In Jim's words....
Epilogue, Spring 2011 Hike
While they are still fresh in mind, here are a few random thoughts and reflections about this latest trip of mine.
First of all, thanks to all of you who have followed my adventures by reading Jane's journals. I have spent some time today - my first full day since returning home - reading the emails and blog posts Jane wrote and distributed while I was traversing 400 miles of roads through northwestern ND and northeastern MT. As many of you have pointed out in your emails to her, she does a super job of reporting my daily adventures and experiences. Your words of encouragement, best wishes, and prayers have truly been appreciated by both of us. And special thanks to those of you who sent me notes and letters I picked up at the post offices along the way. In these days of email communication, it was refreshingly quaint (retro?) to receive your hand-written cards and letters.
As you know by now, this leg of the cross-country hike was beset by a number of unexpected and unwanted developments. Gear failure is always a risk, especially when traveling in areas without re-supply opportunities. I had never previously had my trusty stove fail or have my fuel canister confiscated by the air-travel police, but it happened. Losing a hiking shoe that was dangling from the outside of the backpack was sheer bad luck, though it did lighten the load by a couple of pounds. The gravel roads did a job on the soles of my sandals, wearing them out far earlier than expected, but a backup pair was purchased thanks to a 50-mile round trip visit to the nearest Walmart. Bugs are a not uncommon part of these hikes - I will never forget the flies and mosquitoes in the Adirondacks and the gypsy moth caterpillars and slugs that bedeviled me in New York. Fortunately the mosquitoes and gnats that pestered me on this trip didn't hit until the last few days.
A particular challenge on this leg was the unavailability of motel rooms for an 11-day stretch in the mid-section of this hike. I depend on motels for rest, cleanup, and shelter from the elements, so not having them for half the trip was a great inconvenience. And the need to get off the road for reasons of personal safety while passing through the reservation presented a unique challenge. Sharing the roads with huge oil tankers and road construction trucks, many hundreds of them each day for 11 days, was a most unpleasant and unsafe experience, and breathing their fumes and dusty wakes certainly wasn't healthy.
But enough about the downside aspects of this trip. How about the good parts? As usual, some of the most memorable and remarkable parts are the people I met along the way, many of whom provided me with unrewarded favors when I was in need of them. Like Roy and Krista, the newlyweds who insisted on driving me 50 miles round trip to Williston so I could buy a backup pair of sandals to replace my pair that was falling apart. And Raydelle, the town clerk in Culbertson, who found me a tenting site and the use of a church hall for my overnight needs in the next two towns. And the town clerk in Fairview who arranged for me to use that town's pool facility for rest room and showers even during hours when they were otherwise closed. And Father Francis and Father Jolly, who unlocked their churches and parish halls so I could safely stay there overnight as I passed through....and permitted me to borrow their phones so I could call Jane when I had no service on my phone. Likewise, I borrowed phones from the convenience store lady in Brockton and Tracy, the owner of the bar in Nashua, and one of her patrons. And what a bowl of soup Tracy gave me!
In addition to the random acts of kindness rendered by all these people, I was the beneficiary of some amazing good luck or, as Jane and I choose to believe, blessings from God. Going into this trip, I was concerned about the availability of water in some of the more remote locations. Sure enough, most ponds and streams were inaccessible, cut off by the ubiquitous barbed wire fencing that bordered the road nearly everywhere. One day when I sorely needed liquids near the end of a hot 25-mile day, what do I find along the road but a bottle of water, as though placed there for my use. And on another day, while looking for a source of water and seeing none, I find a case of soft drinks, still cold, that must have fallen off a passing vehicle.
I was remarkably lucky with the weather. It rained at least half of the days, but mostly at night or in the afternoon after I had already erected my tent or gotten under a roof. Only once did I get really wet and have to endure dirty showers from passing trucks. And that night I was picked up by Jane and we drove to a motel. As expected, the early days of the hike in late May were often quite cool, even cold overnight, and some days in the last two weeks were uncomfortably warm, but on balance temperature was not a problem. But the wind was, with
sustained winds of 30-50 mph on several days. As luck would have it, some of those days they were tailwinds, and on one day I was off-road resting in my tent to stay warm and recuperate. With so much ambient energy there for the harnessing, I was surprised to see wind turbines only once in the distance. Unfortunately it was obvious that in this region oil and gas drilling is trumping the erection of new clean energy infrastructure.
As usual, I enjoyed observing a variety of wildlife along the way. Unfortunately, not all of it was still alive. I saw a half dozen pheasants, richly patterned and colored creatures that favor the grassy habitats of the Plains states. All were recent victims of bird-vehicle collisions. Not a single living pheasant did I see. Flattened carcasses of large snakes were seen from time to time; fortunately none were observed slithering in my direction. Blackbirds (red-winged and otherwise) were regular companions as I hiked the highways, often flying overhead, circling me, all the while talking a blue streak. Judging from their presence alongside the roads, deer are quite common in this area, but on only a few days did I see one in person. Jane well described the one that took umbrage at my presence in camp one night and loudly expressed her displeasure. Ducks were everywhere, enjoying the abundance of water above ground.
I missed the colorful wildflowers that I typically see on my spring hikes. The fields and prairies were full of them in Wisconsin and Minnesota, but not along the byways of North Dakota and Montana. Only in the last several days did I observe a type of wild sunflower, phototropically bent eastward to catch the morning sun's rays.
One of the highlights of this trip was my visit to Fort Union, site of an important mid-19th century fur trading outpost on the upper Missouri River. Countless numbers of beaver pelts and buffalo robes were traded here by the Indians for manufactured goods when the original Fort Union was here 1828-1867. John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company made a fortune on this trade before it sold the facility to the U.S. Government at the end of that period. The government tore it down and used the wood to build Fort Buford, a military facility several miles downriver. Fort Union was built on a bluff high above the adjacent Missouri River. I observed the river lapping at the road leading into the Fort and staff were filling sandbags to keep it from flooding that road. Today Fort Union has been fully restored to its original elegance, and the National Park Service does an excellent job of staffing it with knowledgeable park rangers eager to explain its historical significance.
Another National Park Service historic site is the Knife River Indian Villages. Located adjacent to a major tributary of the Missouri River, this was the home to hundreds of members of the Hidatsa tribe in the early 19th Century and back many centuries before then. The Lewis and Clark expedition visited here on both their westward trip in 1804 and their return trip the next year. Sacagawea joined the Corps of Discovery here and became their guide and translator. I enjoyed a brief film about the historic significance of the site and what historians and archaeologists have learned about the local Indian culture. Unfortunately most of the Hidatsa and Mandan tribal population was decimated by smallpox epidemics in the mid-19th century.
It has been an extremely wet year for the region I traversed on this trip. The Missouri River and most of its tributaries are over their banks, flooding the river valleys. I saw thousands of acres of rich farmland under water. Dams built to control large sections of the Missouri are full to capacity, forcing them to release water downstream, causing flooding there. Sections of Bismarck are underwater, with hundreds of National Guard troops patrolling the streets now closed to traffic. Thousands of volunteers are busy filling sandbags. It was a heavy snow winter in the Rockies and most of the snow-melt still hasn't happened, so additional flooding is expected well into the summer months. Between the flooding and an extremely high water table, much of the farmland is too wet to plant, so this year could be a tough one for many farmers.
Over the four weeks of this hike, I passed through a landscape that was a mix of open prairie, cattle ranches, and farmland. Some days I marveled at the unusual terrain I was walking past, with hills that dropped precipitously to the roadside. Landslides would throw piles of rock and soil onto the road in places. One day I walked through the Badlands, an incredible section of landscape reminiscent of the Grand Canyon, with striated horizontal bands of clay, sandstone, lignite coal and pink scoria (as described by signs along the road). Trees are rare in this area, and forests non-existent. Virtually all this land is separated from the road by mile after mile of barbed wire fencing. Agriculture - farming and cattle ranching - appears to be the principal occupation, with little or no manufacturing evident, even in the towns. Oil drilling is rampant, with new wells and roads to them being set up all over the place. Thousands of workers are flocking to this region from all over the country, to help drill the wells and drive the well-pipe flatbeds and oil tanker trucks. The standard wage is $20 per hour and $30 for overtime. Sundays and holidays are just another workday, judging from the volume of traffic on the roads. Housing is scarce and acres of RV parks and trailers are being set up to accommodate the incoming labor force. While the farmers, ranchers and oil field workers may be doing well financially, there is a disturbing amount of rural poverty evident in the small towns I walked through. This is especially true of Poplar, Brockton, and Frazer, Montana towns of a few hundred people on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, where the residents are predominantly descendants of the Assiniboine and Sioux Native American tribes. Houses are small and many poorly maintained; same is true for the cars in their yards. I never had a problem with the occasional interaction I had with these folks but I did avoid the local bars in these towns.
As you know from Jane's journals, I spent my nights mainly in town parks, where invariably I was welcome to set up my tent for the night. Some of these I had scouted out in advance of the trip, others I came upon unexpectedly. Most parks had the basics: a source of water, a restroom facility, picnic tables and electricity for recharging my phone and e-reader. Some had hot water, some a shower. Only once, in a campground near the Badlands, did I lack running water and have to fill my water supply from a large and apparently clean puddle. Providing a park for itinerant hikers and bikers seems to be a custom in this region, in contrast to my experience in other states.
I walked over 100 miles on Route 2 in northeast Montana, and will be continuing on this road for another 500 miles later this year and next. It is the west-east route of choice, for both vehicles and those of us using leg-power. I met a number of bikers (pedal-powered, not motor-powered) on this road and they invariably stopped for conversation. In Wolf Point I met Michael, who was pulling his dog on a wagon and preaching the bible 3 1/2 years into his circumnavigation of the country. Several days later I met Mike, who was cycling from Seattle to Milwaukee, and will then head south to Kentucky. The Smith brothers (www.smithbrosbiketrip.wordpress.com) came from Tacoma and are headed to Vermont. For me it is uplifting to meet these fellow road warriors, all of whom are benefiting from the kindness of strangers as they cross this country.
In the category of what I didn't tell Jane: In Montana I walked past dozens of simple white crosses a few feet off the road. Each one commemorates the death of someone who died in a traffic accident. The American Legion erects these to encourage motorists to drive safely. What a great idea! Traffic moves pretty fast on Route 2 - while the speed limit is 65, most cars and trucks are going faster than that. I seldom felt threatened, except when a car going west (behind me) would pass another car and come uncomfortably close to me on the shoulder. Several of those came within a foot or two of me, honking as they passed. It would not have taken much of an error of judgement for me to become a white cross memorial. Thank you all who prayed for my safety on this trip.
As you know from her journal, Jane came to meet me on Day 10 of this trip, and we spent two wonderful days together in Dickinson - 30 miles off my hike route, the closest we could find a motel room. This was an extravagance, but well worth the expense of her time and our money. Speaking of expense, what do you think my hike costs on a "per mile" basis? We toted it up today and figured that if we exclude her Dickinson trip and the cost of my gear (tent,stove, shoes, sandals, etc.) it comes to about $6 per mile. And this is on a trip with relatively few motel nights. About half of that is for plane and train, the rest for motels and food.
Last year, the 2010 Spring hike, I asked you to pledge pennies per mile to support the NY-NJ Trail Conference. We raised $5,000 from your pledges - thank you. The last two hikes have been pledge-free, but I think I will seek your support for the next one. Stay tuned.
I have missed nearly four weeks of news and stock market reports, but from what I can tell, not much occurred while I was out there walking the roads. I still have hundreds of emails to read, both here at home and at the office. That will keep me busy for the next several days. The most important thing I have missed is an incredible streak of success for the Red Sox - they have won 12 of the last 13 games. I wore my red, white and blue Red Sox cap for much of the trip. If their winning streak ends now, I will just have to take to the road again.
Planning this last trip took a long time - perhaps 100 hours. I now have less than three months to plan the next one, which will begin on September 12 or 13. At least the route is known: Route 2 west from Glasgow to some town a little east of Glacier National Park. If any of you know someone who lives in that part of Montana, let me know.
Thanks to all of you who make this venture possible: Scott, Cindy and Serge at the office, Jane at home, and all the rest of you who vicariously live this adventure with us. Your love and encouragement is greatly appreciated.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Days 26 thru 29 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Tues., June 14 - We had only very brief conversations today. Jim called from the hotel at 8am (6 his time) as he was ready to go to breakfast in the hotel. Unfortunately, the weather forecast had completely changed - now calling for showers. It was raining lightly and so he will probably get wet today. He will also be facing a bit of a wind as well.
Jim called around 11am when he was 6 miles into his trip (by luck, he had some level of cell coverage - not great reception but better than nothing). As expected, the headwind was not helping at all. He said that he was 10 minutes into his trip and realized that he had forgotten his water bottles in the room refrigerator. So back he went - lost 20 minutes. When he called, the skies were just beginning to clear and the sun was coming out.
Jim called at 5pm from the church in Frazer - he arrived on schedule and met Father Jolly who let him into the church basement for his night's stay. He had to use Father Jolly's cell phone to call me, since Jim had no reception on his. We didn't talk long but he said that he made it without incident today - 7 1/2 hours. The church basement will be a fine place to spend the night - restroom and electricity for charging reader and phone. Unfortunately, no phone for me to call him like I did in the Poplar church.
I don't like that we can't talk tonight, but at least I know that he is safe. Hopefully he will have some level of cell coverage tomorrow.
Miles Today - 20.....Total Cumulative Miles - 381
Wed., June 15 - Jim was able to call around 11:30am, when he got to the top of a hill and had reception. At that point he was about 4 miles away from Nashua. He did fine in the church basement, although he found it a bit chilly. He decided to spend most of the time upstairs in the carpeted church vestibule, which was much warmer. he only went downstairs for the restroom.
Today was his earliest yet to get on the road - up at 4:15am, seeing a full moon on the horizon - absolutely beautiful and on the way at 5:45am. He met a bicyclist (Mike) who was towing a wagon and was traveling from Seattle to Milwaukee! He mentioned that he had stayed in the Nashua town park (where Jim is headed) and it was quite nice. He also mentioned that there was a convenience store right next to the park. Later on he met two more bicyclists (the Smith brothers) who were cycling from Tacoma, WA to Vermont. They swapped blog addresses! Jim said it was fun to see fellow road warriors along his way. Today is a gorgeous sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and comfortably cool. One disturbing thing he noticed was that unlike the previous days, he noticed absolutely no freight train traffic today. He even saw a railroad maintenance truck going down the tracks eastbound - seems to mean that the tracks are shut down - does not bode well for tomorrow's planned trip to Minot.
Jim reached Nashua, MT just before 11:30 - over 5.5 hours without a break. He found the Wagon Wheel Bar but it wasn't open yet. The owner's wife, Tracy, arrived and let Jim use her phone to call me. She also let him give me the phone # so I could call him a couple of times to give him Amtrak updates. Tracy also GAVE him a large bowl of piping hot chicken and wild rice soup - homemade & delicious!
Then he met the bartender, Debby and her friend Dale - got to talking and Jim bought Dale a beer. Jim was getting concerned listening to people in the bar talking about the trains not running. I called Amtrak a few times and today's train was canceled. I finally got a little more info. This train starts in Seattle and runs to Chicago. Today's train could not go any further than Spokane due to rock slides in Idaho!! Amtrak says that they plan on running tomorrow, but who knows.... I worked on some other transportation possibilities. Glasgow has one rental car company but they don't have an available car (he would have driven to Minot for his plane).
We do have one Plan B. If the train doesn't run, he will have Orbitz change his reservation to fly out of Glasgow to Denver and then to Newark - a full day of traveling, but at least he can get home.
Then Dale drove Jim .4 mile off his route to the town park and he set up his tent in the park and recharged all his equipment. The restroom does have a shower so that will be good tomorrow. Back at the bar, a fellow customer let Jim use her phone to call me and I gave him the Plan B info and we are just hoping that he doesn't need it. Debby then told him she had called Amtrak and they said that the train WAS NOT running tomorrow - the opposite of what they told me - UGH!!!
Miles Today - 16.....Total Cumulative Miles - 397
Thurs., June 16 - Jim wasn't able to call until around 3pm while I was in Philadelphia waiting in line to see the Liberty Bell (on a college tour trip with Marcia & Mason). Jim was at the Glasgow train station, using a pay phone there. As of then, the train was going to run, but an hour behind. That is no big deal - we are just grateful that the train is running!
He said that it had rained all night - waking him up on and off. When he got up at 5am, the rain had stopped and the sky was overcast. He was surprised to see that his tent rain fly had come free from the stake due to wind, allowing rain to come in on that side of the tent. He says he will need to be more careful on his tie downs in the future - lesson learned. The foot of his sleeping bag was wet on the outside, but it did not penetrate. It was a good thing that this was the last night he needed it - he won't be able to dry it out until he gets home.
He left camp just before 7:30 with good temps and he soon shed his fleeces. Today's hike was marred by an attack of gnats - swarming his face, eyes, ears and biting - very irksome. Even the strong DEET did nothing to dispel the swarms. He had no choice but to keep going without a rest stop, arriving in Glasgow around noon - THE END OF THE LINE FOR THIS HIKE!!! He stopped at a local restaurant and filled his belly then on to the train station - arriving around 1pm. Amtrak does not man this station, but the freight line Burlington Northern does. They have access to the Amtrak status and confirmed that the train was running, but was an hour late so far.
