Reading Time: < 1 minute I was up early, knowing I had a “mountain” to climb—possibly the last really steep ascent of the journey. But first I had to come down from where I was at. I enjoyed the hairpin curves and walking a few miles down the 9% grade. I stopped for breakfast, but the buckwheat cakes and eggs […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute Highway 50 in West Virginia is mostly a long, winding, hilly, country two-lane blacktop road. Fortunately for me, it’s been a gray, cool, overcast day—perfect for walking. And I have a lot of walking to do. I stopped at a Family Dollar and picked up a bunch of protein bars. Then I went to the […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute As I walked through Clarksburg I was happy I was not pushing my kart. There’s absolutely no shoulder at all. It’s just three lanes of traffic rushing in each direction. The narrow border of grass next to a cement barrier is barely wide enough for me to walk on. That said, I often miss what was […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes For many hundreds of miles I had highway sounds on one side of me and freight train sounds on the other. I miss the trains. Fortunately, I also have the songs of many birds that filter through the vehicle noise, and often I concentrate on those. At noon I stopped for lunch at a “Sub […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute I awoke at midnight to find the sky filled with stars and many fireflies. It was a magnificent scene, and a reminder of how beautiful the universe can be. After watching the flickering of the fireflies (and a few satellites passing by) through the screen in my bivy, I eventually fell back to sleep. Sadly, […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute I was up early, wrapped my blisters in Leukotape K, packed my stuff into my backpack, and headed out the door. After picking up two egg McMuffins (hold the bacon) at McDonald’s, I walked onto the “wrong way” on-ramp to Hwy 50 East. The shoulder in this section of West Virginia is wide. There are two […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute You can’t will your body to heal, but you can rest it. And that’s what I decided to do today. The blisters are still tender; maybe they’ll be a little better tomorrow. My shoes are still damp, and I’ve used the hairdryer to blow-dry them. I ordered in some comfort food—pizza with anchovies and mushrooms, […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Each day seems crazier than the one before. After walking seven miles from Athens and eating breakfast at a gas station convenience deli, I got caught in a sudden downpour of rain and hail, accompanied by thunder. By the time I had my rain jacket out of my backpack, I was thoroughly soaked. In an […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute After six hours of walking, I was having a helluva time trying to find a decent place to camp when it started to rain. At that point a man in a Prius pulled up, lowered his window, and asked if I’d like a ride. I climbed in. Hell, I’m no fool. Jim told me he […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute The last mile or two of my walk into the town of Chillicothe was on a sidewalk. (Just before that it was on the narrow edge of a retaining wall.) Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio, and the birthplace of singer Nancy Wilson. My chance to help at the Pantry last night demonstrates […]