Another day late and fourteen dollars short on the update guys. Yesterday was an absolute scorcher (at least 105 per the WeatherBug app at one point). So once I got to my room.
I died.
Here we go with the week ten recap, take it away Gus (the rest of this will now be read by Gus Johnson).
Day 64-I had a 20 mile walk from Braidwood, Illinois to Morris. It shouldn’t have been bad but I ate next to nothing the day before so I was absolutely WIPED when it came to energy. The Braidwood Fore Dept bought breakfast for me from a place a few miles away, and as I walked I ended up stopping there again and just getting potatoes and French toast for some carbs. I was in Diamond, Illinois and read about a mining disaster around 1883 where 69 men and boys lost their lives. I proceeded to Coal City and ran into an older couple who’d seen the posts that Braidwood FD shared about the walk. We stopped and talked for about a half hour, they donated cash to my cause and I pushed forward. I finally rolled into Morris FD station 2 and the guys were super welcoming. Let me crash on a recliner inside and grab a shower. Gosh I love showers.
Day 65-Today is a day that will live in infamy. As I woke up around 6 with the Morris guys doing their shift change I grabbed a few bowls of cereal and a couple bananas for breakfast. They said to help myself. I got locked and loaded and took off for parts unknown…or Ottawa. I smoked my first ten miles or so, wasn’t super hot, just felt good cruising the Illinois farm country backroads. Then….it happened. The dreaded….bubble guts. I sat there and hoped I was just waiting on some gas to pass.
My stomach had other ideas. I was three miles from the closest business I could’ve potentially used. I was panicking, do I run into the corn and leave the stroller sitting there? Seems obvious. Frantic I figured it out! I’ll just have explosive diarrhea on the side of the road in between the occasional car passing. I had this battle between the doodoo and cleanup 5-6 times in roughly a 30-45 minute period. What I forgot about until I was on my third bowl of cereal….was that I developed some kind of late life lactose intolerance. I’d forgotten how it makes me. My first ten miles were done in roughly 3.5 hours, the last 10 took 7 or more. Got to Ottawa FD and they gave me a spot to camp, shower and I tried to rehydrate and eat to charge back up.
Day 66-This was a short 15 miler from Ottawa to LaSalle along the I+M Canal trail. It was 94/95 but the decent amount of shade allowed me to be relatively protected. I had breakfast at a great diner in town, lunch at the Canal Port Bar and Grill where they gave me a huge discount for the cause (and giving them a shoutout on FB) and a good dinner in LaSalle at the Uptown Grill. LaSalle PD ok’ed me to camp in Pulaski park. The problem was there were homeless and others in and out all night so my anxiety was on 11. I got zero sleep. No bueno Jose.
Day 67-This was going to be a 22 mile walk to Princeton, Illinois. It ended up being a 6 mile walk to Spring Valley, and an all day rest in “Coal Miners Park”. Active recovery it is I guess. I was so tired I was nodding off as I used the restroom.
Day 68-This was an easy 16 miles to Princeton. I got to “Ye Olde Underground Inn” and once the story of my journey got to the bartender she bought my dinner which was a fantastic rack of ribs. I also met the president of a board for a mental health counseling facility in town and he donated cash to the trip.
OH AND I CROSSED A THOUSAND MILES FOR THE TRIP! 2/3 of the way there!
Day 69- Heheheheheh
The intent was to go 20 miles from Princeton to Mineral, and camp in a park. I got about fifteen miles in, stopped for lunch at Red’s Bar and Grill and again after tagging them and giving them a shoutout, one of the owners offered to let me crash in his rental property he was rehabbing, and shower. Did I mention I love showers? They also did not let me pay for my meal phenomenal people. They also shared the page on their personal pages and the business page.
Day 70- To best encapsulate this, I’m going to attempt to put the YouTube update I did because it tells it better than me typing it out.
If it didn’t work just look for “Hall Across The Country” on YouTube or maybe a mod can teach me to internet. Day 70 was special.
Just crossed into Iowa today, set a new PR for the walk of 28 miles. Now….I sleep.
Love You Guys!
Joe
Go Bucks!
