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Feedpower walkers
Some people will go out of their way to get Zachary’s pizza. While Ken and Marcia Powers hiked the rugged 6,800-mile American Discovery Trail, they even sent postcards to the pizzeria on Oakland’s College Avenue expressing their longing for a deep-dish slice.
“The longer we were on the trail, the more we wanted it,” says Marcia with a laugh. “I don’t know if you’ve ever had a microwavable mini-mart pizza, but I don’t recommend it.”
The Pleasanton couple’s hike took them from Delaware to California, across 13 states at a pace averaging 22 miles per day. They logged the mileage with the guidance of maps and a Global Positioning System, starting before sunrise and continuing after dusk.
After 230 days, the Powers finally reached Zachary’s, then hoofed it to Jack London Square, where a ferry whisked them to San Francisco. They marched across the Golden Gate Bridge and, finally, on to their Point Reyes finish, where a crew from NBC’s Today Show waited to interview them.
What’s next? The Powers are currently thumbing through the guidebook and planning a trip along the 790-mile Arizona Trail. They’re also enjoying their proximity to the East Bay’s abundance of regional park trails. “You can’t do better than the Morgan Territory, up the back side of Mount Diablo,” Marcia says. “It’s the quintessential California hike—and it compares favorably with anything we saw in the rest of the United States.”
