Day 14 — 27 miles

I started the day in downtown Winchester, Virginia. I ate well and slept well and was ready for a long day of walking. I knew that the West Virginia state line was 22 miles away and I wanted to make it there. My friend was set to pick me up at the end of the day so I didn’t need to push Jenny and Domino stayed with him and got taken great care of by Groomingtails in Winchester. This was the first day that I got to walk completely by myself. I carried a small backpack full of the essentials and that’s it. I got an early start and took off for the hills! …literally.

Winchester is a beautiful town. It was founded in the 1700s and wasn’t damaged much by the civil war because it was a location that changed hands many times between the north and the south. 71 times in fact. There are some beautiful old buildings. As you leave, it becomes country very quickly. Lots of big farms with houses on the hills. A stunning view of the mountains ahead. Daunting if you are traveling by foot.

Spring is beginning and some trees are blooming. Every now and then you get a burst of color. I was walking at a good pace and some of the people would wave at me and wish me luck on my travels. People must actually read the paper in this town. The local newspaper covered a story on me that was in print this morning. It was nice to have people know about it beforehand so that I wasn’t so much of a shock to people.

I took a small side road to cut over from one major highway to the next. I knew that the other highway had a better shoulder to walk on from looking at googlemaps. This small road started off a little sketchy. I saw a lot of empty beer cans and empty water bottles full of tobacco spit on the side of the road. Every other car was a muscle car or a big truck that looked as if they had to rebuild the engine every morning just to get it started. There were a lot of beards, big dogs, and yards full of junk. I realized that I forgot my knife and I was a little worried about that at the time. Luckily, it got a little nicer as I pushed on through with no problems.

I found a golf ball on the side of the road. You would have thought that I found a million dollars worth of gold! I was so excited haha. This was the best entertainment I’ve had all day. I couldn’t believe how excited I got about the golf ball. I walked and bounced it for a few hours. I didn’t care how much energy I was wasting by chasing the golf ball around. It was worth it.

I met many friendly people again today. People pulling over just to see if I was ok. It’s so nice to have that happen. I hope that if I wasn’t ok that someone would come by and be able to help.

The most amazing thing happened. I must’ve walked at least 30 minutes without seeing a car! That was a first for this whole quest. It was so nice to walk in silence and be able to think for the first time.

After about 18 miles I was at my 3rd stop of the day and about 4 miles from the state line that I was trying to get to. It was all up hill from there. The last mile being very steep. I put on my headphones and played Dungeon Family radio on Pandora. I miss Atlanta and wanted a taste of home. The music was so perfect!

As I was on the last leg of the very steep hill to get the the top, a song that Brittany and I used to listen to came on. “Die Tryin'” by Cee-Lo Green. The chorus says, “see there’s no way and there’s no how/ I’d ever stop now/ imma die tryin/ imma die tryin/ sometimes I get weak from walking the road I’m on/ but imma keep on/ imma die trying/ imma die trying…. it was perfect.

I get to the top! I cross the state line! Just before I arrived I turned off the music so that I could have the moment to myself. I ran up to the sign and high fived it and took a few pictures. I even gave it a kiss before walking on.. I put my music back on and my 2nd favorite song of all time came on. “Chonkyfire” by Outkast. I always say that if I was a pro baseball player that would be my walk up song every time I came to the plate. I had my own bad ass moment as I continued on. When I got to the state line I noticed that I was on the top of the mountain and saw a sign that said that the next 4 miles are downhill. I was so happy that I figured I’d just go ahead and do that.

So I did. I just kept on going.

I finally had enough and was picked up and taken back to Winchester for a shower and a bed. Stopped by Chipotle on the way back. One of my favorite meals to pig out to.

Great day. Tomorrow won’t be as long but I’m going to try to go as far as I can again. Monday I am thinking of taking off as it is supposed to rain. Domino will take tomorrow off as well. I’ll get back out there on my own and so my best to make miles through these mountains. Once I get over them it will all be downhill until the Mississippi River.

I worked really hard today. I had a plan and took it seriously. I made sure to stop and eat and hydrate every 2 hours. I felt so good to accomplish a tough goal and go beyond. I can’t wait to cross the big mountain in a few days.

Gonna let these legs get some rest. Good night! Happy Easter!