I (James) got going on Sunday at 10:30am while Sam was still in the tent. I walked about 4 miles before having a lengthy stop at McDonald’s where I ate 5 McChickens and watched the World Cup. I got going again a little after 2. About an hour later, the wind really started to pick up. It was frustrating to walk through, so I took a break off the side of the road. After a short break, I walked another mile or so before the wind started to become horrendous. It blew me backwards several times and even knocked over my stroller. I sat on the ground off the road, shielding my eyes as 60mph gusts of wind blew dirt and pebbles over me. After awhile, I realized that there was a gas station a little over a mile away. That last mile probably took about 40 minutes, as I would have to periodically stop and plant my feet in the ground to stop myself and my stroller from being pushed backwards by huge gusts of winds. I was wearing my sunglasses to protect my eyes from the sand. This did make it harder to see cars coming, especially given that it was already dark out. Eventually, I arrived at the gas station. The man working at the shop inside, who was named Cory, helped me find a spot to plug in my power blocks. I was able to come inside and buy some food to heat up in the microwave in the store. After awhile, I headed back out and tried to find a spot to pitch my tent. I knew it would be a challenge with the unprecedented amount of wind, but I found a spot between two walls that I thought would work. Unfortunately this was not the case. After about 20 minutes of trying to pitch the tent, my tent pole snapped and I gave up. I got out my sleeping bag and pad and decided I would just try to sleep outside for now. Meanwhile, Sam was still making his way to the gas station through the wind. I had warned him how awful it was, but he still decided he wanted to experience it for himself. After he had arrived and hung out by the gas station for awhile, he decided he would try to pitch the tent in a field out in the open. After he struggled for awhile, I decided to come over to see if both of us could set it up together. After a lot of struggle, we figured out that one of us could sit in the tent to anchor it down while the other person set it up. We alternated sitting in the tent, and Sam anchored it down with a whole bunch of rocks. We then both got in the tent and called it a night (it was the first time we both slept in the same tent). It was still incredibly windy, but our combined weight and the rocks were enough to hold the tent in place.
11/28/22
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