30 miles Part 7

After walking through the park to the next road with a freeway exit, I began looking for a Flying J sign, but I didn't see one. As I approached the freeway, still no Flying J sign. I walked to the other side of the freeway; there was no Flying J at that exit. So at about 9:40 I took off my gear and sat down at the on-ramp, just 1.7 miles from my perch at the Mississippi park but 27.5 miles from my camp site at the park in Memphis. --> Sitting at the on-ramp, I considered walking along the freeway to the next exit. When my 20 minutes was up, that's exactly what I did. Walking the same direction as traffic, I felt safe because the shoulder was very wide and my backpack now has reflective tape on it. However, when a man stopped to offer me a ride after 7/10 of a mile, I took it. It was a short ride; just two miles to the next exit. The ride left me about a quarter of a mile from Flying J,
but I still had to walk another 1.8 miles to reach my goal of 30 miles in one day...

Fuck you, Verizon!!!

Fuck you, Verizon!!!

30 miles Part 6

I didn't mind all the backtracking, mostly because I anticipated reaching the Flying J at about 27 miles and I intended to spend the night there. If I'd been able to walk straight to the Flying J, I'd end up having to walk around in circles for another 3 miles just to reach 30. I didn't want to do that. --> When I reached the road that ran parallel to the freeway, I wasn't sure if I should take it because it was a park entrance. But there was a lot of traffic coming out of the park, so I asked a driver if the road would take me to the next exit. He said it would take me there, so I walked into the park, where I soon took another break, on a picnic table, having only walked about 1.8 miles since the previous break. By this point, I could only walk about one mile at a time before experiencing intense pain in my feet and left shoulder. --> Like my previous break, my break at the park was
short; only 20 minutes. Once again, I didn't want to get up and walk, but I forced myself to do it...

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30 miles Part 5

I got off the freeway at 8:00, with 24 miles behind me. It was time for a break. --> This is the point where I hit the wall. My break felt short and I didn't feel rested when it was over. Regardless, I picked up my gear and put on my broken glasses so I could see if there was a surface road parallel to the freeway. I couldn't tell, so I walked toward a gas station about a quarter mile to the south. The gas station cashier told me to go back the other way and take the road at the first stop light on the other side of the exit. She said it would take me to the Flying J, which was at the next exit. --> After taking a right at the light, the road only went a couple hundred feet before ending at another road that didn't parallel the freeway. I took another right, back toward the freeway, hoping this road would curve and run alongside the freeway. Instead, it dead-ended at a car dealership,
so I turned around and walked back, eventually reaching a road that did parallel the freeway...

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