He camped in the station waiting room and heard snippets of conversation from others finding out that the train continued to be delayed. So.... 5.5 hours later, he boarded the train at 6:29pm (originally scheduled for 3:47). On a side note, Jim decided to find a spot near the station to try and hide his fuel canister for the Sept. hike If you remember from the initial blog, his fuel was confiscated by the airline. He found a 1-foot spot between two buildings with small stones that could be moved. So he dug it out a little (no one around) and basically buried the canister and covered it with the stones - invisible to anyone looking at it - 50 feet away from the waiting room. Will it really be there for him in Sept??? Apparently he had thought about this for days previously and said "sometimes you just have to try something".
Jim didn't get much sleep on the train because as it got dark, they were no longer announcing the various stations and he was afraid he might miss his station.
Jim did say how interesting it was for the first 100 miles or so to see from the train the areas and towns that he had walked through earlier. He could also see much evidence of the flooding of the Missouri River and its tributaries along the way. All of the river banks were flooding the adjacent valley fields. He could even see water along the tracks - apparently not enough to stop the train.
Miles Today - 14.5....Total Cumulative Miles - 411.5 (THE END!!!)
Fri., June 17 - The train continued to lose time in route and finally arrived in Minot at 1:20am - 4 hours late!!!
Unfortunately, he still had no cell coverage so he couldn't call the taxi company that he has previously arranged. He started to walk and saw the police station. He went in and asked directions to the airport and checked on the safety of the route - no problem according to the police. Two miles later he walked into the airport and waited the three hours for his 5am flight.
His connection in Minneapolis went much better than mine did two weeks ago. I had stayed at a Philadelphia hotel with Marcia & Mason and they took the train home to CT this morning and I picked Jim up at the airport around 11am and we headed for home stopping for lunch at Applebees. When we got home, Jim spread out all of his wet gear and got his dirty clothes into the washer. Then Jim took a 3-hour nap!!! He really needed to catch up on the missed sleep from last night.
This was a challenging hike and Jim is happy to be home, but at the same time looking forward to planning his Sept. hike.
Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. Jim really appreciates them all. He is looking forward to reading both the blog and your comments. As usual, Jim will send out his hike epilogue (always my favorite to read) when he can gather his thoughts.
Mean
Jim called around 11am when he was 6 miles into his trip (by luck, he had some level of cell coverage - not great reception but better than nothing). As expected, the headwind was not helping at all. He said that he was 10 minutes into his trip and realized that he had forgotten his water bottles in the room refrigerator. So back he went - lost 20 minutes. When he called, the skies were just beginning to clear and the sun was coming out.
Jim called at 5pm from the church in Frazer - he arrived on schedule and met Father Jolly who let him into the church basement for his night's stay. He had to use Father Jolly's cell phone to call me, since Jim had no reception on his. We didn't talk long but he said that he made it without incident today - 7 1/2 hours. The church basement will be a fine place to spend the night - restroom and electricity for charging reader and phone. Unfortunately, no phone for me to call him like I did in the Poplar church.
I don't like that we can't talk tonight, but at least I know that he is safe. Hopefully he will have some level of cell coverage tomorrow.
Miles Today - 20.....Total Cumulative Miles - 381
Wed., June 15 - Jim was able to call around 11:30am, when he got to the top of a hill and had reception. At that point he was about 4 miles away from Nashua. He did fine in the church basement, although he found it a bit chilly. He decided to spend most of the time upstairs in the carpeted church vestibule, which was much warmer. he only went downstairs for the restroom.
Today was his earliest yet to get on the road - up at 4:15am, seeing a full moon on the horizon - absolutely beautiful and on the way at 5:45am. He met a bicyclist (Mike) who was towing a wagon and was traveling from Seattle to Milwaukee! He mentioned that he had stayed in the Nashua town park (where Jim is headed) and it was quite nice. He also mentioned that there was a convenience store right next to the park. Later on he met two more bicyclists (the Smith brothers) who were cycling from Tacoma, WA to Vermont. They swapped blog addresses! Jim said it was fun to see fellow road warriors along his way. Today is a gorgeous sunny day, not a cloud in the sky and comfortably cool. One disturbing thing he noticed was that unlike the previous days, he noticed absolutely no freight train traffic today. He even saw a railroad maintenance truck going down the tracks eastbound - seems to mean that the tracks are shut down - does not bode well for tomorrow's planned trip to Minot.
Jim reached Nashua, MT just before 11:30 - over 5.5 hours without a break. He found the Wagon Wheel Bar but it wasn't open yet. The owner's wife, Tracy, arrived and let Jim use her phone to call me. She also let him give me the phone # so I could call him a couple of times to give him Amtrak updates. Tracy also GAVE him a large bowl of piping hot chicken and wild rice soup - homemade & delicious!
Then he met the bartender, Debby and her friend Dale - got to talking and Jim bought Dale a beer. Jim was getting concerned listening to people in the bar talking about the trains not running. I called Amtrak a few times and today's train was canceled. I finally got a little more info. This train starts in Seattle and runs to Chicago. Today's train could not go any further than Spokane due to rock slides in Idaho!! Amtrak says that they plan on running tomorrow, but who knows.... I worked on some other transportation possibilities. Glasgow has one rental car company but they don't have an available car (he would have driven to Minot for his plane).
We do have one Plan B. If the train doesn't run, he will have Orbitz change his reservation to fly out of Glasgow to Denver and then to Newark - a full day of traveling, but at least he can get home.
Then Dale drove Jim .4 mile off his route to the town park and he set up his tent in the park and recharged all his equipment. The restroom does have a shower so that will be good tomorrow. Back at the bar, a fellow customer let Jim use her phone to call me and I gave him the Plan B info and we are just hoping that he doesn't need it. Debby then told him she had called Amtrak and they said that the train WAS NOT running tomorrow - the opposite of what they told me - UGH!!!
Miles Today - 16.....Total Cumulative Miles - 397
Thurs., June 16 - Jim wasn't able to call until around 3pm while I was in Philadelphia waiting in line to see the Liberty Bell (on a college tour trip with Marcia & Mason). Jim was at the Glasgow train station, using a pay phone there. As of then, the train was going to run, but an hour behind. That is no big deal - we are just grateful that the train is running!
He said that it had rained all night - waking him up on and off. When he got up at 5am, the rain had stopped and the sky was overcast. He was surprised to see that his tent rain fly had come free from the stake due to wind, allowing rain to come in on that side of the tent. He says he will need to be more careful on his tie downs in the future - lesson learned. The foot of his sleeping bag was wet on the outside, but it did not penetrate. It was a good thing that this was the last night he needed it - he won't be able to dry it out until he gets home.
He left camp just before 7:30 with good temps and he soon shed his fleeces. Today's hike was marred by an attack of gnats - swarming his face, eyes, ears and biting - very irksome. Even the strong DEET did nothing to dispel the swarms. He had no choice but to keep going without a rest stop, arriving in Glasgow around noon - THE END OF THE LINE FOR THIS HIKE!!! He stopped at a local restaurant and filled his belly then on to the train station - arriving around 1pm. Amtrak does not man this station, but the freight line Burlington Northern does. They have access to the Amtrak status and confirmed that the train was running, but was an hour late so far.
He camped in the station waiting room and heard snippets of conversation from others finding out that the train continued to be delayed. So.... 5.5 hours later, he boarded the train at 6:29pm (originally scheduled for 3:47). On a side note, Jim decided to find a spot near the station to try and hide his fuel canister for the Sept. hike If you remember from the initial blog, his fuel was confiscated by the airline. He found a 1-foot spot between two buildings with small stones that could be moved. So he dug it out a little (no one around) and basically buried the canister and covered it with the stones - invisible to anyone looking at it - 50 feet away from the waiting room. Will it really be there for him in Sept??? Apparently he had thought about this for days previously and said "sometimes you just have to try something".
Jim didn't get much sleep on the train because as it got dark, they were no longer announcing the various stations and he was afraid he might miss his station.
Jim did say how interesting it was for the first 100 miles or so to see from the train the areas and towns that he had walked through earlier. He could also see much evidence of the flooding of the Missouri River and its tributaries along the way. All of the river banks were flooding the adjacent valley fields. He could even see water along the tracks - apparently not enough to stop the train.
Miles Today - 14.5....Total Cumulative Miles - 411.5 (THE END!!!)
Fri., June 17 - The train continued to lose time in route and finally arrived in Minot at 1:20am - 4 hours late!!!
Unfortunately, he still had no cell coverage so he couldn't call the taxi company that he has previously arranged. He started to walk and saw the police station. He went in and asked directions to the airport and checked on the safety of the route - no problem according to the police. Two miles later he walked into the airport and waited the three hours for his 5am flight.
His connection in Minneapolis went much better than mine did two weeks ago. I had stayed at a Philadelphia hotel with Marcia & Mason and they took the train home to CT this morning and I picked Jim up at the airport around 11am and we headed for home stopping for lunch at Applebees. When we got home, Jim spread out all of his wet gear and got his dirty clothes into the washer. Then Jim took a 3-hour nap!!! He really needed to catch up on the missed sleep from last night.
This was a challenging hike and Jim is happy to be home, but at the same time looking forward to planning his Sept. hike.
Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes. Jim really appreciates them all. He is looking forward to reading both the blog and your comments. As usual, Jim will send out his hike epilogue (always my favorite to read) when he can gather his thoughts.
Mean
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Days 22 thru 25 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Fri., June 10 - GREETINGS FROM CT WHERE I AM FOR THE WEEKEND. Jim called about 8:15 and said it was raining and he was inside his tent. He can't really pack up very well in this weather. He will probably stay put for a while hoping that it will clear. He did say that the trains woke him up several times during the night.
He called at 11am (9 his time) and he was on his way. The rain had stopped, the clouds were clearing and the sun was coming out. He plans to head to the local diner for a hearty breakfast before heading out. The temp is comfortable and he said it feels like a good day. His pack is heavy from the re-supply package but he'll deal with it. He said there were lots of puddles so he was trying to avoid them - he does not need wet feet!
He passed a sign that read "Regina, Canada - 24-Hour Entry - Take 2nd Right". He said he didn't realize he was that close to Canada (uh, shouldn't a hiker know that?). Later I googled it and he was actually 48 miles from Canada.
My cell phone rang with a call from Jim at 4pm, but sadly no connection. I did not hear from him the rest of the day or night - never a good thing on my end. I sure hope he made it to Karen & Milo's in Brockton for his planned stay in their back yard.
The rest of today's info comes from calls on Saturday.... Jim's breakfast at the Wild West Diner was very good and after sharing his story with his waitress (Shelly), she said "Breakfast is on me". This diner is a former dining car from the Burlington Northern Railroad and was trucked to Culbertson in 1957.
Jim did forget to tell me a story from Thursday evening. After he got back to his campsite after dinner, he was sitting down doing a sudoku puzzle. All of a sudden he heard a voice "Sir, sir". There was a woman on the other side of the fence (in her yard). She had a huge bag of food - more than he could possibly carry with him. He explained that he was sorry, but he had just eaten dinner and she seemed so disappointed - another example of kindness to a perfect stranger. Also, Krista & Roy showed up in Culbertson for one more visit with Jim.
Using the map from the Culbertson city hall man, he found Karen & Milo's house and they told him to set up his tent anywhere in the yard. The only people he saw after that were their 4 boys (ages 4 to 10), who were fascinated by Jim and asked lots of questions. They watched every move he made as he set up his campsite.
He said that today was a rough day for coming up with the right combination of clothing - breezy, cloudy, then sunny - it kept changing. He did see lots of road construction, apparently digging ditches for some kind of pipes. Today was a very hilly day for the first time - just one hill after another - tough on his legs, but the tailwind did help.
The best thing about today was THERE WERE NO OIL TANKERS!!! He said it was like someone "flipped a switch" on the trucks. It certainly was a much more pleasant walk being finally out of oil country.
Miles Today - 19.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 325
Sat., June 11 - Thank you, Lord - a call at 9:15am from an unknown number, but the familiar Montana area code. Jim was in a QuikMart and borrowed someones phone - different carrier so there was reception. He knew I would be in a panic and wanted to reassure me that he was fine. We just talked briefly, but he said it was the most noisy night's sleep he has ever had - trains going by, dogs barking and firecrackers going off! He was heading to Poplar, where he will meet up with Father Francis and hopefully still be able to stay in the parish hall.
We talked again briefly at 3:15 when Jim was in Poplar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church with Father Francis. Before going to the church he stopped for a great lunch in town. It happened to be a brand new restaurant just opening today and Jim was the first customer!! Jim still didn't have cell reception, but there was a phone in the hall, so Jim gave me the number so I could call whenever I wanted. Father Francis also expressed concern about Jim camping out in the upcoming towns of Frazer and Nashua. He called the priest in Wolf Point, Father Jolly (pronounced the French way, Jolie). Father Jolly also has responsibility for the church in Frazer and may be able to help him out. Jim called him and they will meet on Monday morning.
We talked in more detail around 5pm. Before I called, Jim had been sitting out on the church hall stoop enjoying the sun. He had cleaned up and washed his clothes and they were drying on a few chairs and walkers that were in the hall.
He said that he woke bright & early this morning and was on the road by 6:30. He said that today was the most perfect day so far. The temp was in the low 60's - perfect hiking weather - he was able to strip down to one shirt fairly early and the sun was at his back.
The bad (although not unexpected) news was that his Teva sandals finally gave out. He will now use the emergency ones (thank you Krista & Roy). He is somewhat concerned since they are not broken in, may feel stiff and may rub in different places.
We talked again at 9:30 and Jim was enjoying his stay in the church hall. Father Francis told Jim to help himself to anything in the kitchen. So Jim explored and found lots of slider rolls and hot dogs in the freezer, so he used his own pot and boiled hot dogs for the slider rolls. He even found Grey Poupon mustard and pickles!! He will get to sleep early tonight since he is expecting a 20+ mile hike tomorrow.
Miles Today - 14.....Total Cumulative Miles - 339
Sun., June 12 - I was driving home today from CT and just as I pulled into a rest stop on the Merritt Parkway, my cell phone rang at 12:45pm. I still can't believe the timing, because I wouldn't have answered the phone if I had been driving!
Jim said he was awakened early by a phone call from an Indian on the reservation looking for a ride to church!! Since he was up, he decided to get an early start (6:45) on the long mileage. But before he left, he went into the church - a very beautiful one - he knelt and prayed for a while. Mass wasn't until 11am, so he couldn't wait that long to get on the road. When he got outside he noticed that it had rained hard overnight because everything was really wet. Fortunately, it had stopped and it was a beautiful sunny day. So far his new sandals are working out fine. He does seem to have another sore spot, but he is doctoring it. He has been watching freight trains go by every 15 minutes - a busy route.
For the first few miles the biggest battle of the day was the mosquitoes. Because of all the rains, the farm fields are basically all under water - a perfect breeding ground. He said at times it felt like a "mosquito blitzkrieg" attacking him. Finally, he got out the big guns - his DEET spray - that seemed to do the trick! When he walked by a cell tower, he decided to try calling and sure enough, it worked.
Jim called at 5:15 and said "guess where I am"? Believe it or not, he was in a motel (Sherman Inn) in Wolf Point. Since he is out of oil country, there are available rooms - an unexpected treat!! This is the first motel in 11 nights. He did say he was really tired. A couple of miles beyond where we talked at 12:45, he came across a bar & grill out in the middle of nowhere - Jim couldn't even tell me what town it was in. He was the only one there and he spent 45 minutes having a beer, resting and talking to the bartender, Biff. He told Jim about the Sherman Inn, which was welcome news. Since he had already planned for Monday to be a rest day, this is now perfect.
He did see something unusual today as he was coming in to Wolf Point - a man (Michael) on a bicycle, towing a wagon with a dog in it! They spent a while talking and Michael has been traveling this way for more than 3 years. He started in California and traveled across the southern tier of the country, then up the east coast and now back across the northern tier. He had gear attached to the wagon so Jim assumes that he is camping. Finally, someone is stranger than my husband!!!
It had just started sprinkling as he came into town, so that is even better that he has a real place to stay for the next two nights. When we talked, it had started raining harder - he made it just in time. I am so happy that he isn't in his tent tonight. He was really looking forward to a shower. He said that his feet are doing fine - the sore spot is no worse - his legs are really tired, but tomorrow's rest day should help that.
We talked again briefly at 7:45 when Jim went outside to test his cell phone (no coverage in the hotel room). He said his legs were now aching terribly - another good reason to rest tomorrow.
Jim called at 9:30 after he had a decent dinner at the hotel restaurant - he was glad he didn't have to go out in the pouring rain for his meal. I did look up the address for the local library so Jim may spend some time there tomorrow.
The hike is down to the last 49 miles - Wolf Point to Glasgow - which God willing, Jim will do on Tues., Wed. and Thurs. So far, Amtrak is scheduled to resume the route he needs on Wed.
Miles Today - 22.....Total Cumulative Miles - 361
Mon., June 13 - REST DAY - We talked briefly at 8am and the sun is out and it looks like a beautiful day to spend in Wolf Point, MT. He slept well in a real bed and was watching CNBC - so he is in his glory this morning.
We didn't talk again until 4:15 because today was a soup kitchen day for me. He sounded wonderful - nice & rested. He said he had a wonderful day so far. He had a good breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then went out to go over to the church to meet with Father Jolly. As it turns out, Father is not French as Jim thought, but Indian (from India, not Native American). This is the priest who also has a small church in Jim's next town, Frazer (an unsafe place to camp). They arranged it so that Father will meet Jim in Frazer at 3pm tomorrow and will unlock the church door for Jim to spend the night inside. This is a 20-mile trip so it is very nice of Father Jolly to make this 40-mile round trip just to help Jim out and to keep him safe. He also told Jim that his last town of Nashua is out of Indian territory and the town park should be very safe.
