Today was honestly the most miserable day since the 63 mile day. I (Sam) woke up to the pattering of rain on my tent along with a 44 degree weather forecast. I also still had 32 miles until I would get to Albuquerque. Trying to wait out the rain, I stayed in my tent until around 11am before leaving. The rain held up a little bit, but it was still cold, windy, and I had a mist in my face. I stayed on the interstate for the first 8 miles until I reached a McDonalds. I was grateful to be inside, as the rain began picking up again. I ordered a bunch of McChickens and some French fries, a typical order on the walk. My McDonald’s pitstop ended up lasting a few hours, and it wouldn’t be until around 4pm that I left. My shoes were still soaked, and it was raining just as hard as it was before. I made the decision to book a Motel about 4 miles short of Albuquerque, but still 20 miles away in order to avoid getting in too late. Wet shoes rapidly wore down my feet, and it felt like I was approaching my tipping point. It was very tempting to just call it quits and pitch my tent on the side of the road early, but I did not want to succumb to my desire for comfort. My headlamp was beginning to dim, and I did not have any batteries. This was not ideal at night, especially on the pitch black rural roads. I was fortunate to find a gas station about 9 miles away from my final destination where I was able to fix this problem. To ease myself during the final 2 hours, I put on my favorite Iranian soccer podcast. The episode was unfortunately very boring, and I turned it off within 15 minutes. Thus, I was pretty much just alone with my thoughts at this point. Thankfully, the roads became mostly downhill with 6 miles to go. I eventually reached the Rodeway Inn at around 12:40am, and I had to contact the security guard for my key since the desk was closed. While I was very cold, I was too tired to even shower, and I went straight to bed.
Today was one of my most challenging days of the trip. It is very difficult to get out of the tent knowing that it would be cold and rainy all day. It is also extremely difficult not to succumb to my desires to lighten the load on myself. The boring podcast episode was honestly also a big blow, but this also prevented me from masking my discomfort by taking myself out of the moment. While I was not extracurricular about the way the day went, I became a stronger walker today.
10/16/22
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