July 23rd, 2009

 

11.6 Miles

I had another shorter day today and so it was good to get to my destination by noon, as if pulling that handcart almost 12 miles is an easy thing.  When I arrived, I was taking a break on some grass and had a couple of people come over to me to find out what I was doing.  We had a great conversation and the 20 year old young man has accepted my invitation to walk with me tomorrow.  His name is TJ Kappes and said that he has walked between Lexington and Gothenburg many times before and said that he wanted to walk the entire distance, so instead of just walking a couple of short days, I am, once again, putting two days into one and walking a little over 20 miles tomorrow because TJ is up for the trek.  Spending the entire day with someone that you don’t know has it’s mystery about it, but having talked to him already, he seems like a great young man.  It will be a good walk.

I was interviewed by the Lexington Clipper Herald this afternoon and the article should be in the newspaper on Friday.

As for the condition of my body, the feet seem to be holding their own, the hernia’s have moments of intensity and calmness, and I’m learning to live with my back spasms for most of the time.  Mentally, I have a more difficult time staying motivated to keep my feet moving down the road.  For most of the time, the trek is just drudgery and without anyone to converse with, my focus ends up being centered around my pain(s), but I find enthusiasm from thinking about completing my journey.  I have to always tell myself to keep up my pace because my body wants to rest and without having the necessary calories to provide the energy, it becomes a struggle sometimes.

All in all, this section of the trek is going well.  I can’t complain, because Nebraska is flat (at the moment) and that makes all of the difference in the world.