Jim walked around town quite a bit today - he went to the trains station and got his Thursday train ticket that I had reserved for him. The train person seemed confident that Amtrak would be running on Thursday (he expects it to start up again tomorrow). He found a grocery store in town and bought a sandwich for lunch and some fruit.
Then he went to the library to get on the Internet, but was kicked off after 15 minutes since someone local with a library card wanted to use the PC. He was at least able to respond to a few e-mails. He also spent quite a bit of time on the phone with people in his office.
He is actually planning to go to the movies later in the day. He reports that his legs are feeling great after much rest. He plans to get on the road early tomorrow since it is supposed to be warm & sunny - he hopes to get most of the walk done before it is too warm for him.
We talked around 9:15 and Jim highly recommends the movie "Water for Elephants". It is based on a book that is actually on my "want to Read" list! He says it is "not to be missed" - a wonderful story and very well acted. All in all, he has a had a great day of rest and relaxation.
My phone rang just after I hung up from Jim and it was actually Roy & Krista and they just wanted to check in to see how Jim was doing. Can you believe that!!! I was so happy to be able to thank them for taking such good care of him and driving him to get new sandals. I told them that his original sandals did break, so it was a real blessing that they came along when they did.
I did call Jim later after he got back from dinner in the hotel (a great grilled walleye) to tell him about Roy & Krista's call. He was very surprised and so touched that they cared enough to check in on him.
Miles Today - xx.....Total Cumulative Miles - xxxxx
Sun., June 12 - klkk
He called at 11am (9 his time) and he was on his way. The rain had stopped, the clouds were clearing and the sun was coming out. He plans to head to the local diner for a hearty breakfast before heading out. The temp is comfortable and he said it feels like a good day. His pack is heavy from the re-supply package but he'll deal with it. He said there were lots of puddles so he was trying to avoid them - he does not need wet feet!
He passed a sign that read "Regina, Canada - 24-Hour Entry - Take 2nd Right". He said he didn't realize he was that close to Canada (uh, shouldn't a hiker know that?). Later I googled it and he was actually 48 miles from Canada.
My cell phone rang with a call from Jim at 4pm, but sadly no connection. I did not hear from him the rest of the day or night - never a good thing on my end. I sure hope he made it to Karen & Milo's in Brockton for his planned stay in their back yard.
The rest of today's info comes from calls on Saturday.... Jim's breakfast at the Wild West Diner was very good and after sharing his story with his waitress (Shelly), she said "Breakfast is on me". This diner is a former dining car from the Burlington Northern Railroad and was trucked to Culbertson in 1957.
Jim did forget to tell me a story from Thursday evening. After he got back to his campsite after dinner, he was sitting down doing a sudoku puzzle. All of a sudden he heard a voice "Sir, sir". There was a woman on the other side of the fence (in her yard). She had a huge bag of food - more than he could possibly carry with him. He explained that he was sorry, but he had just eaten dinner and she seemed so disappointed - another example of kindness to a perfect stranger. Also, Krista & Roy showed up in Culbertson for one more visit with Jim.
Using the map from the Culbertson city hall man, he found Karen & Milo's house and they told him to set up his tent anywhere in the yard. The only people he saw after that were their 4 boys (ages 4 to 10), who were fascinated by Jim and asked lots of questions. They watched every move he made as he set up his campsite.
He said that today was a rough day for coming up with the right combination of clothing - breezy, cloudy, then sunny - it kept changing. He did see lots of road construction, apparently digging ditches for some kind of pipes. Today was a very hilly day for the first time - just one hill after another - tough on his legs, but the tailwind did help.
The best thing about today was THERE WERE NO OIL TANKERS!!! He said it was like someone "flipped a switch" on the trucks. It certainly was a much more pleasant walk being finally out of oil country.
Miles Today - 19.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 325
Sat., June 11 - Thank you, Lord - a call at 9:15am from an unknown number, but the familiar Montana area code. Jim was in a QuikMart and borrowed someones phone - different carrier so there was reception. He knew I would be in a panic and wanted to reassure me that he was fine. We just talked briefly, but he said it was the most noisy night's sleep he has ever had - trains going by, dogs barking and firecrackers going off! He was heading to Poplar, where he will meet up with Father Francis and hopefully still be able to stay in the parish hall.
We talked again briefly at 3:15 when Jim was in Poplar at Our Lady of Lourdes Church with Father Francis. Before going to the church he stopped for a great lunch in town. It happened to be a brand new restaurant just opening today and Jim was the first customer!! Jim still didn't have cell reception, but there was a phone in the hall, so Jim gave me the number so I could call whenever I wanted. Father Francis also expressed concern about Jim camping out in the upcoming towns of Frazer and Nashua. He called the priest in Wolf Point, Father Jolly (pronounced the French way, Jolie). Father Jolly also has responsibility for the church in Frazer and may be able to help him out. Jim called him and they will meet on Monday morning.
We talked in more detail around 5pm. Before I called, Jim had been sitting out on the church hall stoop enjoying the sun. He had cleaned up and washed his clothes and they were drying on a few chairs and walkers that were in the hall.
He said that he woke bright & early this morning and was on the road by 6:30. He said that today was the most perfect day so far. The temp was in the low 60's - perfect hiking weather - he was able to strip down to one shirt fairly early and the sun was at his back.
The bad (although not unexpected) news was that his Teva sandals finally gave out. He will now use the emergency ones (thank you Krista & Roy). He is somewhat concerned since they are not broken in, may feel stiff and may rub in different places.
We talked again at 9:30 and Jim was enjoying his stay in the church hall. Father Francis told Jim to help himself to anything in the kitchen. So Jim explored and found lots of slider rolls and hot dogs in the freezer, so he used his own pot and boiled hot dogs for the slider rolls. He even found Grey Poupon mustard and pickles!! He will get to sleep early tonight since he is expecting a 20+ mile hike tomorrow.
Miles Today - 14.....Total Cumulative Miles - 339
Sun., June 12 - I was driving home today from CT and just as I pulled into a rest stop on the Merritt Parkway, my cell phone rang at 12:45pm. I still can't believe the timing, because I wouldn't have answered the phone if I had been driving!
Jim said he was awakened early by a phone call from an Indian on the reservation looking for a ride to church!! Since he was up, he decided to get an early start (6:45) on the long mileage. But before he left, he went into the church - a very beautiful one - he knelt and prayed for a while. Mass wasn't until 11am, so he couldn't wait that long to get on the road. When he got outside he noticed that it had rained hard overnight because everything was really wet. Fortunately, it had stopped and it was a beautiful sunny day. So far his new sandals are working out fine. He does seem to have another sore spot, but he is doctoring it. He has been watching freight trains go by every 15 minutes - a busy route.
For the first few miles the biggest battle of the day was the mosquitoes. Because of all the rains, the farm fields are basically all under water - a perfect breeding ground. He said at times it felt like a "mosquito blitzkrieg" attacking him. Finally, he got out the big guns - his DEET spray - that seemed to do the trick! When he walked by a cell tower, he decided to try calling and sure enough, it worked.
Jim called at 5:15 and said "guess where I am"? Believe it or not, he was in a motel (Sherman Inn) in Wolf Point. Since he is out of oil country, there are available rooms - an unexpected treat!! This is the first motel in 11 nights. He did say he was really tired. A couple of miles beyond where we talked at 12:45, he came across a bar & grill out in the middle of nowhere - Jim couldn't even tell me what town it was in. He was the only one there and he spent 45 minutes having a beer, resting and talking to the bartender, Biff. He told Jim about the Sherman Inn, which was welcome news. Since he had already planned for Monday to be a rest day, this is now perfect.
He did see something unusual today as he was coming in to Wolf Point - a man (Michael) on a bicycle, towing a wagon with a dog in it! They spent a while talking and Michael has been traveling this way for more than 3 years. He started in California and traveled across the southern tier of the country, then up the east coast and now back across the northern tier. He had gear attached to the wagon so Jim assumes that he is camping. Finally, someone is stranger than my husband!!!
It had just started sprinkling as he came into town, so that is even better that he has a real place to stay for the next two nights. When we talked, it had started raining harder - he made it just in time. I am so happy that he isn't in his tent tonight. He was really looking forward to a shower. He said that his feet are doing fine - the sore spot is no worse - his legs are really tired, but tomorrow's rest day should help that.
We talked again briefly at 7:45 when Jim went outside to test his cell phone (no coverage in the hotel room). He said his legs were now aching terribly - another good reason to rest tomorrow.
Jim called at 9:30 after he had a decent dinner at the hotel restaurant - he was glad he didn't have to go out in the pouring rain for his meal. I did look up the address for the local library so Jim may spend some time there tomorrow.
The hike is down to the last 49 miles - Wolf Point to Glasgow - which God willing, Jim will do on Tues., Wed. and Thurs. So far, Amtrak is scheduled to resume the route he needs on Wed.
Miles Today - 22.....Total Cumulative Miles - 361
Mon., June 13 - REST DAY - We talked briefly at 8am and the sun is out and it looks like a beautiful day to spend in Wolf Point, MT. He slept well in a real bed and was watching CNBC - so he is in his glory this morning.
We didn't talk again until 4:15 because today was a soup kitchen day for me. He sounded wonderful - nice & rested. He said he had a wonderful day so far. He had a good breakfast at the hotel restaurant and then went out to go over to the church to meet with Father Jolly. As it turns out, Father is not French as Jim thought, but Indian (from India, not Native American). This is the priest who also has a small church in Jim's next town, Frazer (an unsafe place to camp). They arranged it so that Father will meet Jim in Frazer at 3pm tomorrow and will unlock the church door for Jim to spend the night inside. This is a 20-mile trip so it is very nice of Father Jolly to make this 40-mile round trip just to help Jim out and to keep him safe. He also told Jim that his last town of Nashua is out of Indian territory and the town park should be very safe.
Jim walked around town quite a bit today - he went to the trains station and got his Thursday train ticket that I had reserved for him. The train person seemed confident that Amtrak would be running on Thursday (he expects it to start up again tomorrow). He found a grocery store in town and bought a sandwich for lunch and some fruit.
Then he went to the library to get on the Internet, but was kicked off after 15 minutes since someone local with a library card wanted to use the PC. He was at least able to respond to a few e-mails. He also spent quite a bit of time on the phone with people in his office.
He is actually planning to go to the movies later in the day. He reports that his legs are feeling great after much rest. He plans to get on the road early tomorrow since it is supposed to be warm & sunny - he hopes to get most of the walk done before it is too warm for him.
We talked around 9:15 and Jim highly recommends the movie "Water for Elephants". It is based on a book that is actually on my "want to Read" list! He says it is "not to be missed" - a wonderful story and very well acted. All in all, he has a had a great day of rest and relaxation.
My phone rang just after I hung up from Jim and it was actually Roy & Krista and they just wanted to check in to see how Jim was doing. Can you believe that!!! I was so happy to be able to thank them for taking such good care of him and driving him to get new sandals. I told them that his original sandals did break, so it was a real blessing that they came along when they did.
I did call Jim later after he got back from dinner in the hotel (a great grilled walleye) to tell him about Roy & Krista's call. He was very surprised and so touched that they cared enough to check in on him.
Miles Today - xx.....Total Cumulative Miles - xxxxx
Sun., June 12 - klkk
Monday, June 6, 2011
Days 18 thru 21 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Mon., June 6 - Jim called again last night after I posted for the day. He just had to share one more story. A man and his dog stopped by Jim's picnic table to tell him that he might get wet. It seems that the park has irrigation sprinklers and he warned him they would probably go on in his spot. So Jim moved his tent about 20 feet away and hoped for the best. He also said that his feet have felt better on this trip than on any other hike - now the sandals just have to last!
We talked around 8am and Jim reported that it was a beautiful day - not at all like the forecast. It was bright & sunny and he was waiting for the post office to open. As far as he could tell, the sprinklers did not go on last night.
We did not talk again until around 5:30pm my time (3:30 in Montana). Yes, he said goodbye to State #10 today and crossed the Yellowstone River into Fairview, Montana. Actually the river was not the state boundary as he expected - the "Welcome to Montana" sign was actually about 3 miles from the bridge. And this bridge had a very wide shoulder, so much safer for pedestrian traffic. The first thing he said today was that it had been a tough day and there was no way he could walk tomorrow! This was not the planned rest day, but I guess you have to be flexible. His legs are very tired, so I guess 3 days of 20+ miles has caught up with him. He is at a great park in town - with a swimming pool (about 150 kids in it at the moment), showers, restroom and picnic tables. The bad news is that all of the facilities close at 8pm - so no restroom after then. There is also a choice of restaurants in town, so this won't be a bad place to spend an extra day.
His visit to the Alexander post office was successful - his re-supply package and 4 notes awaited him - thank you, Marcia P, Carol G, Sandy R and John G - you are so kind to think of the weary traveler. Today was another cloudless sky with the sun beating down all day.
His instructions ahead of time were to check in at City Hall to let them know he was camping in the park. While we were talking he was waiting for someone to get back to the office (a note on the door said back at 4pm). She arrived and he hung up for a few minutes and then called me back. He started the conversation with today's moral - "Ask and you shall receive". He told the woman about his restroom/shower dilemma. She called the swimming pool manager and sure enough they are going to make special provisions for "Hiker Jim".
We talked again briefly at 7pm and he had his tent set up right next to a really long picnic table. This will be perfect for resting tomorrow. He was about to head to the Double Barrel Saloon & Casino and then on to dinner somewhere.
We talked again at 9:15 and the Saloon turned out to not only be a decent bar (great happy hour prices), but also an excellent steakhouse restaurant - wonderful dinner. He said he was very disappointed in his body (mainly legs) but his new motto is "one day at a time". He does think that a day off his legs tomorrow will do wonders for him. How strange that on most hikes it is his feet that cause problems, but they have been fine this time.
Miles Today - 22.....Total Cumulative Miles - 263.5
Tues., June 7 - REST DAY ....We talked around 10am after Jim had a great breakfast at the local cafe - a really busy place. He slept well last night until a thunderstorm woke him up. He did get back to sleep, but it must have rained for a while since there were big puddles everywhere this morning. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time he wanted to get going. The wind was strong enough to dry out his tent from last night's storm.
One interesting thing he noticed in the cafe were two groups of 4 men each playing cribbage (one of our favorites) at tables. The cribbage boards and cards are furnished by the cafe - he suspects that it is a daily occurrence. As expected the pool house at the park opened at 6am (water aerobics) so Jim was able to take his shower nice and early. So far, his legs are feeling fine. He was also able to read a newspaper at the cafe - something he really misses while away.
He did remember to tell me a story from a few days ago. He was coming out of Grassy Butte (in the Badlands) and saw a sign "Big Horn Sheep Crossing Next Five Miles". I cannot say that I have ever seen such a sign! I did ask him if he ever found out how the Badlands got that name. He did see it on a sign - the early French (from Canada) explorers called this area "Bad land to cross". At some point it must have been shortened.
Jim called at 1pm and said "I'm not happy" - what now thinks Jane. Well... his stove is not working all of a sudden - CRITICAL PROBLEM - no stove, no hot water, no hot water, no cooked food. It worked fine the last time he used it. There is really no way to tell if it is the stove or the fuel canister. He is expecting a new fuel canister at the next P.O. in Culbertson on Thursday. So... off goes Jane to Eastern Mountain Sports to buy a new stove (talked to Jim while there to make sure I got the right one). Then home to pack it up - then to the P.O. to express mail it to Culbertson. So much for what I planned to do this afternoon!
Since he is in town for a meal tonight and breakfast tomorrow, he will only miss one cooked meal tomorrow night when he is camped wherever - also will miss his coffee or tea and hot water for washing up (YUCK). Hopefully he can get a sandwich before leaving town to take with him for the evening.
We talked again at 3:30 so I could tell him I had been successful. He had walked to a local grocery store for a banana and apple for his lunch - fruit is a rare treat on the hike, so he was happy. He spent much of the day in his tent reading and doing sudoku since it was too cold to sit at the picnic table. I could hear the tent flapping in the wind as we talked.
We talked again at 9:15pm after Jim got back from the restaurant - another great dinner. He said it was really cold there - he plans to bundle up in his tent - he actually wore 5 layers to go to dinner. Tonight he met a very nice couple at the bar (Ken & Carolyn) and he really enjoyed his conversation with them. They are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary this week - CONGRATS! Yes, they did ask to be added to hike distribution. Ken is a retired history teacher and he told Jim that he would really enjoy the Fort Union National Historic Site, which Jim is planning to visit on Wed.
Ken & Carolyn also said that their daughter lives in western Montana and they should keep them in the loop as he plans hiking in the rest of Montana - she will probably be able to help him with a place to stay - people sure are incredible.
It did rain while he was in the restaurant but stopped before he left to go back to his tent. Of course, now everything in town is all messy and muddy. He said that Fairview reminds him exactly of what a TV western town looked like. I was able to report the successful Red Sox score to Jim as we were talking.
Wed., June 8 - We talked briefly at 8:15am while Jim was heading to breakfast. He said the temp was 48 and mostly cloudy, although he could see a few breaks of possible sun. He was looking forward to a great walk today, although he was expecting to still have a lot of truck traffic - doesn't know when that will end.
Jim left me a message at 3:45 when he was about 2 miles beyond Fort Union. He said he spent about 2 hours (guess he did like it) there and that he was feeling well after the rest.
However... the ranger at Fort Union told him something VERY DISTURBING. The train that Jim plans to take from Glasgow, MT to Minot, ND (for his flight home) has not been running due to serious flooding issues. This is even more critical than the non-working stove - at least I could send him another one. Based on the message, I spent a lot of time on the phone with Amtrak. As of now, they hope to resume service on June 14, but it is a day to day decision. Jim needs the train on June 16 - sure hope they can resume by then. I have no idea what we would do to get him home if the train isn't running.
