I (Sam) woke up in quite a comfortable bed this morning, as we spent the previous night with our WarmShowers hosts, Devin and Laurel. I went downstairs after showering, and found James and Tomer sitting with Devin eating breakfast burritos. I indulged in a few myself, and we continued our conversation from the night before about our walk. Devin offered us to spend another night, which was tempting, but we had to decline given the tight window we now had for our trip. After breakfast, I packed up my belongings and prepared myself to talk. Tomer filmed James and I on our walk to Circle K, where we stocked up on food for a few days, as Payson would be the last town we would pass in quite some time. I bought some frozen burritos among other nutritious items such as candy. We walked for another 12 miles and met Tomer at a country store where he interviewed us. On the way, I was stopped by a kind sheriff who said he had seen us back in St. John’s and said he would follow our Instagram page. After resting at the country store and answering Tomer’s questions, we hopped back on the road. The route from here on out was quite tough, as the sun set and we were walking through the mountains leading up to Phoenix. The landscape alternated between uphill and downhill stretches, which actually made it difficult to decide what to wear. During the downhill stretches I felt comfortable in my fleece, while the uphill stretches made me overheat. I was also on a call with a friend which continuously cut out due to the reception being poor in the valleys. James and I were about a mile and a half apart at this point, but he found a nice spot behind a rail at the end of the day. I set up camp and sent Tomer the coordinates for where to meet us in the morning.
Walking was particularly difficult at night today. I had a few personal issues going on, and it was very challenging having to walk with those in mind. When stressed or bothered, my instinct is to crash in my tent on the side of the road. Walking is really the last thing I want to do in this scenario. This is part of the journey though, and it is not acceptable for me to throw in the towel due to personal challenges going on. It is something that comes up from time to time, but I must force myself to do what I set out to accomplish on the day. This is not something I have always been able to do during my day-to-day life, and I hope that the discipline I have gained in this regard on my journey will translate in practical circumstances back home.
11/8/22
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