Day 188: New Jersey is Getting Closer!

I just emailed a friend in California and remarked that it seems unreal to me that I’m just about done with this walk. It has been my major focus for seven months, and has occupied a spot in my mind for a couple of years. In less than a month, it will be over. I’m not quite sure what to make of that.

I heard today that a friend of mine from Southern Cross died this past weekend. He makes the seventh person that I either knew or knew a relative, who has died while I’ve been walking. I also got some news from a friend in Indianapolis whose brother-in-law was shot in the abdomen in Iraq this morning. The soldier’s name is Roy Shaver and at last word, he seems to be doing okay, but you never know about these things. Please keep Roy and his wife Brea, and their four kids in your thoughts and prayers.

The actual walk went real well today. I covered 18 miles, a lot of it still in construction, but the workers were there today and I couldn’t walk where they were working. It made for a tough few miles. I had a real nasty climb too and Valda measured it at 3 miles on a 6% grade (see picture). It was my toughest climb since Colorado. I’m sure I climbed a couple of thousand feet and later in the day, I stopped and looked to the west and there were mountains behind me (where did those come from?). I’ve got them in front of me too and I know what tomorrow is going to bring.

We are currently about 2 miles east of Armagh, PA on US 22, and I have been traveling in Indiana Co. all day. It’s funny hearing the people on TV talk about some Indiana resident who did this and that and know they are talking about someone who lives in Indiana, PA, not Indiana the state. Things are progressing quite well and I am becoming more and more confident that I will be in NYC on Nov 1 & 2. It would be a real shame if everyone else was there and I was trudging through Somerville, NJ. I don’t think that would go over too well.

Tomorrow is more of the same. I wish is would get a bit warmer. It seems it went from nippy to chilly to cold all in one day. I should get the Ohio and WV stats on the blog on my next day off. WV shouldn’t take too long.

The second picture shows some of the road workers, and the other picture shows how much dirt they have removed from around the telephone poles.