We had no more contact today other than a few aborted phone calls which indicated bad service. I did get a text message that said "OK". I guess I have to be satisfied with that.
Unexpectedly I got a call from Jim at 8:30pm - "Guess where I am - in a pickup truck with Ron & Krista". R&K are the couple from the Alexander Park who were about to get married (they did on Monday). They drove by Jim while he was walking and recognized him and stopped to chat. They told him they had rented a camper in Bainville, MT, which was up the road about 3 more miles. They offered him the use of their shower, which was much appreciated. He still didn't have cell coverage, so they drove him far enough to get coverage and he was able to briefly tell me the details of the day. Today was the longest mileage of the hike so far - 27 miles, the last 15 on a gravel road - not so pleasant in his sandals. He was having trouble finding a place to pitch his tent - nothing but farm fields and oil rigs. R&K told him that there was nice park in Bainville so that is why he went so far. R&K had cell coverage, so we arranged for me to call them after they all got settled at the local bar, which I did at 9:30. Jim said he had a good day today - chilly in the morning, but no wind, so that helped a lot. He talked a lot about Fort Union National Historic Site - he really liked it a lot. A ranger there (Woody) has hiked some of the Appalachian Trail so they had a lot to talk about. The role of Fort Union was as a major trading post for the Indians and fur companies in the 1830-1850's. It was totally torn down in 1867 in order to build Fort Buford. then it was rebuilt in the 1980's based on historical pictures and data. Jim said it was a fascinating snippet of history.
He also mentioned that he is quite concerned about his sandals lasting - they are getting quite worn in places - that would really be an issue.
Miles Today - 27.....Total Cumulative Miles - 290.5
Thurs., June 9 - First thing I did was check Amtrak and now they are not resuming service until June 15, one day before Jim needs to get his train. Hopefully this date will stay solid. We talked about 9am (my time). Apparently last night Ron & Krista decided to drive Jim to Williston, ND (about 1/2 hour) today to go to WalMart and buy an emergency pair of sandals! Since it is a 24-hour WalMart, they arranged to pick Jim up at his tent at 6am - they arrived at 5:30!! They bought the sandals and were at a breakfast place in Williston when he called to reassure me about his footwear.
We talked again about 12:15 and after R&K dropped in back in Bainville, he dried out his tent and got on the road a little after 9am. It was sunny with a brisk tail wind moving him along. He was shedding layers as he went. There seemed to be a lot less oil tanker traffic so far today. He hung up when he saw a bicyclist coming toward him because he wanted to talk to him. He called back a little while later. The cyclist had seen Jim when he went by in his van and stopped the van and took his bicycle out of the van and rode back to Jim just to chat. They walked together back to his van (about a mile away) so they could talk. His name is Doug and he is a retired diplomat from Ontario. He told Jim that he just likes to travel around seeing things, which is why he wasn't on a major highway. He was in the general area to attend a wedding and visit a sick brother, but was also just traveling around. He told Jim he was a great believer in "living the unexpected" (sound like anyone we all know?). Doug really enjoyed Jim's story.
He said that today was a gorgeous day so far and the road has a decent shoulder to walk on - always a plus.
We talked again around 5:30 and he was in Culbertson after about a 5 hour walk. The clouds had moved in mid day so the first thing he did was set up his tent in the town park next to a picnic table which was under a roof. He wanted to get the tent up quickly since it was looking like it might rain. Then he went to the post office and his re-supply package was there, along with the new stove and 5 letters (thank you, Sheri K, Carol G, Mary S and Sandy R).
He then went to check in with City Hall as he had been instructed to do. He got to chatting with the woman working there and told her his upcoming route - Culbertson to Brockton on Friday and then to Poplar on Saturday. She said "be careful" since you will be on the Indian reservation (which he knew) and apparently there are a few people who don't have enough to do, so they might bother people camping there. I have always worried about this portion of the trip. Jim told her that more than one person had cautioned him, but what choice did he have. She and another man in the office decided they were going to "fix it". She called her priest at the Catholic church in Brockton to see if he could help and sure enough, he said Jim could stay in the parish hall. He has the priest's name and phone # and is supposed to call when he gets to town. Then the man said he knew someone in Poplar. Sure enough he called and Karen & Milo will let him set up his tent in her yard or he might even want to sleep in their shed. He has directions and it is only about 1/2 mile off his route. It sure sounds a lot safer than the original plan of tenting in an unknown place.
Jim said his legs are tired as he expected they would be after yesterday's long day of walking.
We talked again briefly around 9pm after Jim had the "most delicious cheeseburger he has ever had" at a local bar & grill. There had been a brief rain shower but it stopped before he went to dinner. I could hear chatty birds in the background as well as a couple of freight trains.
Miles Today - 15.....Total Cumulative Miles - 305.50
We talked around 8am and Jim reported that it was a beautiful day - not at all like the forecast. It was bright & sunny and he was waiting for the post office to open. As far as he could tell, the sprinklers did not go on last night.
We did not talk again until around 5:30pm my time (3:30 in Montana). Yes, he said goodbye to State #10 today and crossed the Yellowstone River into Fairview, Montana. Actually the river was not the state boundary as he expected - the "Welcome to Montana" sign was actually about 3 miles from the bridge. And this bridge had a very wide shoulder, so much safer for pedestrian traffic. The first thing he said today was that it had been a tough day and there was no way he could walk tomorrow! This was not the planned rest day, but I guess you have to be flexible. His legs are very tired, so I guess 3 days of 20+ miles has caught up with him. He is at a great park in town - with a swimming pool (about 150 kids in it at the moment), showers, restroom and picnic tables. The bad news is that all of the facilities close at 8pm - so no restroom after then. There is also a choice of restaurants in town, so this won't be a bad place to spend an extra day.
His visit to the Alexander post office was successful - his re-supply package and 4 notes awaited him - thank you, Marcia P, Carol G, Sandy R and John G - you are so kind to think of the weary traveler. Today was another cloudless sky with the sun beating down all day.
His instructions ahead of time were to check in at City Hall to let them know he was camping in the park. While we were talking he was waiting for someone to get back to the office (a note on the door said back at 4pm). She arrived and he hung up for a few minutes and then called me back. He started the conversation with today's moral - "Ask and you shall receive". He told the woman about his restroom/shower dilemma. She called the swimming pool manager and sure enough they are going to make special provisions for "Hiker Jim".
We talked again briefly at 7pm and he had his tent set up right next to a really long picnic table. This will be perfect for resting tomorrow. He was about to head to the Double Barrel Saloon & Casino and then on to dinner somewhere.
We talked again at 9:15 and the Saloon turned out to not only be a decent bar (great happy hour prices), but also an excellent steakhouse restaurant - wonderful dinner. He said he was very disappointed in his body (mainly legs) but his new motto is "one day at a time". He does think that a day off his legs tomorrow will do wonders for him. How strange that on most hikes it is his feet that cause problems, but they have been fine this time.
Miles Today - 22.....Total Cumulative Miles - 263.5
Tues., June 7 - REST DAY ....We talked around 10am after Jim had a great breakfast at the local cafe - a really busy place. He slept well last night until a thunderstorm woke him up. He did get back to sleep, but it must have rained for a while since there were big puddles everywhere this morning. Fortunately, the rain had stopped by the time he wanted to get going. The wind was strong enough to dry out his tent from last night's storm.
One interesting thing he noticed in the cafe were two groups of 4 men each playing cribbage (one of our favorites) at tables. The cribbage boards and cards are furnished by the cafe - he suspects that it is a daily occurrence. As expected the pool house at the park opened at 6am (water aerobics) so Jim was able to take his shower nice and early. So far, his legs are feeling fine. He was also able to read a newspaper at the cafe - something he really misses while away.
He did remember to tell me a story from a few days ago. He was coming out of Grassy Butte (in the Badlands) and saw a sign "Big Horn Sheep Crossing Next Five Miles". I cannot say that I have ever seen such a sign! I did ask him if he ever found out how the Badlands got that name. He did see it on a sign - the early French (from Canada) explorers called this area "Bad land to cross". At some point it must have been shortened.
Jim called at 1pm and said "I'm not happy" - what now thinks Jane. Well... his stove is not working all of a sudden - CRITICAL PROBLEM - no stove, no hot water, no hot water, no cooked food. It worked fine the last time he used it. There is really no way to tell if it is the stove or the fuel canister. He is expecting a new fuel canister at the next P.O. in Culbertson on Thursday. So... off goes Jane to Eastern Mountain Sports to buy a new stove (talked to Jim while there to make sure I got the right one). Then home to pack it up - then to the P.O. to express mail it to Culbertson. So much for what I planned to do this afternoon!
Since he is in town for a meal tonight and breakfast tomorrow, he will only miss one cooked meal tomorrow night when he is camped wherever - also will miss his coffee or tea and hot water for washing up (YUCK). Hopefully he can get a sandwich before leaving town to take with him for the evening.
We talked again at 3:30 so I could tell him I had been successful. He had walked to a local grocery store for a banana and apple for his lunch - fruit is a rare treat on the hike, so he was happy. He spent much of the day in his tent reading and doing sudoku since it was too cold to sit at the picnic table. I could hear the tent flapping in the wind as we talked.
We talked again at 9:15pm after Jim got back from the restaurant - another great dinner. He said it was really cold there - he plans to bundle up in his tent - he actually wore 5 layers to go to dinner. Tonight he met a very nice couple at the bar (Ken & Carolyn) and he really enjoyed his conversation with them. They are celebrating their 45th wedding anniversary this week - CONGRATS! Yes, they did ask to be added to hike distribution. Ken is a retired history teacher and he told Jim that he would really enjoy the Fort Union National Historic Site, which Jim is planning to visit on Wed.
Ken & Carolyn also said that their daughter lives in western Montana and they should keep them in the loop as he plans hiking in the rest of Montana - she will probably be able to help him with a place to stay - people sure are incredible.
It did rain while he was in the restaurant but stopped before he left to go back to his tent. Of course, now everything in town is all messy and muddy. He said that Fairview reminds him exactly of what a TV western town looked like. I was able to report the successful Red Sox score to Jim as we were talking.
Wed., June 8 - We talked briefly at 8:15am while Jim was heading to breakfast. He said the temp was 48 and mostly cloudy, although he could see a few breaks of possible sun. He was looking forward to a great walk today, although he was expecting to still have a lot of truck traffic - doesn't know when that will end.
Jim left me a message at 3:45 when he was about 2 miles beyond Fort Union. He said he spent about 2 hours (guess he did like it) there and that he was feeling well after the rest.
However... the ranger at Fort Union told him something VERY DISTURBING. The train that Jim plans to take from Glasgow, MT to Minot, ND (for his flight home) has not been running due to serious flooding issues. This is even more critical than the non-working stove - at least I could send him another one. Based on the message, I spent a lot of time on the phone with Amtrak. As of now, they hope to resume service on June 14, but it is a day to day decision. Jim needs the train on June 16 - sure hope they can resume by then. I have no idea what we would do to get him home if the train isn't running.
We had no more contact today other than a few aborted phone calls which indicated bad service. I did get a text message that said "OK". I guess I have to be satisfied with that.
Unexpectedly I got a call from Jim at 8:30pm - "Guess where I am - in a pickup truck with Ron & Krista". R&K are the couple from the Alexander Park who were about to get married (they did on Monday). They drove by Jim while he was walking and recognized him and stopped to chat. They told him they had rented a camper in Bainville, MT, which was up the road about 3 more miles. They offered him the use of their shower, which was much appreciated. He still didn't have cell coverage, so they drove him far enough to get coverage and he was able to briefly tell me the details of the day. Today was the longest mileage of the hike so far - 27 miles, the last 15 on a gravel road - not so pleasant in his sandals. He was having trouble finding a place to pitch his tent - nothing but farm fields and oil rigs. R&K told him that there was nice park in Bainville so that is why he went so far. R&K had cell coverage, so we arranged for me to call them after they all got settled at the local bar, which I did at 9:30. Jim said he had a good day today - chilly in the morning, but no wind, so that helped a lot. He talked a lot about Fort Union National Historic Site - he really liked it a lot. A ranger there (Woody) has hiked some of the Appalachian Trail so they had a lot to talk about. The role of Fort Union was as a major trading post for the Indians and fur companies in the 1830-1850's. It was totally torn down in 1867 in order to build Fort Buford. then it was rebuilt in the 1980's based on historical pictures and data. Jim said it was a fascinating snippet of history.
He also mentioned that he is quite concerned about his sandals lasting - they are getting quite worn in places - that would really be an issue.
Miles Today - 27.....Total Cumulative Miles - 290.5
Thurs., June 9 - First thing I did was check Amtrak and now they are not resuming service until June 15, one day before Jim needs to get his train. Hopefully this date will stay solid. We talked about 9am (my time). Apparently last night Ron & Krista decided to drive Jim to Williston, ND (about 1/2 hour) today to go to WalMart and buy an emergency pair of sandals! Since it is a 24-hour WalMart, they arranged to pick Jim up at his tent at 6am - they arrived at 5:30!! They bought the sandals and were at a breakfast place in Williston when he called to reassure me about his footwear.
We talked again about 12:15 and after R&K dropped in back in Bainville, he dried out his tent and got on the road a little after 9am. It was sunny with a brisk tail wind moving him along. He was shedding layers as he went. There seemed to be a lot less oil tanker traffic so far today. He hung up when he saw a bicyclist coming toward him because he wanted to talk to him. He called back a little while later. The cyclist had seen Jim when he went by in his van and stopped the van and took his bicycle out of the van and rode back to Jim just to chat. They walked together back to his van (about a mile away) so they could talk. His name is Doug and he is a retired diplomat from Ontario. He told Jim that he just likes to travel around seeing things, which is why he wasn't on a major highway. He was in the general area to attend a wedding and visit a sick brother, but was also just traveling around. He told Jim he was a great believer in "living the unexpected" (sound like anyone we all know?). Doug really enjoyed Jim's story.
He said that today was a gorgeous day so far and the road has a decent shoulder to walk on - always a plus.
We talked again around 5:30 and he was in Culbertson after about a 5 hour walk. The clouds had moved in mid day so the first thing he did was set up his tent in the town park next to a picnic table which was under a roof. He wanted to get the tent up quickly since it was looking like it might rain. Then he went to the post office and his re-supply package was there, along with the new stove and 5 letters (thank you, Sheri K, Carol G, Mary S and Sandy R).
He then went to check in with City Hall as he had been instructed to do. He got to chatting with the woman working there and told her his upcoming route - Culbertson to Brockton on Friday and then to Poplar on Saturday. She said "be careful" since you will be on the Indian reservation (which he knew) and apparently there are a few people who don't have enough to do, so they might bother people camping there. I have always worried about this portion of the trip. Jim told her that more than one person had cautioned him, but what choice did he have. She and another man in the office decided they were going to "fix it". She called her priest at the Catholic church in Brockton to see if he could help and sure enough, he said Jim could stay in the parish hall. He has the priest's name and phone # and is supposed to call when he gets to town. Then the man said he knew someone in Poplar. Sure enough he called and Karen & Milo will let him set up his tent in her yard or he might even want to sleep in their shed. He has directions and it is only about 1/2 mile off his route. It sure sounds a lot safer than the original plan of tenting in an unknown place.
Jim said his legs are tired as he expected they would be after yesterday's long day of walking.
We talked again briefly around 9pm after Jim had the "most delicious cheeseburger he has ever had" at a local bar & grill. There had been a brief rain shower but it stopped before he went to dinner. I could hear chatty birds in the background as well as a couple of freight trains.
Miles Today - 15.....Total Cumulative Miles - 305.50
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Days 14 thru 17 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Thurs., June 2 - This was my travel day and all went much more smoothly today. The only problem was the road closings in Bismarck due to the flooding. Fortunately, I brought our GPS with me so eventually I got successfully re-directed to the airport. As I was going through the various neighborhoods, it was quite depressing to see so many of the homes with loads of sandbags up against their foundations. I pray that they are successful in preventing flood damage.
Jim and I talked briefly while I was waiting for my connection in Minneapolis and all was well. We talked again when I pulled over on my ride home from Philadelphia. He said that today was a very tiring day, dodging all those trucks on Hwy 200 - traffic was unbelievable. At least the weather was dry, so no wet dirt to splash on him today! He was wondering where he was going to be able to get water. After walking about 20 miles, a sheriff stopped him to check his ID. He asked him about water and he told Jim that there was a small park a mile or two up the road. Well... it was actually 5 miles up the road - a community park in Grassy Butte. There was also a bar in town so Jim checked there to make sure he could set up his tent in the park - no problem. There were actually 11 camping trailers set up there - apparently temporary workers in the area. Needless to say, Jim was the only one in a tent! The park was quite nice - again, picnic tables in a pavilion and electricity for charging his phone and e-reader. Unfortunately somewhere around the 10-mile marker, he realized he was getting a blister coming below his big toe. He really had no choice but to keep walking since he needed water. There was a gentle wind blowing all day, but given the heat (probably 80), the breeze felt good. He is concerned about tomorrow, since heavy winds (gusts up to 50 mph) are forecasted.
We talked again briefly after I got home. He said he still hasn't been hungry all day after that wonderful dinner we had on Wed. evening. He spent much of the evening sitting in the pavilion reading and doing sudoku puzzles. He definitely needed the rest after 9 hours of hiking. He described the evening as brilliantly sunny - breezy but pleasant.
