't train a whole lot yet though... I walked 4 km (3/4 of an hour), then some time later 16 km (3 hrs) and then a while ago 5-7 km in 3/4 of an hour. and that's all the training i've had so far :P.
gir: sure i can read a map
thanks for your tribute asmuel.. that really makes me feel better. was that for real or are you messin' with my head haha.
Rob: walking is a relieving sport, gives you time to think while not thinking.. or something. i like it
what kind of miles are you using? is that different from the regular miles (don't know if there are more types.. maybe US vs USA or something ...).
I'm about 1,85 meters tall (more than 6 feet, don't know the inches).
My estimates are a bit high yeah, but that's so that i can take it easy and not fall behind on schedule. and i'll always feel as if i'm superfast
here's a pic of my gear. (I'm showing my gear on the internet.)
obviously i didn't pack my sleeping bag very well, if your not using it it should stay in a big shape, so that it retains it's volume.
Sorry I don't mean to scare you, Just trying to emphasize that the dangers are real, so take every precaution. And best of luck!
about that taking pictures thing:
can anybody recommend me a good lightweight sturdy cheap camera? i know of all the light 8 mp 100 € stuff, but is that any good? (no good lens etc.) tips most welcome!
It takes about 1 minute to fold it back together again! Its very lightweight, but I don't know how durable it is(only used it about 10 times sofar). Also, pretty funny that you're from Wijhe: my girldfriend is from there as well, now I can totally understand why you'd want to see the world lol!
My offer to stay in Arnhem is still open, would seem like a good second stop for you, and you'd have to walk trough the 'Veluwe', should be a nice walk!
PS: Youll miss the dominance war! Oh noes!
I would offer you a room for the night at my place but I am up north (Friesland), so I geuss thats a big detour :P.
Nice to see so many dutch people on Polycount
I have an Olympus camera 8mp, its a nice camera but I am not sure if its strong enough, I do believe Olympus also has an 8mp camera which is bump and water proof, I will post a link if I find it.
edit: http://www.kieskeurig.nl/digitale_camera/olympus/_850sw/279475/
its a bit more expensive then I thought.
get some quality boots
You'll miss the Dominance War!
And are you gonna walk back as well? Then you'll miss the next Unearthly Challenge too!
How are you gonna survive?! :poly128:
I wish you the best of luck with the trip, because it definitely won't be that easy. I don't think I could ever do something like this alone, so you're a braver dude than me.
Drink plenty of water, get proper rest, and have the time of your life!
Keep in touch when you can so we all know you're safe and doing well.
-caseyjones
never messed with one myself so I'd test it out first
Just kidding man, I think its awesome that your doing this and I wish you the best of luck. Sometimes I wish I could just live on a beach or something like a person stranded on a island (just for a few months that is). When your fending for yourself all that way, roughing it out, I'm sure it won't be terribly far from this.
That would be awesome if you could stop in a coffee shop or something every now and then, get on the internet and keep us posted.
Yeah, most of all be safe.
oh god rofl.
kwakkie: i've heard about those.. but they aren't very sturdy, they are heavy and most of all very big when folded up. I'll see if that's a good route
shapeirdo:
demonprincess: can't be that hard.. i think i might live. I never finished a dominance war entry before haha. I'm flying back. no use in walking it twice.
casey: thanks! i'll keep up a blog somewhere, i'll post in it when i come to an internet caf
Btw where is your EHBO kit, its not on the picture??? :P
my EHBO kit (haha that's a dutch word
I got loads of new stuff for my 19th birthday (februari 13th) and I'm now almost ready to leave.
rawkstar: thanks! i tried looking up hannibal's trail.. but i couldn't really find it... so if you have any specific place in mind (or maybe some keywords i can use with google maps or something) that'd be great.
I got my new ID card today, then went out to buy my new camera. I chose the black Olympus µ 850SW. I quite like it so far but it has to recharge first
I also started my blog today: http://mytriptorome.blogspot.com/ . there's nothing much in there yet, but that'll be the place i'll post my new updates once i'm gone.
the one pass i'd try is: Col de Clapier
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_de_Clapier
i guess just plan ahead and try to be safe, it would probably be a good idea to at least have a somewhat decent idea of how you plan to get across.
other possible routes are:
Col de la Traversette
Col du Petit Saint Bernard
but i think the Clapier is the easiest of the 3, and i'd probably go with that since you're going all by yourself and i'm not sure how experienced u are at hiking through mountains. the alps are no joke, in ancient times it was a near impassable barrier.