veesh me laahck

I'm in Rufus, which, as it turns out, has motels. I'm enjoying this last bit of luxury at the Hillview Motel on 203 Wallace Street before a walk of more than 28 miles tomorrow-- in 97-degree heat. I need to wake up super-early if I plan to make the campground with enough daylight to spare for tent-pitching (though with a tent like mine, pitching it in darkness won't be that difficult), but most of the walk will take place when the sun will be at its hottest.

I'll be spending two nights in Arlington because I anticipate I'll be dead on my feet by the time I arrive. I'll also be experimenting with my dad's military poncho, seeing if I can jury-rig some extra shade because Friday-- the day I'll be staying put-- also promises to be a scorcher, and I won't be basking in an air-conditioned room. This ought to be interesting. If the jury-rigging goes well, I'll show you a picture. If it doesn't... I'll probably show you a picture, anyway.

Shifting gears now: do you remember George Martin, the New York Giants star (now 55) who walked across America to help the first-responders of 9/11? I don't know whether you clicked my sidebar link to his site, but if you haven't, you should: his story's quite interesting.

Martin walked a little over 3000 miles, from NYC to San Diego. At first, he had hoped to walk about 50 miles per day in four 12.5-mile sections. He apparently came to his senses later, and ended up averaging a more realistic 22 miles per day (no heavy backpack, but he did carry a pack at times). He had a team helping him out, as well as a host of corporate sponsors. He also budgeted $150,000 for the walk itself. His walking partner (he didn't walk with an entourage) was also his security chief. Martin had hoped to raise $10 million for his cause; in the end, he raised over $2 million, an amount that was matched by hospitals affiliated with his project. Martin lost over 30 pounds over the course of his journey. When, toward the end of his trek, he found himself encountering severe headwinds, his team created an interesting solution for covering the daily distances: instead of walking westward from Point A to Point B, Martin plotted his route, was driven to Point B, and walked eastward to Point A, making the headwind a tailwind. The procedure was repeated for Point C: instead of walking from B to C, he was driven to C and walked to B. I guess we all have to figure out how to cover those miles. Like me, Martin started out saying he wouldn't "get in a car." Reality sets in quickly.

I think Martin's cause is a worthy one; you can probably still contribute to it if you haven't done so already.

And with that, I need to hit the hay. I'm really not looking forward to tomorrow's walk.

UPDATE: Looks as if my potential walking partner won't be joining me. Alas!


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