Day 140


I woke up and I was cold. The first time I’d been cold in months. I grabbed my jacket out of the stroller and put it on. Still cold. I had sent my winter clothes home so I didn’t have gloves or a hat. Whatever. I packed up quickly. I found my Kindle in the process. That made me happy. 
In 30 minutes I was on the road. The wind was blowing right at me at around 15 mph. I was angry. I was walking uphill and the wind just made everything harder. I had a headache and just wasn’t into it. I kept going though. What else could I have done? 
My dad called me and I felt better after that. The views were freaking amazing. Every hill that I climbed was rewarded with great scenery. I was trying to stay positive but traffic was picking up. I was literally run off of the road 5 times today. I guess slowing down isn’t an option for people. If someone who was approaching couldn’t get over because of traffic, their solution was to just run into me. Not one fucking person slowed down when this happened. It would’ve been very easy. 
If I was an antelope I bet they would slow down. Maybe I should get some antlers instead of an orange vest. Ugh. I got so mad that I grabbed a pebble and told myself that I’d throw it at the next asshole who ran me off the road. I wasn’t really going to do this but it made me feel like I had the upper hand. 
In the distance ahead, I could see what looked like a cyclist coming towards me. This may explain some of the traffic issues. People would get over for him but no way were they going to do it twice in one day. That would be obsurd. 
I stopped on the side of the road so that we could chat and say hey and stuff. He had all sorts of gear and I assumed he was going cross country also. He cycled right by without even looking. What a dick. I threw the pebble at him. I knew I wouldn’t hit him I just threw it in his direction as a gesture. 
After he passed, traffic wasn’t as bad. My theory may actually be true. It was good to know that he was on the shitty side now and I hoped that he had been ran off the road. Just kidding. Kind of…
The views were gorgeous all day. I made it to the 20 mile mark and went to a radio tower to take a break. I squeezed through the fence that said danger no trespassing and sat in the shade provided by the building. It was heaven. 
After resting for a while, I noticed some nasty clouds ahead coming from the mountains. I looked on my weather app on my phone and yep. Thunderstorms were coming. I was too tired to keep walking so I figured I’d call it a day. I set up my tent near the radio tower thinking that if lightning struck that it would hit the tower instead of me. 
I felt extremely stupid after I set my tent up and it started raining. I googled “camping in a thunderstorm” and everything that I did was the worst possible thing that I could’ve done. I put my shoes on and sat Vietnamese style hoping that if lightning struck nearby that my rubber soles would help. 
It was only luck that saved me. My tent was blowing around but holding up well. I heard lightning striking but I would count and the closest it got was 8 miles away. I’m glad I don’t still have the Walmart tent that I started with. No way would that thing have held up in this storm. 
The clouds broke just in time to see a stunning sunset. I got everything ready for bed and was down for the count. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *