Yes, "conscientious objector" is some strong language.
I use that because I see people driving (pollution) 2 blocks (lazy) to McDonalds (poison) and wondering why why they are overweight and sick all the time. It's really sad, especially when this "autocentric" society reinforces this behavior through endless television commercials and magazine ads.
That's all I will say about that seeing this is the intro forum and that particular conversation is better conducted in another forum at another time.
"Game trails"? I dunno about that, but I hope to end up just East of Sacramento. Oregon will be a breeze, but heading inland California can be a bit of a challenge. SoCal is a whole different beast.
I did the Oakland to Portland trip and back a couple of times in the 90s, but I was much younger then.
I plan on using a mountain frame with drop bars this time and am just now planning on putting together a machine.
Hopefully, this response made sense as I managed to type it all out BEFORE coffee this morning!