Miles Today - 25..... Total Cumulative Miles - 189.5
Fri., June 3 - We talked around 9am this morning when Jim had been on the road a little over an hour. Today's traffic appears to be construction equipment doing paving. The good news is that they have half of the road shut down, so that means alternate traffic - that should help reduce the vehicle traffic.
We talked again around 1pm when Jim was at his campground - primitive though it may be. He began the conversation with our favorite bible quote: "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). He said this because he came through the day safely even though the strong wind was trying to blow him into the truck traffic (does he really think I need to hear this?). He said he was often "staggering like an old inebriate". When he got to the sign for the campground, he went down a dirt road for 1/2 mile and there it was - a pavilion with 3 picnic tables, a restroom with a pit toilet (UGH) and no water supply! What kind of campground doesn't have water??? There were plenty of puddles, so he will use that water after treating it (and adding flavoring) to be safe. It was quite a challenge to set up his tent in the heavy wind. He said today's walk was pretty decent and his feet are not hurting him in his sandals. Today's road (the same Hwy 200) had a nice wide shoulder and traffic not as bad as yesterday. He arrived at the campground just before 11am and sat at a picnic table until it became too chilly. At this point, it became too windy for us to hear each other, so he was in his tent. We talked again at 7:30pm and he ended up spending most of the day in his tent - too chilly to be outdoors. He kept checking his tent stakes to make sure they were secure. He actually had to go into the restroom to light his fire to cook supper - how charming! He continues to read Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" on his e-reader. Before leaving home, he was a bit concerned that he wouldn't be able to charge the reader often enough, but so far so good - he is quite pleased not to have to take up the space of actual books.
Miles Today - 11.....Total Cumulative Miles - 200.5
Sat., June 4 - We talked briefly this morning and the wind has died down (thank you, Lord). It was cloudy so far and he was hoping for no rain, since it is quite cool (low 50's). We talked again about 4:30pm when Jim was camped at the town park in Watford City, ND. He arrived in town about 1 pm and had a wonderful lunch at Outlaws Bar & Grill. He said that today's hike was pleasant enough except for the truck traffic, which became heavier and heavier as the day moved on. Today's hike gave him the best scenery in all of No. Dakota so far. As he went through the Badlands, he could see horizontally striated rocks, similar to the Grand Canyon. The placards that he read said that the color is due to a combination of sandstone, shale and clay mixed with lignite coal and scoria. I looked up this last word and it is a "volcanic rock containing many holes or vesicles". Today's hike was quite a bit of up and down walking for the first time - much change in elevation and canyons all over the place. Now for the BAD NEWS - as he was leaving the lunch place, he noticed only one hiking shoe attached to his pack! Somehow, one shoe fell off sometime this afternoon. So he will have no other choice but to wear sandals the rest of the trip, whether it is raining or on gravel roads - certainly not ideal. The good news is that his foot with the blister is not bothering him at all.
He was able to hand wash his clothes and they were drying on a picnic table when we talked. He also showered and shaved, which made him feel a lot better. Again, there were quite a few campers in this park. He was a little nervous crossing the river today - he was pleased to see that the bridge was well above the river (flood stage at other points). However, this bridge had no pedestrian lane. He waited and timed it so only one vehicle was crossing when he did - it was a 4-minute walk - a bit risky but he managed (once again, why does he think he needs to share everything!).
We talked again this evening after Jim came back from Sat. evening Mass at the local church. There were only about 35 people in church - apparently a small congregation. He said it was nice to be able to sit at the picnic table tonight, unlike yesterday (I could hear kids playing in the background).
Miles Today - 20.....Total Cumulative Miles - 220.5
Sun., June 5 - Jim called around 8:45 this morning. He didn't have a great night's sleep last night - too noisy with truck traffic and a very loud motorcycle, When he called he had just finished a great breakfast at a local restaurant on the way out of town. There was no shoulder where he was walking, but a man at the restaurant did say he should have a good wide shoulder most of the way into the next town of Alexander. He said the day was starting out as a beautiful one - nice and sunny and no breeze - he is optimistic for a good day. He is still finding it unusual how late the seasons are in ND - the lilacs are just beginning to bloom - so far behind us. There was a heavy dew this morning so his tent was soaked and he had to pack it up that way. Hopefully it will dry out once he gets to his destination.
Today he is seeing many trucks loaded with dirt in addition to the usual oil tankers.
We talked again around 3:15 and Jim was in the town (Alexander) park with his tent spread out to dry before he sets it up. This park is really very nice - again a picnic table pavilion, a gazebo and a real restroom (although only cold water - he will heat some to wash up). As of now, there is no one else camped here. He says he came through today with flying colors, even though it was surprisingly warm early on - he very quickly shed all layers except for one shirt. As hoped for, there was a decent shoulder to walk on most of the way today. He reports that Alexander is a neat little (emphasis on little) town. The post office (where he will have a re-supply package waiting tomorrow morning) is across the street from the park. there is also a bar but it does not appear to be open.
He next said "I've got a good story for you" (you always have to wonder when he starts out like that!). Around the 7 or 8 mile mark today, Jim's legs starting feeling unusually tired for that early in the day. Then he said he felt the beginning of a leg cramp - not good. He quickly decided it was probably an electrolyte imbalance (you go, Dr. Gregoire). He carries NUUN tablets with him - mix one with water or any liquid and it usually does the trick. Unfortunately, you need about 16 ounces of liquid and he really didn't think he could spare that much water so early in the day. Around 10am, he actually found a 12-pack of various soft drink cans by the side of the road. They apparently had dropped off someones truck - two were damaged in the fall, but the others were perfectly fine - "ask and you shall receive". Some of the cans that had fallen into the grass were actually still nice and cold. He drank 1.5 cans of Mountain Dew (with the electrolyte tablet mixed in) right away and took a can of orange drink with him.
Now Jim says you may believe one of three things (I think you'll know what we believe):
- this was pure coincidence
- this was an answer to prayers (with the time difference I was praying in Mass at this time)
- this was the work of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers
You choose!!! Yesterday, something falling was Jim's undoing (losing his shoe). Today, something falling was his rescue! He felt completely better after drinking the Mountain Dew.
Jim had to walk in full sun today - absolutely no shade anywhere along the route. When he got to town, the bank sign read 82. When we talked he was sitting under a fir tree since it was the only place with shade.
Jim made an interesting observation today. Despite all of the heavy truck traffic (even tandem oil tankers), the ND roads are in excellent shape - no frost heaves or pot holes). This is in sharp contrast to our east coast roads. They appear to make their road surfaces differently than we do. They are much thicker and durable - maybe we should learn from that!
Jim expects a lot less truck traffic after he leaves Alexander tomorrow. The road will fork outside of town and Jim will head west and he is pretty sure that the truckers will head north. Tomorrow will be an eventful day - he will cross the border into Montana - one more state will be done.
We talked again around 6:45pm and Jim had just finished a delightful conversation with a couple who was just kind of hanging out in the gazebo. They had a black & white pit bull with them and the dog was very friendly with the kids in the park. They asked Jim "what are you doing, hiking through here?" So Jim gave them an abbreviated version of his "hiking across the country" story and they chatted a while longer. They told him they were going to drive to Williston to go to WalMart and try and get a tent since there were no motel rooms available. They had just found out that there is no marriage license waiting period in ND, so they were planning to get married tomorrow! Jim said she appeared quite young and he was quite a bit older and covered with tattoos!
Jim was able to charge his phone and e-reader in the park and he finished the Dan Brown book and had started a Jodi Picoult one. The day was still quite warm and he was planning to cook his dinner soon.
Miles Today - 21.....Total Cumulative Miles - 241.5
Jim and I talked briefly while I was waiting for my connection in Minneapolis and all was well. We talked again when I pulled over on my ride home from Philadelphia. He said that today was a very tiring day, dodging all those trucks on Hwy 200 - traffic was unbelievable. At least the weather was dry, so no wet dirt to splash on him today! He was wondering where he was going to be able to get water. After walking about 20 miles, a sheriff stopped him to check his ID. He asked him about water and he told Jim that there was a small park a mile or two up the road. Well... it was actually 5 miles up the road - a community park in Grassy Butte. There was also a bar in town so Jim checked there to make sure he could set up his tent in the park - no problem. There were actually 11 camping trailers set up there - apparently temporary workers in the area. Needless to say, Jim was the only one in a tent! The park was quite nice - again, picnic tables in a pavilion and electricity for charging his phone and e-reader. Unfortunately somewhere around the 10-mile marker, he realized he was getting a blister coming below his big toe. He really had no choice but to keep walking since he needed water. There was a gentle wind blowing all day, but given the heat (probably 80), the breeze felt good. He is concerned about tomorrow, since heavy winds (gusts up to 50 mph) are forecasted.
We talked again briefly after I got home. He said he still hasn't been hungry all day after that wonderful dinner we had on Wed. evening. He spent much of the evening sitting in the pavilion reading and doing sudoku puzzles. He definitely needed the rest after 9 hours of hiking. He described the evening as brilliantly sunny - breezy but pleasant.
Miles Today - 25..... Total Cumulative Miles - 189.5
Fri., June 3 - We talked around 9am this morning when Jim had been on the road a little over an hour. Today's traffic appears to be construction equipment doing paving. The good news is that they have half of the road shut down, so that means alternate traffic - that should help reduce the vehicle traffic.
We talked again around 1pm when Jim was at his campground - primitive though it may be. He began the conversation with our favorite bible quote: "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24). He said this because he came through the day safely even though the strong wind was trying to blow him into the truck traffic (does he really think I need to hear this?). He said he was often "staggering like an old inebriate". When he got to the sign for the campground, he went down a dirt road for 1/2 mile and there it was - a pavilion with 3 picnic tables, a restroom with a pit toilet (UGH) and no water supply! What kind of campground doesn't have water??? There were plenty of puddles, so he will use that water after treating it (and adding flavoring) to be safe. It was quite a challenge to set up his tent in the heavy wind. He said today's walk was pretty decent and his feet are not hurting him in his sandals. Today's road (the same Hwy 200) had a nice wide shoulder and traffic not as bad as yesterday. He arrived at the campground just before 11am and sat at a picnic table until it became too chilly. At this point, it became too windy for us to hear each other, so he was in his tent. We talked again at 7:30pm and he ended up spending most of the day in his tent - too chilly to be outdoors. He kept checking his tent stakes to make sure they were secure. He actually had to go into the restroom to light his fire to cook supper - how charming! He continues to read Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" on his e-reader. Before leaving home, he was a bit concerned that he wouldn't be able to charge the reader often enough, but so far so good - he is quite pleased not to have to take up the space of actual books.
Miles Today - 11.....Total Cumulative Miles - 200.5
Sat., June 4 - We talked briefly this morning and the wind has died down (thank you, Lord). It was cloudy so far and he was hoping for no rain, since it is quite cool (low 50's). We talked again about 4:30pm when Jim was camped at the town park in Watford City, ND. He arrived in town about 1 pm and had a wonderful lunch at Outlaws Bar & Grill. He said that today's hike was pleasant enough except for the truck traffic, which became heavier and heavier as the day moved on. Today's hike gave him the best scenery in all of No. Dakota so far. As he went through the Badlands, he could see horizontally striated rocks, similar to the Grand Canyon. The placards that he read said that the color is due to a combination of sandstone, shale and clay mixed with lignite coal and scoria. I looked up this last word and it is a "volcanic rock containing many holes or vesicles". Today's hike was quite a bit of up and down walking for the first time - much change in elevation and canyons all over the place. Now for the BAD NEWS - as he was leaving the lunch place, he noticed only one hiking shoe attached to his pack! Somehow, one shoe fell off sometime this afternoon. So he will have no other choice but to wear sandals the rest of the trip, whether it is raining or on gravel roads - certainly not ideal. The good news is that his foot with the blister is not bothering him at all.
He was able to hand wash his clothes and they were drying on a picnic table when we talked. He also showered and shaved, which made him feel a lot better. Again, there were quite a few campers in this park. He was a little nervous crossing the river today - he was pleased to see that the bridge was well above the river (flood stage at other points). However, this bridge had no pedestrian lane. He waited and timed it so only one vehicle was crossing when he did - it was a 4-minute walk - a bit risky but he managed (once again, why does he think he needs to share everything!).
We talked again this evening after Jim came back from Sat. evening Mass at the local church. There were only about 35 people in church - apparently a small congregation. He said it was nice to be able to sit at the picnic table tonight, unlike yesterday (I could hear kids playing in the background).
Miles Today - 20.....Total Cumulative Miles - 220.5
Sun., June 5 - Jim called around 8:45 this morning. He didn't have a great night's sleep last night - too noisy with truck traffic and a very loud motorcycle, When he called he had just finished a great breakfast at a local restaurant on the way out of town. There was no shoulder where he was walking, but a man at the restaurant did say he should have a good wide shoulder most of the way into the next town of Alexander. He said the day was starting out as a beautiful one - nice and sunny and no breeze - he is optimistic for a good day. He is still finding it unusual how late the seasons are in ND - the lilacs are just beginning to bloom - so far behind us. There was a heavy dew this morning so his tent was soaked and he had to pack it up that way. Hopefully it will dry out once he gets to his destination.
Today he is seeing many trucks loaded with dirt in addition to the usual oil tankers.
We talked again around 3:15 and Jim was in the town (Alexander) park with his tent spread out to dry before he sets it up. This park is really very nice - again a picnic table pavilion, a gazebo and a real restroom (although only cold water - he will heat some to wash up). As of now, there is no one else camped here. He says he came through today with flying colors, even though it was surprisingly warm early on - he very quickly shed all layers except for one shirt. As hoped for, there was a decent shoulder to walk on most of the way today. He reports that Alexander is a neat little (emphasis on little) town. The post office (where he will have a re-supply package waiting tomorrow morning) is across the street from the park. there is also a bar but it does not appear to be open.
He next said "I've got a good story for you" (you always have to wonder when he starts out like that!). Around the 7 or 8 mile mark today, Jim's legs starting feeling unusually tired for that early in the day. Then he said he felt the beginning of a leg cramp - not good. He quickly decided it was probably an electrolyte imbalance (you go, Dr. Gregoire). He carries NUUN tablets with him - mix one with water or any liquid and it usually does the trick. Unfortunately, you need about 16 ounces of liquid and he really didn't think he could spare that much water so early in the day. Around 10am, he actually found a 12-pack of various soft drink cans by the side of the road. They apparently had dropped off someones truck - two were damaged in the fall, but the others were perfectly fine - "ask and you shall receive". Some of the cans that had fallen into the grass were actually still nice and cold. He drank 1.5 cans of Mountain Dew (with the electrolyte tablet mixed in) right away and took a can of orange drink with him.
Now Jim says you may believe one of three things (I think you'll know what we believe):
- this was pure coincidence
- this was an answer to prayers (with the time difference I was praying in Mass at this time)
- this was the work of St. Christopher, the patron saint of travelers
You choose!!! Yesterday, something falling was Jim's undoing (losing his shoe). Today, something falling was his rescue! He felt completely better after drinking the Mountain Dew.
Jim had to walk in full sun today - absolutely no shade anywhere along the route. When he got to town, the bank sign read 82. When we talked he was sitting under a fir tree since it was the only place with shade.
Jim made an interesting observation today. Despite all of the heavy truck traffic (even tandem oil tankers), the ND roads are in excellent shape - no frost heaves or pot holes). This is in sharp contrast to our east coast roads. They appear to make their road surfaces differently than we do. They are much thicker and durable - maybe we should learn from that!
Jim expects a lot less truck traffic after he leaves Alexander tomorrow. The road will fork outside of town and Jim will head west and he is pretty sure that the truckers will head north. Tomorrow will be an eventful day - he will cross the border into Montana - one more state will be done.
We talked again around 6:45pm and Jim had just finished a delightful conversation with a couple who was just kind of hanging out in the gazebo. They had a black & white pit bull with them and the dog was very friendly with the kids in the park. They asked Jim "what are you doing, hiking through here?" So Jim gave them an abbreviated version of his "hiking across the country" story and they chatted a while longer. They told him they were going to drive to Williston to go to WalMart and try and get a tent since there were no motel rooms available. They had just found out that there is no marriage license waiting period in ND, so they were planning to get married tomorrow! Jim said she appeared quite young and he was quite a bit older and covered with tattoos!
Jim was able to charge his phone and e-reader in the park and he finished the Dan Brown book and had started a Jodi Picoult one. The day was still quite warm and he was planning to cook his dinner soon.
Miles Today - 21.....Total Cumulative Miles - 241.5
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Days 9 thru 13 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Sat., May 28 - Greetings from Princeton University (for me at least) - weekend of annual reunions - well over 20,000 alumni come back to campus - everyone except Jim!! At least I have my priorities in order and I am here representing the Gregoire family.
I talked to Jim briefly at 10:15 as I was walking to my first event on campus - he was thrilled that I was there! He was up at 5:30am and on the road by 7 with a high probability of rain anticipated. We talked once more in the afternoon during the festivities and he was still doing well, other than the terrible wind. We had a longer conversation when I got to my hotel at 5pm. When he left this morning, he was headed to the diner about a mile out of town - he heard they had great french toast. Sad to report, they were closed on Saturdays. Fortunately about 1/10 of a mile further was a Subway shop so he was able to get a breakfast sandwich. He left there about 7:45 with all of his rain gear on - skies were looking worse & worse. He walked about 7 miles on a gravel road to the town of Zap, ND - nothing there - he was able to rest a while on a bench. He encountered a few sprinkles, then some light rain. At that point he was back on Rt. 200 (much of the hike is on this paved route). The traffic was light today, but the wind was brutally strong. At times, he could barely move forward - he hasn't felt wind like this since the mountains in NH and ME. He arrived at his planned destination of the Saddle Sore Saloon in Golden Valley at 1:30 - really looking forward to a beer after a tough day - and they were closed! He set up his tent in the town park up the hill from the Saloon - quite a nice park, with picnic table, a water pump and two port-a-potties. Hiking today was incredibly slow - not his favorite day at all. I was able to check e-mails and told Jim that I had received two e-mails from people along his route - Ron the bartender in Beulah and Joanne, a ranger at Knife River National Historic Site. They are now following Jim's adventures.
