I (James) started packing up around 9:30am. I felt very tired, but it was nice knowing that in 31 miles I would be at the Airbnb my family was staying at in Indio. I finished setting up my stroller, plugged my power block into my solar charger and faced it towards the sun, and then stashed the stroller behind a bush. I then walked across the interstate and hopped over the fence separating it from the rest stop. I headed to a diner, which was the first place I’d been able to get food in 60 miles. It also always feels nice to be indoors when you’ve been continuously outside for several days. At the diner, I ordered a country fried steak with eggs. I was instead brought a burger, but I didn’t care and started eating it anyways. A few minutes later, the waitress came back out with my country fried steak, but began to take it away when she saw that I had a burger already. I asked her to leave it, as I would be more than willing to eat it if they were just going to throw it away. It turned out the burger was also meant for someone at a different table, but it was too late. I also met David and Vicky, a nice couple who were eating next to me. David is a soon-to-be-retired truck driver, and Vicky is a retired cop. They took great interest in my trip and even insisted on picking up my tab. Vicky also offered to post about our fundraiser on her Facebook page, which was very kind. After breakfast, I headed over to the gas station to pick up some water and a few extra candy bars. I then headed back towards the fence. It was pushed down towards me, so getting back over would be a bit more difficult. I decided to go for the jump rather than walking all the way around. I hadn’t jumped in months, so I barely cleared the fence and almost wiped out. I made it back across the interstate and started heading out a bit after noon. It was the day before Thanksgiving, so it was an awful day to be walking along the shoulder of the interstate. The sections where there was a rail on my left were particularly unpleasant, as I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get out of the way if a massive truck drifted onto the shoulder. The sun set before I knew it, which was another tough blow. I stopped at a rest stop about 15 miles away. After about an hour, I was back on my feet. The walk from here had a lot of downhills, which at least made things a bit easier. I was getting more and more tired, and it felt tempting to give up and call it a night several times. And of course, with about 10 minutes left on the interstate, a police car stopped on the shoulder in front of me. A voice yelled “Stop walking!” from a megaphone inside the car. I explained to the cops what I was doing, and while they were sympathetic to my situation, they told me that legally they had to tell me to get off the freeway. They told me to walk on the dirt next to the interstate instead. There was also a canal coming up shortly, which could only be crossed on the interstate. I walked for a bit on the dirt, which was bumpy and difficult to move the stroller through. When I was near the canal, I took off my reflective vest, turned my headlamp off, and put on my all-black long johns outfit. I then quickly walked along the shoulder of the interstate over the canal and got onto the side road on the other side. It was a fitting way for my walking on the interstate to end, and it was nice knowing that I would likely never have to walk on it again. The last 4 miles were much more pleasant, and I met my mom very near the house (the Airbnb was in a gated community and could only be entered in a car). We loaded my stuff in the car and drove over to the house. It was nice knowing that I would not have to walk tomorrow and could enjoy my Thanksgiving.
11/23/22
Today was easily one of the most horrible days of the trip. My day started off on a dirt road that eventually turned pretty ugly. The sand patches were getting longer and longer, and frankly I (Sam) did not think I would be able to make it to Indio, CA on time if the conditions remained this way. The dirt path also added 5 miles to the walk to Indio. I stayed on this dirt path until it became unbearable, and then decided to go on the interstate. The traffic was absolutely absurd, but I was also worried about getting pulled over by the police and being forced to take a ride. This prompted me to pull over on the side and wait for nightfall to continue on my way, as I thought it would be less likely to be spotted for the police. This was a horrible idea, as once the darkness came, the road conditions were horribly dangerous. I genuinely feared for my life for one of the rare times on this trip. With every car that went by, I became more afraid of getting hit. I cannot explain how much I feared getting hit. My thought process was that I could either go on the so-called dirt road and make absolutely no progress, or go on the interstate, risk my life, but make forward progress. At the end of the day, I need to walk, so I picked the latter option. There came a point with about 35 miles left that I was about to stop, but my dear friend Samy called me and distracted me from my fears for about three miles. I stopped about 29 miles short of Indio and pitched my tent. I was extremely relieved to see myself get to this point, and I prayed that the traffic would be lighter on Thanksgiving day. I once again cannot reiterate how awful the traffic was.
11/23/22
Comments