I purchased Amtrak's USA Rail Pass to travel the country in 30 days. Here's what 170 hours in coach looked like.

To guarantee I was hands-free for the full journey, I challenged myself to recreation pinch only a backpack and my folding bike.

However, I didn't want my backpack to beryllium excessively heavy. After considering my options, I settled connected a azygous 25-liter version, astir the size allowed for a individual point connected astir airlines.

I filled it pinch the essentials: my laptop and charger, travel-size toiletries, and immoderate basal motorcycle instrumentality — a pump, lights, and a lock.

This near conscionable capable abstraction for astir 7 days' worthy of underwear, shirts, shorts, a brace of agelong pants, and a ray jacket. I was besides readying to sojourn friends on the way, which would fto maine drawback up connected immoderate laundry I mightiness have.

Luckily, since it was summer, I didn't person to interest astir packing a batch of bulky wintertime clothing. However, I did regret carrying only a ray jacket, since the trains sewage beautiful acold astatine night.

It was awesome to person my bike, but since it weighs astir 27 pounds, it was difficult to transportation erstwhile folded.

Even though I was capable to bring the motorcycle aboard the train — which allowed maine to return it for a short rotation during longer layovers — I ended up checking it later successful my travel to debar the dense lifting.

The travel astir apt would person been good without the motorcycle — since location was free nationalist transit successful galore of the cities I stopped successful on the measurement — but it still helped maine prevention money connected cab fares.

Surprisingly, coach seating felt very roomy and comfortable connected each limb of my travel — particularly erstwhile I raised the footrest to level it pinch the seat.

Plus, the fewer times I had an quiet spot adjacent to me, I could almost slumber lying flat.

Unfortunately, location was 1 clip erstwhile a sleeping rider occupied my assigned seat, but alternatively of waking them, an Amtrak squad personnel helped maine find different spot to sit.

My full travel took maine from New York done Washington, DC, and the Carolinas to New Orleans. From there, I trim crossed each the measurement done Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to California.

Throughout the full journey, I was successful awe of the views from the study car.

On the limb from San Francisco to Chicago, I stopped successful Salt Lake City and Denver. This was easy the astir spectacular portion of the adventure, filled pinch perfectly stunning landscapes. It was genuinely magical seeing the stream valleys and mountains astatine sunset.

Most Amtrak trains person a café car, which offers speedy bites and snacks. But immoderate of the long-distance ones besides person a eating car, featuring sit-down meals, which I took advantage of while walking crossed the country.

Even though it seems costly astatine first — $25 for luncheon and $45 for meal — it was perfectly worthy it for me. In my opinion, the meals were amended than the ones served successful the the café car, and it was a awesome measurement for maine to meet different travelers, since Amtrak seats you astatine a array pinch different parties.

I usually had to make a preservation to entree the eating car, but connected 1 limb that wasn't peculiarly busy, I was capable to conscionable locomotion correct in.

Although my clip connected the train was great, my favourite point astir utilizing the walk was that I sewage to extremity successful truthful galore different cities crossed the US.

Even though immoderate layovers were longer than others, I made the astir of each stop, whether it was cycling the Crabtree Creek Greenway Trail successful Raleigh, North Carolina, aliases watching the sunset complete the h2o successful New Orleans.

I particularly enjoyed my clip successful California, erstwhile I sewage to witnesser the tremendous trees successful Sequoia National Park.

No matter what I was doing — attending a post-punk performance successful Chicago aliases simply proceeding the stories of countless individuals connected the trains — taking Amtrak crossed the US was an astonishing measurement to immerse myself successful the country.

I'm already reasoning astir different journey, possibly walking to Florida, and can't hold to hop aboard again.