Miles Today - 17.....Total Cumulative Miles - 127
Sun., May 29 - We talked at 9am and things went better last night after we last spoke. He decided to walk down the hill and sure enough, Saddle Sore was open. As it turned out, it had opened about a half hour after Jim was first there, but no sign indicated hours. He spent a while there and had a nice conversation with a man at the bar and filled his water bottles. Next door was a steak restaurant that was now open so he had a wonderful steak dinner last night. As he was walking out, a couple nearby asked him to sit down so they chatted for a while and he gave them the blog address. So last night he decided to call the two places on his schedule for Sunday - a restaurant and a bar (unfortunately no church in Golden Valley). The bar person said she thought that the restaurant was going to be closed, but they were open now so call and check. She said if they were going to be closed, just ask the restaurant woman to send some food over and she would warm it up for Jim - can you imagine! Actually, it was going to open, but only until 2pm so that meant he had to head out early today.He was up at 5am and out by 6:30. So far today there has been very little traffic - his feet are doing very well.
We talked again at 3:30 and Jim was at his destination of Halliday, ND - his legs are very sore from yesterday's brutal walk in the wind. Fortunately it was not windy at all today, but the forecast is for high winds and much rain tomorrow. Jim may not make it as far as planned for our meeting spot - I may just have to drive a few more miles than planned. When he got there he found the nicest park you can imagine - did not show up in all of his research - a great surprise! There were numerous covered picnic tables and real restrooms. He did make it to Jodeo's restaurant in plenty of time for a great lunch. At one point, a woman (Loucinda) at a nearby table asked Jim to sit down at said "what's your story?" Of course, Jim was quite happy to tell her his tale of hiking. She and her friend now have the blog address! Back at his tent site, a man wandered over and it turns out it was Duane, the cafe owner. He said he lives a block away and has a camper. He told Jim that if it got nasty out tonight to come over and he could sleep in his camper - people sure are amazing! Then he gave Jim his cell # and said if he had any problems further along on his route, just give him a call and he would help him out. Jim told him that was a comforting thought, especially as he goes through the Badlands (I've blocked that part out of my mind). He is planning to meet Duane later on at the bar - sure hope Jim buys him a drink!
We talked again briefly at 5pm after I received an e-mail from Joanne at Knife River. She was concerned about the North Dakota flooding and hoped that I would be OK driving tomorrow to meet Jim (wasn't that nice of her). Jim seems to think that I will be on high enough ground - sure hope he is right. When we talked it was raining, but he was fine since he was sitting at a covered picnic table. He was watching a tree stump that had a bird's nest on it - couldn't tell if it was eggs or baby birds, but the mom and dad kept taking turns on the nest. He is quite chilly, so he will head to the bar to warm up. I heard from Jim at 8:30pm via text message (no cell reception, but the texts came through). To quote "no reception, in tent, raining, yuk". Packing up his tent tomorrow should be unpleasant - at least he has a covered picnic table.
We were able to talk a little after 9pm and it was still raining. Jim had a nice couple of hours at the bar with a man named Zach - no food though. He came back to his tent and had snacks and a slice of spam (UGH). I am sure he'll re ready for some good food when we are together in Dickinson (no spam for me, thank you!).
I will fly out of Philadelphia (here now at an airport hotel) tomorrow morning, heading to Bismarck (thru Minneapolis).
Miles Today - 16.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 143.5
Monday., May 30 - HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! Well, how do I begin today's adventures? I guess this day will start with a "Jane Journal", because an adventure it was!! My day began with a cell phone call at 4:45am (in my Philly hotel) and Jim says "can you hear the deluge outside my tent". Well, I certainly NEVER heard such a sound of water. If it stays like this, there is no way that Jim can walk from Halliday to our meeting spot in Killdeer. The visibility would be too poor and definitely unsafe walking conditions. We arranged a Plan B for me to meet him in Halliday. My 8:20 plane was delayed until 9am for a part replacement (always an encouraging start). I was apprehensive about making my connection in Minneapolis, but the pilot really made up time well and we seemed to have plenty of time as we were approaching Minneapolis. But.... then we were forced to circle for an incredibly long time due to thunderstorms. We finally arrived with about 15 minutes for me to get to the next gate for my 11:15am flight - of course at the other end of the terminal! The sight of me running through the airport was not pretty and I arrived at the gate 2 minutes after they closed the door - UGH!!!
There were three more flights to Bismarck - 1:10, 3:05 and 5:25. The first two were sold out so I got a confirmed seat on the 5:25. That didn't make me happy since I knew I had a little over two hours to drive to Jim once I got to Bismarck. I did get on the standby list for the 1:10 flight and sure enough got one of the last two seats on the plane - yea! However.... after a bit of a delay on the plane, they announced mechanical difficulties - they tried to correct, but were not successful, so we had to deplane. We were told just to hang out at the gate and wait for news. All of these planes were small 50 passenger ones. They told us they were trying to locate a larger plane that could accommodate all three flights (cancelling the 3:05). Finally about 4, they announced they had done this. Getting new boarding passes was a bit of a nightmare, but all was well when we got on the plane. One last glitch was that they boarded us before our pilot and co-pilot were there because they knew they were due in shortly from San Francisco. Because of this, we didn't actually leave until about 6pm. I arrived about 7:15 and rented my car and was on my way by 7:45 - finally picking up Jim about 10pm.
Now back to Jim's day... I was able to talk to Jim several times, so at least he knew of my delays. He said he had torrential rains overnight, but he did stay dry in his new "Big Agnes" tent. Although he thought he might have to stay all day in Halliday, the rain did stop and he headed out about 9am. The wind was from the east, giving him a tailwind. After a mile he got to Hwy 200 and he had a great morning with the strong tailwind pushing him westward. There wasn't much traffic early, but that changed as the day progressed. By mid-day the traffic was getting pretty heavy, with much of it being oil tankers carrying a load of crude from the wellhead to refinery or pipeline. These tankers would roar past him at something in excess of the posted 65 mph. By early afternoon the weather began to deteriorate - first a fine mist, then a light rain. No problem, his rain gear can handle that fine, But now the passing oilers were showering him with a blast of dirty water! He said he felt like he was in a car wash (except not clean water) with each passing tanker. His face and clothes soon became soggy and gritty. At 3:15, having walked 21 miles, he got to the major intersection of Rte. 200 & Hwy 22. He headed north on 22 toward Killdeer, hoping to find someplace to spend the several hours he knew he needed to wait for me to arrive much later than originally planned. Within 1/4 mile he came to a bar & grill, the unusually named "2 7/8 Steakhouse". The bar was pretty busy but the steakhouse was a cook-your-own place. He sat at the bar and immediately started talking with a group of three: Tim, his 91-yr-old father and Karen. They were real interested in his trip, so he gave them the blog address. When they left, he moved to a table and ate some bar food. After he was there for 6.5 hours, I finally got there to pick him up and walked over and said "this sure is a long way to come for a date"!! He certainly was real happy to see me! He very graciously offered to drive the 35 miles south to Dickinson to our hotel. Needless to say, the shower was the first thing to capture his attention! Jim said that today's hike brought him to the edge of the booming oil and gas section of ND. There are no economic problems here - the unemployment rate is only 1% and people are streaming in to get jobs. All this is great economically for the state, but there are obvious negative impacts as well. Tourism is being hurt as there are no available hotel rooms from Killdeer north. And the roads are clogged with hundreds of oil tankers. For the next three days Jim will be risking his life by walking on Rte. 200 to Watford City. The truck traffic will be fierce and there is no decent shoulder to walk on. So he and the trucks will just have to share the road. With the only alternative route to northeast Montana closed due to flooding, he really has no choice but to take this route and hope and pray for the best. He says that his feet and legs are faring well and the two days of rest here in Dickinson will help even more.
Jim's biggest near-term challenge may be finding enough water. The forecast for Thurs. and Fri. is for temps in the high 70's and sunny. He saw no lakes or flowing streams in his map research. He may have to carry an extra liter of water to stay adequately hydrated, clean & fed. Zach (the man at the bar in Halliday) did say he will be driving a tanker on Jim's route and he offered to bring him a gallon of water - he will probably need it - thanks, Zach!
Miles Today - 21..... Total Cumulative Miles - 164.5
Tues. & Wed., May 31 & June 1 - Two days of rest for Jim with me in Dickinson, ND (2 hours west of Bismarck). We woke up on Tuesday to fierce winds - you could actually see even the grass blowing from the hotel window. When we went out to breakfast, it really felt brutal - quite chilly all day. Jim said he was sure glad he wasn't hiking today! The main thing you notice here is how absolutely filthy all of the vehicles (mainly pickups) are. They are just coated with dried mud - really disgusting - brown is the most common vehicle color (no matter what the original color was)!!! Tuesday we just pretty much hung out for Jim to relax, read the NYTimes online, write his journal, read the hike blog, etc. We were also able to go to a WalMart to replace Jim's torn waterproof pants - very handy that they were here and had his size. Today (Wed.) we walked around the local mall and then went to the Dakota Dinosaur Museum here in Dickinson - quite interesting actually. The weather today is quite different from Mon. & Tues. - much warmer and sunny with quite a bit less wind - feels quite pleasant outside. We ended our visit with a fantastic meal at Brickhouse Grille - we highly recommend it if you are ever in Dickinson, ND!!!
Jim says he is ready to get back on the road, feeling very refreshed - this was a great break for him.
I talked to Jim briefly at 10:15 as I was walking to my first event on campus - he was thrilled that I was there! He was up at 5:30am and on the road by 7 with a high probability of rain anticipated. We talked once more in the afternoon during the festivities and he was still doing well, other than the terrible wind. We had a longer conversation when I got to my hotel at 5pm. When he left this morning, he was headed to the diner about a mile out of town - he heard they had great french toast. Sad to report, they were closed on Saturdays. Fortunately about 1/10 of a mile further was a Subway shop so he was able to get a breakfast sandwich. He left there about 7:45 with all of his rain gear on - skies were looking worse & worse. He walked about 7 miles on a gravel road to the town of Zap, ND - nothing there - he was able to rest a while on a bench. He encountered a few sprinkles, then some light rain. At that point he was back on Rt. 200 (much of the hike is on this paved route). The traffic was light today, but the wind was brutally strong. At times, he could barely move forward - he hasn't felt wind like this since the mountains in NH and ME. He arrived at his planned destination of the Saddle Sore Saloon in Golden Valley at 1:30 - really looking forward to a beer after a tough day - and they were closed! He set up his tent in the town park up the hill from the Saloon - quite a nice park, with picnic table, a water pump and two port-a-potties. Hiking today was incredibly slow - not his favorite day at all. I was able to check e-mails and told Jim that I had received two e-mails from people along his route - Ron the bartender in Beulah and Joanne, a ranger at Knife River National Historic Site. They are now following Jim's adventures.
Miles Today - 17.....Total Cumulative Miles - 127
Sun., May 29 - We talked at 9am and things went better last night after we last spoke. He decided to walk down the hill and sure enough, Saddle Sore was open. As it turned out, it had opened about a half hour after Jim was first there, but no sign indicated hours. He spent a while there and had a nice conversation with a man at the bar and filled his water bottles. Next door was a steak restaurant that was now open so he had a wonderful steak dinner last night. As he was walking out, a couple nearby asked him to sit down so they chatted for a while and he gave them the blog address. So last night he decided to call the two places on his schedule for Sunday - a restaurant and a bar (unfortunately no church in Golden Valley). The bar person said she thought that the restaurant was going to be closed, but they were open now so call and check. She said if they were going to be closed, just ask the restaurant woman to send some food over and she would warm it up for Jim - can you imagine! Actually, it was going to open, but only until 2pm so that meant he had to head out early today.He was up at 5am and out by 6:30. So far today there has been very little traffic - his feet are doing very well.
We talked again at 3:30 and Jim was at his destination of Halliday, ND - his legs are very sore from yesterday's brutal walk in the wind. Fortunately it was not windy at all today, but the forecast is for high winds and much rain tomorrow. Jim may not make it as far as planned for our meeting spot - I may just have to drive a few more miles than planned. When he got there he found the nicest park you can imagine - did not show up in all of his research - a great surprise! There were numerous covered picnic tables and real restrooms. He did make it to Jodeo's restaurant in plenty of time for a great lunch. At one point, a woman (Loucinda) at a nearby table asked Jim to sit down at said "what's your story?" Of course, Jim was quite happy to tell her his tale of hiking. She and her friend now have the blog address! Back at his tent site, a man wandered over and it turns out it was Duane, the cafe owner. He said he lives a block away and has a camper. He told Jim that if it got nasty out tonight to come over and he could sleep in his camper - people sure are amazing! Then he gave Jim his cell # and said if he had any problems further along on his route, just give him a call and he would help him out. Jim told him that was a comforting thought, especially as he goes through the Badlands (I've blocked that part out of my mind). He is planning to meet Duane later on at the bar - sure hope Jim buys him a drink!
We talked again briefly at 5pm after I received an e-mail from Joanne at Knife River. She was concerned about the North Dakota flooding and hoped that I would be OK driving tomorrow to meet Jim (wasn't that nice of her). Jim seems to think that I will be on high enough ground - sure hope he is right. When we talked it was raining, but he was fine since he was sitting at a covered picnic table. He was watching a tree stump that had a bird's nest on it - couldn't tell if it was eggs or baby birds, but the mom and dad kept taking turns on the nest. He is quite chilly, so he will head to the bar to warm up. I heard from Jim at 8:30pm via text message (no cell reception, but the texts came through). To quote "no reception, in tent, raining, yuk". Packing up his tent tomorrow should be unpleasant - at least he has a covered picnic table.
We were able to talk a little after 9pm and it was still raining. Jim had a nice couple of hours at the bar with a man named Zach - no food though. He came back to his tent and had snacks and a slice of spam (UGH). I am sure he'll re ready for some good food when we are together in Dickinson (no spam for me, thank you!).
I will fly out of Philadelphia (here now at an airport hotel) tomorrow morning, heading to Bismarck (thru Minneapolis).
Miles Today - 16.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 143.5
Monday., May 30 - HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! Well, how do I begin today's adventures? I guess this day will start with a "Jane Journal", because an adventure it was!! My day began with a cell phone call at 4:45am (in my Philly hotel) and Jim says "can you hear the deluge outside my tent". Well, I certainly NEVER heard such a sound of water. If it stays like this, there is no way that Jim can walk from Halliday to our meeting spot in Killdeer. The visibility would be too poor and definitely unsafe walking conditions. We arranged a Plan B for me to meet him in Halliday. My 8:20 plane was delayed until 9am for a part replacement (always an encouraging start). I was apprehensive about making my connection in Minneapolis, but the pilot really made up time well and we seemed to have plenty of time as we were approaching Minneapolis. But.... then we were forced to circle for an incredibly long time due to thunderstorms. We finally arrived with about 15 minutes for me to get to the next gate for my 11:15am flight - of course at the other end of the terminal! The sight of me running through the airport was not pretty and I arrived at the gate 2 minutes after they closed the door - UGH!!!
There were three more flights to Bismarck - 1:10, 3:05 and 5:25. The first two were sold out so I got a confirmed seat on the 5:25. That didn't make me happy since I knew I had a little over two hours to drive to Jim once I got to Bismarck. I did get on the standby list for the 1:10 flight and sure enough got one of the last two seats on the plane - yea! However.... after a bit of a delay on the plane, they announced mechanical difficulties - they tried to correct, but were not successful, so we had to deplane. We were told just to hang out at the gate and wait for news. All of these planes were small 50 passenger ones. They told us they were trying to locate a larger plane that could accommodate all three flights (cancelling the 3:05). Finally about 4, they announced they had done this. Getting new boarding passes was a bit of a nightmare, but all was well when we got on the plane. One last glitch was that they boarded us before our pilot and co-pilot were there because they knew they were due in shortly from San Francisco. Because of this, we didn't actually leave until about 6pm. I arrived about 7:15 and rented my car and was on my way by 7:45 - finally picking up Jim about 10pm.
