Couple finishes 4,900-mile walk across US
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Marcia and Ken Powers started Feb. 27 at Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Nearly eight months later, they looked out over the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes.
"We feel great. We're done," Marcia Powers said after reaching the ocean late Saturday afternoon, a day ahead of schedule. "We are a little bit sad that a great adventure is over. It was a fantastic adventure."
The couple from Pleasanton, Calif., traversed cities, desert, mountains and farmland as they crossed 13 states.
They overcame deep snow in the East, a quicksand scare in Utah, close lightning strikes in the Midwest and blinding desert sandstorms in the West while averaging 22 miles a day and taking only four days off.
But they raved about the French history of St. Louis, the grandeur of the Colorado Rockies, and the kindness of strangers they met along the way. They particularly remember two brothers who put them up in their homes around Chester, Ill., and a motorcyclist who gave them water in the Utah desert.
"Americans are truly warm-hearted and wonderful people," said Marcia Powers, who is in her 50s. "We got to meet people that we would never meet in our sphere of daily living at home.
Joyce and Pete Cottrell, of N.H., were the first to backpack the entire official route of the American Discovery Trail, but they hiked segments out of sequence over two calendar years, finishing in 2003.
The transcontinental trail starts in Delaware, meandering through Washington, D.C., Cincinnati, St. Louis and other cities, 14 national parks and 16 national forests before hitting the Pacific at Point Reyes.
上周六，一对美国夫妇在长途跋涉4900英里、穿越整个美国大陆后顺利抵达太平洋沿岸，成为全美背包族中完成不间断徒步穿越"美国发现之旅"的第一人。
马西娅·鲍尔斯和肯·鲍尔斯夫妇今年2月27日从美国东部特拉华州汉露潘角出发，长途跋涉将近8个月后，他们终于在旧金山北面的雷斯岬看到了向往已久的太平洋。
"感觉真棒，我们成功了！"上周六下午傍晚抵达太平洋沿岸后马西娅·鲍尔斯说，他们比原计划提前一天到达目的地。"一次伟大的冒险经历就这样结束了，我们还真觉得有点遗憾。这次冒险经历太棒了。"
这对夫妇来自美国加利福尼亚州西部城市普莱森顿，他们穿越城市、沙漠、山川和农田，整整走过了美国13个州。
在东部，他们遭遇了暴雪；在犹他州，他们险些被流沙吞没；在中西部，他们与闪电"亲密接触"；在西部，他们遇到了令人致盲的沙暴。夫妇俩平均每天步行22英里，中间只休息了4天。
但是，一路上他们被圣路易斯市的法国历史遗迹和科罗拉多州洛基山脉的壮观所折服。他们还认识了许多热心人，这些陌生人的热情和友善让他们终生难忘。切斯特市的一对兄弟给他们留下了深刻的印象，那对好心的兄弟将他俩安置在自己家中。还有一个骑摩托车的人在犹他州的沙漠中给他们水喝。
"美国人真是既热心又善良，我们遇到了许多日常生活中永远都不会碰到的人。" 马西娅·鲍尔斯说，她今年50出头。
来自新罕布什尔州的乔伊斯和皮特·科特雷尔夫妇是第一个徒步完成"发现之旅"的人，但他们是在两年中分段旅行，直到2003年才走完这段旅程的。
"发现之旅"路线是东起特拉华州，西至太平洋沿岸的雷伊斯角，其中穿越华盛顿特区、辛辛那提、圣路易斯和其他城市，经过14个国家公园和16个国家森林保护区。