Day 117

I took yesterday off. I didn’t want to. But I just didn’t have it. I made the day worthwhile by getting a lot of stuff done though. It ended up being ok.
This morning I planned to get out early and go about 16 miles and find some shade and camp. I was packed and fed and on the road at 6:50 am. So far so good. The forecast called for a high of 101 with a heat index of at least 108. I wanted to be done before that happened. 

I walked through McPherson which looked like a nice town and was feeling good. I came to a point where I had to make a choice. I could either go south and connect with hwy 50 which has a big shoulder or I could stay west and go on hwy 56 with a crappy shoulder and probably end up taking gravel roads. I would connect with 50 in about a week if I went that way. I knew which way i was going to go but I flipped a coin anyways. Heads. Go south. 

I walked to state route 61 which goes into Hutchinson. I planned on being there tomorrow night. Once I got on 61 I was cruising! I was in the zone and feeling great. There was cloud cover and a breeze. I walked 10 miles before even stopping quickly for a snack and some water. I saw a sign that said Hutchinson was 18 miles away. I was like I got this. I made the choice to try to make up yesterday and just go for the long day. It would be 29 miles if I made it.
I was enjoying myself today. I was singing out loud and making funny faces at cars passing by. I was definitely talking to myself in a rain man voice for a while. I was waving to cars and trucks passing by and they were all friendly. I even got to wave at a train passing by and the engineer waved and gave a light toot of the horn. 

I thought about the old wagon days. That railroad is on the Sante Fe Trail which was used by wagons transporting goods. I imagined that people would wave to other wagons passing by and some of them may have even made funny faces at some of them. 
I saw a huge turtle about to walk into traffic so I picked him up and changed his direction. Hopefully he went back to the ditch instead of the highway. 
I got to the point where I planned on stopping originally and stayed with the choice to keep pushing. I hadn’t even broke a sweat yet. The temperatures did start to rise quickly after that but I was ok. I kept eating bars and drinking water when I needed to. One thing I should have done was put sunscreen on. But I didnt. 
After 20 miles I was feeling a little like trying to find another spot to camp. But I was already committed and I still had plenty of time in the day. I pushed on. I should’ve taken a break but there was no shade and I was also thinking that the longer that I am out here, the hotter it will get. 
I see a sheriff in an SUV pull up and flash his lights. Great. I pull to the side of the shoulder and let him pull up. He gets out and very kindly asks if I am ok and if I needed anything. I told him that I was good and only about 4 miles from my destination. He shook my hand and said to let him know if there was anything I needed. Shocked the hell out of me. Gave me the happiness to keep pushing. 
When I was about 2 miles away it was scorching hot and my arms and legs were cooking. I could feel them burning. My sunscreen is very easy to grab. I didn’t do it. Kept walking. Stubborn…

There was a bridge ahead that had a place to sit in the shade. There. I stopped. Cooled down and ate a little and drank a lot. I looked at my map and I was a mile and a half from dinner and a hotel room. I rested a little but not too much. I didn’t want to tighten up. 

The last stretch hurt like hell. My feet my legs. My arms were burning. Forgot sunscreen. I didn’t care. I was so close to comfort. I swung into Qdoba and ordered a ton of food. The people looked at me like I was crazy. I told them I walked here from mcpherson and they understood. 

Got my food and they threw in a Mexican coke for free. Walked right across the street and into one of the good Super 8 hotels. Super 8s are either in great shape or in terrible shape. I’ve been in some that smell like feet and dirty laundry and have a layer of sticky on the walls from Crack smoke and hooker sex. This one wasn’t like that. Haha

The lady at the counter was nice and helpful. Came in and washed the day away and then popped my mexican coke to celebrate the long mileage. I ate all my food and watched soccer and baseball. Then I was ready for bed until I remembered that I needed to write this dang blog! 😛