Now back to Jim's day... I was able to talk to Jim several times, so at least he knew of my delays. He said he had torrential rains overnight, but he did stay dry in his new "Big Agnes" tent. Although he thought he might have to stay all day in Halliday, the rain did stop and he headed out about 9am. The wind was from the east, giving him a tailwind. After a mile he got to Hwy 200 and he had a great morning with the strong tailwind pushing him westward. There wasn't much traffic early, but that changed as the day progressed. By mid-day the traffic was getting pretty heavy, with much of it being oil tankers carrying a load of crude from the wellhead to refinery or pipeline. These tankers would roar past him at something in excess of the posted 65 mph. By early afternoon the weather began to deteriorate - first a fine mist, then a light rain. No problem, his rain gear can handle that fine, But now the passing oilers were showering him with a blast of dirty water! He said he felt like he was in a car wash (except not clean water) with each passing tanker. His face and clothes soon became soggy and gritty. At 3:15, having walked 21 miles, he got to the major intersection of Rte. 200 & Hwy 22. He headed north on 22 toward Killdeer, hoping to find someplace to spend the several hours he knew he needed to wait for me to arrive much later than originally planned. Within 1/4 mile he came to a bar & grill, the unusually named "2 7/8 Steakhouse". The bar was pretty busy but the steakhouse was a cook-your-own place. He sat at the bar and immediately started talking with a group of three: Tim, his 91-yr-old father and Karen. They were real interested in his trip, so he gave them the blog address. When they left, he moved to a table and ate some bar food. After he was there for 6.5 hours, I finally got there to pick him up and walked over and said "this sure is a long way to come for a date"!! He certainly was real happy to see me! He very graciously offered to drive the 35 miles south to Dickinson to our hotel. Needless to say, the shower was the first thing to capture his attention! Jim said that today's hike brought him to the edge of the booming oil and gas section of ND. There are no economic problems here - the unemployment rate is only 1% and people are streaming in to get jobs. All this is great economically for the state, but there are obvious negative impacts as well. Tourism is being hurt as there are no available hotel rooms from Killdeer north. And the roads are clogged with hundreds of oil tankers. For the next three days Jim will be risking his life by walking on Rte. 200 to Watford City. The truck traffic will be fierce and there is no decent shoulder to walk on. So he and the trucks will just have to share the road. With the only alternative route to northeast Montana closed due to flooding, he really has no choice but to take this route and hope and pray for the best. He says that his feet and legs are faring well and the two days of rest here in Dickinson will help even more.
Jim's biggest near-term challenge may be finding enough water. The forecast for Thurs. and Fri. is for temps in the high 70's and sunny. He saw no lakes or flowing streams in his map research. He may have to carry an extra liter of water to stay adequately hydrated, clean & fed. Zach (the man at the bar in Halliday) did say he will be driving a tanker on Jim's route and he offered to bring him a gallon of water - he will probably need it - thanks, Zach!
Miles Today - 21..... Total Cumulative Miles - 164.5
Tues. & Wed., May 31 & June 1 - Two days of rest for Jim with me in Dickinson, ND (2 hours west of Bismarck). We woke up on Tuesday to fierce winds - you could actually see even the grass blowing from the hotel window. When we went out to breakfast, it really felt brutal - quite chilly all day. Jim said he was sure glad he wasn't hiking today! The main thing you notice here is how absolutely filthy all of the vehicles (mainly pickups) are. They are just coated with dried mud - really disgusting - brown is the most common vehicle color (no matter what the original color was)!!! Tuesday we just pretty much hung out for Jim to relax, read the NYTimes online, write his journal, read the hike blog, etc. We were also able to go to a WalMart to replace Jim's torn waterproof pants - very handy that they were here and had his size. Today (Wed.) we walked around the local mall and then went to the Dakota Dinosaur Museum here in Dickinson - quite interesting actually. The weather today is quite different from Mon. & Tues. - much warmer and sunny with quite a bit less wind - feels quite pleasant outside. We ended our visit with a fantastic meal at Brickhouse Grille - we highly recommend it if you are ever in Dickinson, ND!!!
Jim says he is ready to get back on the road, feeling very refreshed - this was a great break for him.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Days 5 thru 8 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Tues., May 24 - We talked briefly this morning around 8:45 and Jim had just left the state park heading to Washburn, ND. He slept well last night although it was very cold. He kept fairly warm in his winter sleeping bag. This morning is very cloudy and he is all bundled up - numerous layers (3 shirts, fleece vest, rain jacket & pants). He should stay warm enough as long as he keeps moving. We talked again around 5pm and he was standing on a grassy flat area, which is quite rare for this area - he will set up his tent here since he is tired of walking for the day (little toe a little problematic). The weather was heavily overcast all day but no rain - really blustery and cold until mid-day when he was finally able to take off his jacket. His "uninvited unwanted constant companion is the wind." He did have nice views today - from time to time he was able to see the Missouri River. He mentioned that somewhere in the first 5 miles he went by a 5500 acre parcel owned by the Nature Conservancy - apparently numerous historical and archaeological sites from early inhabitants. He saw 4 animals in the fields - looked like just blobs sleeping so he yelled at them to get up and sure enough they did - they were buffalo!!! Today was a very frustrating day. He had planned his route for a 3.5 mile (translates to 7 miles round trip) off track detour to go into Washburn to visit the "Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center". When he went in to pay his $7 fee, the lady said "before I take your money, the Lewis & Clark exhibition is closed for renovation". He quickly changed his mind - all that way for nothing! The good news is that he had a great lunch at the L&C Cafe in Washburn - so not a total loss. The second frustration (more serious) is that he wasn't able to get any water since the cafe. So he is in camp with only about 26 ounces of water. He has decided not to cook anything so he can conserve his water for the warmer day expected tomorrow. He will eat spam and snack items - UGH!! The grass here is full of ticks - apparently not the Lyme disease type - not sure how you tell the difference, but I guess that is geographic. Today he crossed a half-mile bridge over the Missouri River coming into Washburn. He is noticing lots of soil erosion on the riverbanks.
We talked again around 9:30pm and he was watching the sun go down. He is settled between the train tracks and the road and saw a few trains go by. It is quite chilly but not as cold as last night. At one point the wind was actually rattling his tent but it had died down when we talked.
Miles Today - 20..... Total Cumulative Miles - 65
Wed., May 25 - We talked about 9am and Jim got on the road about 7:30 and it was terribly cold. His fingers were really cold folding up the tent, since it was soaking wet from the heavy dew. He opened the conversation with "I have a really sad story to tell you" - I really need to tell him not to do that - my imagination runs wild! About 3/4 of a mile into today's walk, he comes across a beautiful pond at a small state recreation area - it would have been a perfect place to camp last night with plenty of water - oh well.... It is a beautiful sunny day today, but still really cold - all of his clothes are on his back, so his pack is a bit lighter! Last night around 9 he saw a deer approaching and the deer yelled at Jim - so Jim yelled back and this went back and forth for a while. I guess Mr. Deer did not want Jim in his territory. He said he was awakened this morning by a coyote howling - such charming places he stays! As we talked, it was warming up slowly - hopefully he will soon shed some layers.
We talked again around 2pm and Jim said "THIS IS MY LUCKY DAY". He walked into the smallest town you can imagine - Stanton, ND. Low and behold there was the bustling Cafe DuMonde, which was not found in his pre-hike research. He got there just before the crowd and soon enough the place was jammed. He had a great big lunch, charged his phone and filled his water bottles. He really enjoyed the hour's rest. Plus he really needed the calories, since he had dry cereal this morning in order to conserve water. He said the temps were a little warmer - about 60 - he had finally shed his fleece vest.
We talked at 9:45pm and Jim had just crawled into his sleeping bag to try and get warm - REALLY COLD! After lunch Jim walked as planned to the nearby Knife River National Historic Site. This is a site that the National Park Service runs for free. He started with a short movie that explained that the Hidatsa Indian tribe lived here on the banks of the Knife River. This was the tribe that kidnapped the Indian woman, Sakajawea from the Shoshone Indians. She later married a French trapper who talked his way onto the Lewis & Clark expedition, along with Sakajawea. This was the way that she eventually got back to her tribe in the Rocky Mountains. These Indians lived in round framed huts - 15-30 in a hut, depending on the size. Jim found it fascinating to learn all about this culture - very few of them remain, due to smallpox epidemics. After the movie, he went into the museum which had loads of artifacts (like birch & buffalo hides, tools, etc.) and many pictures depicting that time. After an hour plus visit, he started back on his way. He crossed a bridge over the Knife River onto a gravel road. His plan was to walk 3 miles and find someplace to camp. Well, after 5.5 miles, he had found absolutely nothing suitable, since much of the area is flooded - much too wet. He was beginning to get concerned, when a man in a pickup stopped and asked Jim if he wanted a ride. Of course, he said no, but as is his way, he said "what I really need is a place to pitch my tent for the night". The man (Chad) said he was headed to his brother's house, which was 3 miles up the road. He said his brother was visiting in New Mexico and he was going to his place to do chores. He said Jim was welcome to pitch his tent in the back yard. He gave Jim directions and then went on his way - just before Jim got to the house, Chad came back just to make sure Jim didn't get lost! Meanwhile, Chad had mowed a good-sized patch of the lawn for his tent site - UNBELIEVABLE! Before Chad left, he showed Jim how to work the well pump - plenty of good water! He even left Jim his cell # in case he had any problems. This was the longest hiking day so far, so Jim was so relieved to have such a perfect place to spend the night. Chad said there was a resident barn cat who was friendly, but Jim had not seen him yet. With today's long mileage, it is good that tomorrow is a planned short day, heading into a motel in Hazen, ND.
Miles Today - 23.5..... Total Cumulative Miles - 88.5
Thurs., May 26 - We talked briefly at 10am (while I was on a very cloudy and chilly NJ beach - it was supposed to be sunny!). He said he sat on the back steps of Chad's brother's house to eat his breakfast and the cat finally came to socialize - he had just the coloring of our older cat. When Jim got onto the road, he had an encounter with a bull in the middle of the road. He didn't seem to want to move, so Jim just walked around him. Jim did leave a message on Chad's phone, telling him about the bull, in case it was his brother's and needed to be brought back to the barn. We talked again at 11:30 and Jim was already settled in the Roughrider Motor Inn. His room wasn't ready, but there was a very nice lounge - comfy couch and table and chairs and even a washer & dryer. He was relaxing - reading and doing sudoku puzzles. The temps were warmer today, but it is still very breezy. He has passed many farms that are not planted yet - it is just too wet - sometimes even pools of water in the field. He feels really bad for the area farmers.
We talked again at 5:45 and he had a productive afternoon. After taking a shower he walked a mile to a cafe to get lunch (he will also get breakfast there tomorrow). Then he did his laundry and made a cup of tea and relaxed again in the lounge. Tomorrow is another fairly short day, heading to his first post office drop in Beulah. We talked again at 8:45 after Jim had a very good supper of a made-to-order hot sandwich from a local convenience store - even a table to eat at! It started to rain while he was there so he made a run back to the motel.
Miles Today - 8.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 97
Fri., May 27 - We talked briefly at 8:45am and Jim said it really felt good to sleep in a real bed last night. It was currently sunny but the advance forecast is pretty ominous - potentially 3 days of rain, on and off - we shall see. We talked again at 2:15 and Jim said that today's wind was HORRIBLE - the 11 miles walked felt more like 20, since he was battling the wind the entire time - really brutal. He left the motel at 8:30 and had breakfast on the way out of town.
When he called, he was at the Beulah post office picking up his re-supply package. He also had three letters (one from me) - thank you Carol G & Christy W!! Jim was really appreciative of these notes. Before going to the P.O. he stopped at the Parks Dept. (as previously arranged) to get his $10 permit to camp in the town park. He met a lovely woman name Bridgette (she wants her name in the blog). He mentioned to her that other town parks that he has stayed in didn't charge a fee. Well, Bridgette's husband & son were there and they apparently shamed her into giving him back his money! The weather was not as forecasted - it was nice and sunny and about 64. We talked again around 6pm (still sunny) and Jim was all set up in the park - a really nice one - restroom facilities, including a shower - and a covered pavilion with numerous picnic tables. The only bad part is there is no water turned on in the restroom. He went back to tell his friend Bridgette and she told him she would check it out and get back to him on his cell. She later called back and explained they were working on the sprinkler system and forgot to turn the water back on. She said someone would take care of it in the next couple of hours. Jim said he spent a couple of hours this afternoon at the Nite Owl Bar, where he had some wonderful conversations. Ron the bartender and several of the customers were fascinated by Jim's story - very friendly people. Several of them wanted to know why Jim was doing this. He said "because I can walk into a town like Beulah, ND and meet up with really nice people like you". Jim has been craving good conversation so this was a perfect afternoon for him. One of the customers said he was the cook at a steak house a couple of miles away. He asked Jim to come on over, but he said he didn't want to walk that far. The man said that maybe his brother might pick him up, so we shall see. If that doesn't work out, then there is a restaurant about a mile away that he will walk to. The people at the bar told him that his route for the next few days - Rte. 200 - is full of oil truck and fast traffic - he is not looking forward to that. When he leaves tomorrow he will be on a gravel road that goes through Zap, ND. Apparently there is almost nothing there now, but back in the 60's there was a rowdy festival there , much like Woodstock - police had to be called, etc. He called again at 7 to tell me one more story. He was sitting at a picnic table under the cover of the pavilion and there was brief shower - didn't affect him since he was under cover. All of a sudden, a car pulls up and it is Jeff, Bridgette's teenage son (who Jim had met earlier). He said "I think the weather might be getting you down, so here's a coke to cheer you up" and then he drove off - people are so kind...
We talked again briefly at 9:15pm. Jim never did get picked up for the trip to the steak restaurant. Instead he walked about a mile into town and had a great fish dinner. No one ever came to turn on the water, so I guess no shower tomorrow. He had a few sprinkles of rain tonight, but just on and off. If it is raining in the morning, at least he has the pavilion to pack everything up.
Miles Today - 13..... Total Cumulative Miles - 110
We talked again around 9:30pm and he was watching the sun go down. He is settled between the train tracks and the road and saw a few trains go by. It is quite chilly but not as cold as last night. At one point the wind was actually rattling his tent but it had died down when we talked.
Miles Today - 20..... Total Cumulative Miles - 65
Wed., May 25 - We talked about 9am and Jim got on the road about 7:30 and it was terribly cold. His fingers were really cold folding up the tent, since it was soaking wet from the heavy dew. He opened the conversation with "I have a really sad story to tell you" - I really need to tell him not to do that - my imagination runs wild! About 3/4 of a mile into today's walk, he comes across a beautiful pond at a small state recreation area - it would have been a perfect place to camp last night with plenty of water - oh well.... It is a beautiful sunny day today, but still really cold - all of his clothes are on his back, so his pack is a bit lighter! Last night around 9 he saw a deer approaching and the deer yelled at Jim - so Jim yelled back and this went back and forth for a while. I guess Mr. Deer did not want Jim in his territory. He said he was awakened this morning by a coyote howling - such charming places he stays! As we talked, it was warming up slowly - hopefully he will soon shed some layers.
We talked again around 2pm and Jim said "THIS IS MY LUCKY DAY". He walked into the smallest town you can imagine - Stanton, ND. Low and behold there was the bustling Cafe DuMonde, which was not found in his pre-hike research. He got there just before the crowd and soon enough the place was jammed. He had a great big lunch, charged his phone and filled his water bottles. He really enjoyed the hour's rest. Plus he really needed the calories, since he had dry cereal this morning in order to conserve water. He said the temps were a little warmer - about 60 - he had finally shed his fleece vest.
We talked at 9:45pm and Jim had just crawled into his sleeping bag to try and get warm - REALLY COLD! After lunch Jim walked as planned to the nearby Knife River National Historic Site. This is a site that the National Park Service runs for free. He started with a short movie that explained that the Hidatsa Indian tribe lived here on the banks of the Knife River. This was the tribe that kidnapped the Indian woman, Sakajawea from the Shoshone Indians. She later married a French trapper who talked his way onto the Lewis & Clark expedition, along with Sakajawea. This was the way that she eventually got back to her tribe in the Rocky Mountains. These Indians lived in round framed huts - 15-30 in a hut, depending on the size. Jim found it fascinating to learn all about this culture - very few of them remain, due to smallpox epidemics. After the movie, he went into the museum which had loads of artifacts (like birch & buffalo hides, tools, etc.) and many pictures depicting that time. After an hour plus visit, he started back on his way. He crossed a bridge over the Knife River onto a gravel road. His plan was to walk 3 miles and find someplace to camp. Well, after 5.5 miles, he had found absolutely nothing suitable, since much of the area is flooded - much too wet. He was beginning to get concerned, when a man in a pickup stopped and asked Jim if he wanted a ride. Of course, he said no, but as is his way, he said "what I really need is a place to pitch my tent for the night". The man (Chad) said he was headed to his brother's house, which was 3 miles up the road. He said his brother was visiting in New Mexico and he was going to his place to do chores. He said Jim was welcome to pitch his tent in the back yard. He gave Jim directions and then went on his way - just before Jim got to the house, Chad came back just to make sure Jim didn't get lost! Meanwhile, Chad had mowed a good-sized patch of the lawn for his tent site - UNBELIEVABLE! Before Chad left, he showed Jim how to work the well pump - plenty of good water! He even left Jim his cell # in case he had any problems. This was the longest hiking day so far, so Jim was so relieved to have such a perfect place to spend the night. Chad said there was a resident barn cat who was friendly, but Jim had not seen him yet. With today's long mileage, it is good that tomorrow is a planned short day, heading into a motel in Hazen, ND.
Miles Today - 23.5..... Total Cumulative Miles - 88.5
Thurs., May 26 - We talked briefly at 10am (while I was on a very cloudy and chilly NJ beach - it was supposed to be sunny!). He said he sat on the back steps of Chad's brother's house to eat his breakfast and the cat finally came to socialize - he had just the coloring of our older cat. When Jim got onto the road, he had an encounter with a bull in the middle of the road. He didn't seem to want to move, so Jim just walked around him. Jim did leave a message on Chad's phone, telling him about the bull, in case it was his brother's and needed to be brought back to the barn. We talked again at 11:30 and Jim was already settled in the Roughrider Motor Inn. His room wasn't ready, but there was a very nice lounge - comfy couch and table and chairs and even a washer & dryer. He was relaxing - reading and doing sudoku puzzles. The temps were warmer today, but it is still very breezy. He has passed many farms that are not planted yet - it is just too wet - sometimes even pools of water in the field. He feels really bad for the area farmers.
We talked again at 5:45 and he had a productive afternoon. After taking a shower he walked a mile to a cafe to get lunch (he will also get breakfast there tomorrow). Then he did his laundry and made a cup of tea and relaxed again in the lounge. Tomorrow is another fairly short day, heading to his first post office drop in Beulah. We talked again at 8:45 after Jim had a very good supper of a made-to-order hot sandwich from a local convenience store - even a table to eat at! It started to rain while he was there so he made a run back to the motel.
Miles Today - 8.5.....Total Cumulative Miles - 97
Fri., May 27 - We talked briefly at 8:45am and Jim said it really felt good to sleep in a real bed last night. It was currently sunny but the advance forecast is pretty ominous - potentially 3 days of rain, on and off - we shall see. We talked again at 2:15 and Jim said that today's wind was HORRIBLE - the 11 miles walked felt more like 20, since he was battling the wind the entire time - really brutal. He left the motel at 8:30 and had breakfast on the way out of town.
When he called, he was at the Beulah post office picking up his re-supply package. He also had three letters (one from me) - thank you Carol G & Christy W!! Jim was really appreciative of these notes. Before going to the P.O. he stopped at the Parks Dept. (as previously arranged) to get his $10 permit to camp in the town park. He met a lovely woman name Bridgette (she wants her name in the blog). He mentioned to her that other town parks that he has stayed in didn't charge a fee. Well, Bridgette's husband & son were there and they apparently shamed her into giving him back his money! The weather was not as forecasted - it was nice and sunny and about 64. We talked again around 6pm (still sunny) and Jim was all set up in the park - a really nice one - restroom facilities, including a shower - and a covered pavilion with numerous picnic tables. The only bad part is there is no water turned on in the restroom. He went back to tell his friend Bridgette and she told him she would check it out and get back to him on his cell. She later called back and explained they were working on the sprinkler system and forgot to turn the water back on. She said someone would take care of it in the next couple of hours. Jim said he spent a couple of hours this afternoon at the Nite Owl Bar, where he had some wonderful conversations. Ron the bartender and several of the customers were fascinated by Jim's story - very friendly people. Several of them wanted to know why Jim was doing this. He said "because I can walk into a town like Beulah, ND and meet up with really nice people like you". Jim has been craving good conversation so this was a perfect afternoon for him. One of the customers said he was the cook at a steak house a couple of miles away. He asked Jim to come on over, but he said he didn't want to walk that far. The man said that maybe his brother might pick him up, so we shall see. If that doesn't work out, then there is a restaurant about a mile away that he will walk to. The people at the bar told him that his route for the next few days - Rte. 200 - is full of oil truck and fast traffic - he is not looking forward to that. When he leaves tomorrow he will be on a gravel road that goes through Zap, ND. Apparently there is almost nothing there now, but back in the 60's there was a rowdy festival there , much like Woodstock - police had to be called, etc. He called again at 7 to tell me one more story. He was sitting at a picnic table under the cover of the pavilion and there was brief shower - didn't affect him since he was under cover. All of a sudden, a car pulls up and it is Jeff, Bridgette's teenage son (who Jim had met earlier). He said "I think the weather might be getting you down, so here's a coke to cheer you up" and then he drove off - people are so kind...
We talked again briefly at 9:15pm. Jim never did get picked up for the trip to the steak restaurant. Instead he walked about a mile into town and had a great fish dinner. No one ever came to turn on the water, so I guess no shower tomorrow. He had a few sprinkles of rain tonight, but just on and off. If it is raining in the morning, at least he has the pavilion to pack everything up.
Miles Today - 13..... Total Cumulative Miles - 110
Friday, May 20, 2011
Days 1 thru 4 of North Dakota - Montana Hike
Fri., May 20 - I talked to Jim at 2pm and he was frazzled to say the least. He got to the Philadelphia airport from the train station just fine and went up to the check-in kiosk. Instead of displaying his itinerary as usual, it said "pick up phone". After waiting quite a while to be connected, he was told that his first leg to Wash, DC was so delayed that he would miss his connection to Salt Lake City - UGH! They re-routed him thru Denver and then to SLC, but he was not going to get there until 11pm or so. When he went to the desk to check his bag, he commented on it and this person told him there was no delay on the Wash flight!!! So, just to be safe (and very considerate), she booked him on both flights. Jim called again around 5pm and his flight to Wash took off on time and when he got to Wash he had plenty of time to have a nice lunch/dinner at the airport. When we talked, he was waiting for his next flight to Salt Lake City to board, hoping that his backpack would be there (I'm saying prayers right now).
Jim called again about 10:30 our time and his pack had arrived safely and he was waiting for the shuttle to take him to an airport hotel.
Sat., May 21 - Jim left a message while I was out that he was in Chicago (yes, I know he went east again - guess who will be planning the route next time!!!) waiting for his final plane to take him to Bismarck. We talked about 3:15 and he had just gotten his pack (amazing it wasn't lost over four flights) and was about to spread it all out and repack the way it needs to be for hiking.
He said that this final plane ride was the most pleasant of all - about 2/3 empty and plenty of room to spread out. He was in such a GREAT mood - ready to start, finally! My phone rang again about 15 minutes later (uh oh). Sure enough, he said "bad news - my worst fear" - the airline had confiscated his fuel canister - his only way to make coffee or heat up a noodle dinner! In almost 20 years of hiking and numerous plane rides, this has never happened to him. He had mailed himself a 2nd canister, but he won't get that until May 27. Before he left home, he had done some research on Bismarck to see if there was an outdoor store (as a "just in case") near his route, but didn't find one. He decided to continue walking into town as he was planning to do for an early dinner (he was starving) before completing the 10 miles planned for today. I was about to leave for Mass so I said I would pray extra hard at church (AND I SURELY DID).
Just as I got in the house from church at 5pm, the phone rang - problem solved (thank you, Lord)!! Jim stopped at a hardware store, which did not have what he needed but they directed him to a mall across the street where there fortunately was an outdoor store. He figured he probably walked an extra mile wandering around, but it was well worth it. The advance forecast for Bismarck was rain, but it was actually sunny and about 70 - beautiful walking weather. He was calling me from Applebee's and was looking forward to a good meal after a day of traveling.
Jim called again about 7:45 (he's an hour behind) and asked me to call his motel to tell them he was definitely on his way (he didn't want them to give away his room). I did this and talked with a very nice woman who was amazed at Jim's plan. She definitely had his room. He called again at 8:30 and was all settled in - very warm & tired and his feet are hurting (that didn't take long). He wore boots today but will switch to sandals tomorrow if the weather cooperates. He also said it was a good thing he had a reservation, because there were no vacancies at this small motel - good planning, Jim! He was planning on a shower and then bed fairly soon after.
Jim called again unexpectedly about 9:30 to tell me he felt much better because when he was flipping through channels he found a Red Sox game and they were beating the Chicago Cubs 3-1 (sadly, the Sox later lost the game).
Miles Today - 11.....Total Cumulative Miles - 11
Sun., May 22 - Jim called this morning about 9 after he had a great breakfast at a local family restaurant. He was walking towards the local church to attend 8:30 Mass (his time). He is feeling fine and is walking in sandals so far. It was partly cloudy with rain forecasted. He left me a message at 12:45 as he was walking on what he described as a beautiful sunny day (so much for the forecast - yea). He had just finished a 5-mile paved bike path - a nice change from the busy roads. We talked again around 2:45 and he described a tense experience he had about a half hour earlier. He saw a sign "bridge out - local traffic only". He decided to take a chance and kept walking. Fortunately, the bridge was blocked to vehicles, but he could still walk across. It was now cloudy, but no rain so far. He estimates he had probably walked 10-11 miles and his feet feel fine. He has seen very little traffic this afternoon - quite pleasant. He did find a flowing stream down a steep embankment where he was able to refill water bottles (he treated it to be safe). As we talked, the paved road suddenly turned to gravel - not Jim's favorite - he may need to change to boots. The wildlife experience of the day was at breakfast when two birds flew directly against the front window. He assumed they would be dead but when he went out 15 minutes later, they were still there, apparently quite stunned, but very much alive!
When we talked, it sounded very windy even through the phone - at times so noisy it was difficult to hear him well.
Jim called again at 5:30 and he was settled for the night. He did find some water earlier for tonight in a pond in a field about 150 yards away. Unfortunately it was behind a barbed wire fence, but he did manage to slip under and get the water. Since he had to walk through a field of "cow pies", he assumed the water was pretty polluted so he treated it. Then about 1-2 miles later, he found a beautiful flowing stream but this time he could not get under the barbed wire. He walked a bit further until he found a patch of trees (rare in this part of the country). He finally found a place to get under the wire to the spot where he wanted to camp. The tricky thing was getting his pack over the fence! This flowing water was much more appealing so he tossed the other stuff. He is well hidden behind a hill and in the trees - PERFECT! He had already heated some water on his stove and had washed up. He felt so blessed today that he had no rain at all - certainly not the forecast. And his feet felt really good today - a full day in sandals. He was looking forward to a relaxing evening.
Miles Today - 19.....Total Cumulative Miles - 30
Mon., May 23 - We talked several times today. As expected for the first night in a tent, Jim did not sleep well. He was up at 5:30 and after a breakfast of hot cereal with craisins, he was on the road a little after 7am. When he called at 8:30, it was a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately that changed and it was mostly cloudy the rest of the day. When we talked at 12:45, he had arrived at his campsite at the Cross Ranch State Park and he was getting ready to set up his tent. He is looking forward to a relaxing afternoon, since his plan is to walk 22.5 miles tomorrow. We talked again around 2pm and he was really enjoying this site. He was within 100 yards of the Missouri River and hearing duck calls all over the place. His tent site was quite close to the facilities and had a picnic table, where Jim did some reading and sudoku puzzles. Today's walk was mainly gravel with pavement only the last 2 miles. He did have to change into boots to keep the gravel from getting into his sandals. He has noticed that the topography of the area changed quite a bit this morning. Originally it was rocky and hilly with no farmland, just cattle. Later on it changed to more flat and grassy farmland - much prettier. He was able to do a hand washing and hang up stuff on his makeshift clothesline - it was breezy enough to dry fairly well. We talked for the last time about 7:30 and he said that the birds here are fantastic - just chirping away. He did say that it was quite cold this evening - leaves are just now coming out on the trees so it is still the changeover season there. He has layers of clothes on to stay warm. He'll be fine once he gets into his warm sleeping bag. The ranger who collected his $12 fee said that his walk tomorrow will be 5 miles of gravel and then 3 miles of pavement into the town of Washburn. He was able to get his phone and e-reader charged at the campsite next to his - all the modern conveniences! The rain finally came later in the afternoon so he spent some time in his tent. It had stopped by the time we last talked. He mentioned that there were very interesting exhibits at the campground visitor center - historical info about extinct and endangered animals - a map of the river with historical sites, some of which Jim will see later on in the trip. I told him about the tornado in Joplin, MO and he said he really does miss the news.
He was getting ready to cook up a vegie rice dinner that he will flavor with bacon bits (yummy).
All is well in North Dakota....
Miles Today - 15.....Total Cumulative Miles - 45
Jim called again about 10:30 our time and his pack had arrived safely and he was waiting for the shuttle to take him to an airport hotel.
Sat., May 21 - Jim left a message while I was out that he was in Chicago (yes, I know he went east again - guess who will be planning the route next time!!!) waiting for his final plane to take him to Bismarck. We talked about 3:15 and he had just gotten his pack (amazing it wasn't lost over four flights) and was about to spread it all out and repack the way it needs to be for hiking.
He said that this final plane ride was the most pleasant of all - about 2/3 empty and plenty of room to spread out. He was in such a GREAT mood - ready to start, finally! My phone rang again about 15 minutes later (uh oh). Sure enough, he said "bad news - my worst fear" - the airline had confiscated his fuel canister - his only way to make coffee or heat up a noodle dinner! In almost 20 years of hiking and numerous plane rides, this has never happened to him. He had mailed himself a 2nd canister, but he won't get that until May 27. Before he left home, he had done some research on Bismarck to see if there was an outdoor store (as a "just in case") near his route, but didn't find one. He decided to continue walking into town as he was planning to do for an early dinner (he was starving) before completing the 10 miles planned for today. I was about to leave for Mass so I said I would pray extra hard at church (AND I SURELY DID).
Just as I got in the house from church at 5pm, the phone rang - problem solved (thank you, Lord)!! Jim stopped at a hardware store, which did not have what he needed but they directed him to a mall across the street where there fortunately was an outdoor store. He figured he probably walked an extra mile wandering around, but it was well worth it. The advance forecast for Bismarck was rain, but it was actually sunny and about 70 - beautiful walking weather. He was calling me from Applebee's and was looking forward to a good meal after a day of traveling.
Jim called again about 7:45 (he's an hour behind) and asked me to call his motel to tell them he was definitely on his way (he didn't want them to give away his room). I did this and talked with a very nice woman who was amazed at Jim's plan. She definitely had his room. He called again at 8:30 and was all settled in - very warm & tired and his feet are hurting (that didn't take long). He wore boots today but will switch to sandals tomorrow if the weather cooperates. He also said it was a good thing he had a reservation, because there were no vacancies at this small motel - good planning, Jim! He was planning on a shower and then bed fairly soon after.
Jim called again unexpectedly about 9:30 to tell me he felt much better because when he was flipping through channels he found a Red Sox game and they were beating the Chicago Cubs 3-1 (sadly, the Sox later lost the game).
Miles Today - 11.....Total Cumulative Miles - 11
Sun., May 22 - Jim called this morning about 9 after he had a great breakfast at a local family restaurant. He was walking towards the local church to attend 8:30 Mass (his time). He is feeling fine and is walking in sandals so far. It was partly cloudy with rain forecasted. He left me a message at 12:45 as he was walking on what he described as a beautiful sunny day (so much for the forecast - yea). He had just finished a 5-mile paved bike path - a nice change from the busy roads. We talked again around 2:45 and he described a tense experience he had about a half hour earlier. He saw a sign "bridge out - local traffic only". He decided to take a chance and kept walking. Fortunately, the bridge was blocked to vehicles, but he could still walk across. It was now cloudy, but no rain so far. He estimates he had probably walked 10-11 miles and his feet feel fine. He has seen very little traffic this afternoon - quite pleasant. He did find a flowing stream down a steep embankment where he was able to refill water bottles (he treated it to be safe). As we talked, the paved road suddenly turned to gravel - not Jim's favorite - he may need to change to boots. The wildlife experience of the day was at breakfast when two birds flew directly against the front window. He assumed they would be dead but when he went out 15 minutes later, they were still there, apparently quite stunned, but very much alive!
When we talked, it sounded very windy even through the phone - at times so noisy it was difficult to hear him well.
Jim called again at 5:30 and he was settled for the night. He did find some water earlier for tonight in a pond in a field about 150 yards away. Unfortunately it was behind a barbed wire fence, but he did manage to slip under and get the water. Since he had to walk through a field of "cow pies", he assumed the water was pretty polluted so he treated it. Then about 1-2 miles later, he found a beautiful flowing stream but this time he could not get under the barbed wire. He walked a bit further until he found a patch of trees (rare in this part of the country). He finally found a place to get under the wire to the spot where he wanted to camp. The tricky thing was getting his pack over the fence! This flowing water was much more appealing so he tossed the other stuff. He is well hidden behind a hill and in the trees - PERFECT! He had already heated some water on his stove and had washed up. He felt so blessed today that he had no rain at all - certainly not the forecast. And his feet felt really good today - a full day in sandals. He was looking forward to a relaxing evening.
Miles Today - 19.....Total Cumulative Miles - 30
Mon., May 23 - We talked several times today. As expected for the first night in a tent, Jim did not sleep well. He was up at 5:30 and after a breakfast of hot cereal with craisins, he was on the road a little after 7am. When he called at 8:30, it was a beautiful sunny day. Unfortunately that changed and it was mostly cloudy the rest of the day. When we talked at 12:45, he had arrived at his campsite at the Cross Ranch State Park and he was getting ready to set up his tent. He is looking forward to a relaxing afternoon, since his plan is to walk 22.5 miles tomorrow. We talked again around 2pm and he was really enjoying this site. He was within 100 yards of the Missouri River and hearing duck calls all over the place. His tent site was quite close to the facilities and had a picnic table, where Jim did some reading and sudoku puzzles. Today's walk was mainly gravel with pavement only the last 2 miles. He did have to change into boots to keep the gravel from getting into his sandals. He has noticed that the topography of the area changed quite a bit this morning. Originally it was rocky and hilly with no farmland, just cattle. Later on it changed to more flat and grassy farmland - much prettier. He was able to do a hand washing and hang up stuff on his makeshift clothesline - it was breezy enough to dry fairly well. We talked for the last time about 7:30 and he said that the birds here are fantastic - just chirping away. He did say that it was quite cold this evening - leaves are just now coming out on the trees so it is still the changeover season there. He has layers of clothes on to stay warm. He'll be fine once he gets into his warm sleeping bag. The ranger who collected his $12 fee said that his walk tomorrow will be 5 miles of gravel and then 3 miles of pavement into the town of Washburn. He was able to get his phone and e-reader charged at the campsite next to his - all the modern conveniences! The rain finally came later in the afternoon so he spent some time in his tent. It had stopped by the time we last talked. He mentioned that there were very interesting exhibits at the campground visitor center - historical info about extinct and endangered animals - a map of the river with historical sites, some of which Jim will see later on in the trip. I told him about the tornado in Joplin, MO and he said he really does miss the news.
He was getting ready to cook up a vegie rice dinner that he will flavor with bacon bits (yummy).
All is well in North Dakota....
Miles Today - 15.....Total Cumulative Miles - 45
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)