Judi's Trek Blog
September 15, 2006
Fast-5 LLC 904-685-5117 888-352-8439 P.O. Box 5671, Jacksonville FL 32216 info@fast-5.com
Today is walking day 28 and Fast-5 day 27 for Gary. We started the walk about 23-24 miles west of Kingman, Arizona at 3:45 AM. We continued to climb up the mountain we had said goodnight to last night. The air was cool, frankly cold from my perspective. A breeze gently brushed our skin as we walked. We carried a Coleman lantern to help us see the snakes before they saw us and to help passing drivers see us before splatting us onto the pavement. The thoughts of predator and prey came into my mind as I considered our goals in carrying a light. In the documentary Bert and I are creating, we have a number of layers of theme that address predators and prey. My mind traveled to the documentary and to mine and Bert’s to-do list. I remind myself that the job right now is to walk and to help Gary see the strength that he already has in his quest to be a fit and healthy man. He gets defeated sometimes and it takes a focused effort to invite him back to a position of confidence.
As I walked, I was struck by the number of linear, rubber objects on the side of the road (tire fragments and industrial debris). They frequently looked like snakes as we approached them with the lantern. We are probably hypervigilant about snakes, but a single injury would change the face of our journey immeasurably. Gary and I often talk about snakes. He learned a lot in his army days in the desert. His desert skill is to the great advantage of this project.
We climbed steadily with 1-2 minutes standing breaks every 15 or so steps to allow Gary’s legs to regain reserve. We mark time in these early mornings by the moon. It was a crescent moon this morning. Days are passing and gradually we are carrying our important message forward. In the dark of the morning with the desert sky revealing its blanket of stars, the grand scale of our journey often hits me. For a moment, I turned off the lantern to look at the stars. The view was phenomenal. In that moment, I imagined being in the operating room at 2 AM with an emergency. The contrast of my activities then and now felt very tangible. The metaphor of the vastness of the stars and the magnitude of our hope for the nation getting healthier was hard to ignore.
Gary discussed a strategy with bears in the event we encounter them during our travels. He said, “Judi, if we see a bear while walking, you don’t need to worry about a thing. The way I see it, the bear would go for the buffet, not the dessert, so you just keep on walking.” We laughed and shared the old saying that the way to manage hiking in bear territory is to use the buddy system. You don’t have to run faster than the bear. You just have to run faster than your buddy.
Mom has been a machine in keeping up with laundry. Even when we are in a motel, Mom hand washes our (mine and Mom’s) dirty laundry in the bathroom, puts it in a carrying bag then hangs it to dry in the car the next day. This morning was a particularly large load of the “Mom’s laundry car.” I couldn’t help but take a picture of the mobile laundromat.
We were on the side of the road taking an extended break – me in the car and Gary
reclining on a blanket behind the car - when a truck pulled up from the Golden Valley Fire and Rescue Department. We were on the side of the road taking an extended break – me in the car and Gary reclining on a blanket behind the car - when a truck pulled up from the Golden Valley Fire and Rescue Department. Someone had called the rescue workers to check on a guy on the road. It was Gary. We were sorry to waste their time, but we appreciated their concern. Gary talked with them for a while about the journey. They laughed as he
described his encounter with the bear. I took their picture as Gary was taking a picture of them for his website. They wished us well then departed to respond to a call about a pregnant lady. We finished our break and continued to walk.
We encountered a motorcyclist, S. Scott Selby from Show Low, Arizona, who had stopped along the road to address a flat tire.
We talked with him to make sure he had a cell phone and cell signal. We were pretty sensitized by that time to the cell signal scant areas. He had already called for assistance, so we visited for a few minutes and talked about Gary’s journey and Fast-5. He said he would check out the websites and seemed to appreciate a few minutes of company while he was waiting for his motorcycle to be serviced. We said our goodbyes and wished him well. We continued our walk.
Mom went back to Needles, California to get the camper and take it to a repair place.. When she returned she told us that the mountain we just climbed was 12 miles at 6% grade. She had to pull the trailer in low gear. Gary said, “I had to put it into first gear sometimes when I was climbing it, too.” We finished walking at 4:20 PM then went to claim our trailer from the repair shop. We walked a total of 20 miles today with 9 hours 4 minutes of walking time. The 20 miles more commonly would take us about 8-8 ½ hours, but the mountains and the wind were barriers to setting any speed records.
We picked up the camper and drove to the Kingman Veterans of Foreign Wars service club. Mom and I went in; Mom spoke with the president of the women’s auxiliary group briefly describing our agenda. Mom asked if we could set up the camper and if Gary could pitch his tent in the parking lot. The auxiliary president granted permission with the warm, welcoming demeanor so common among military colleagues. She assured us it was no problem at all. We thanked her and went out and set up the camper. During this set-up, we completed all of our compulsive checks of the steps to ensure that we would not require a return trip to the repair shop. The camper went up without a hitch, but the wind was notably brisk. In a later conversation with Bert, he told me that there was a wind warning in Kingman. We were not surprised to hear that report. Gary pitched his tent at the end of the camper and beside the car. He settled in to let his legs begin to rest from the day’s hard work.
Mom fixed dinner and took one plate out to the driver’s seat of our support car. She said she would come back for one of the other plates and noted that she was concerned that the wind would blow it out of her hands if she tried to carry two plates at the same time. I picked up both plates propping them to be sure the wind would not get them and headed out of the camper door. What was I thinking! The “oh so secure” top plate was fine, but the bread and ham from the sandwich she had so nicely prepared went sailing across the parking lot. By this time Mom had returned to get Gary’s plate and saw the whole thing. She ran after the ham and bread. I will admit I couldn’t suppress a chuckle as I saw her zip off after a piece of ham and bread. (Even as I type these words, it makes me laugh out loud again). I wasn’t laughing because she had extra work. Mom cleaning up from my mess was not at all funny and, in fact,
prompted me to apologize profusely. What was funny was that intermittently throughout the day I was chasing things across the street that had blown out of my hand or out of Gary’s backpack. It was beginning to emerge as the “silly human tricks” pattern of the day, compliments of the wind.
After our little comedy drill, Mom carried a recharged plate of food to Gary in his tent and I took my plate to the car. The three of us shared a delightful break-fast meal. I commented to Gary that I guessed he had not ever received room service dinner. He assured me he had not and thanked Mom for her efforts in getting us fed and settled in for much needed rest before our alarm goes off at 2:30 tomorrow AM. After dinner, Gary and Mom went into the VFW to mingle for a couple of minutes. I called my kids to enjoy a rare conversation with a strong cell signal. Gary and Mom returned to our makeshift campsite. Gary settled into his tent and made some phone calls. I could hear him through the canvas of the camper. Mom came into the camper and got ready for bed. She and I reviewed the atlas, still trying to figure out the best route out of Kingman. I called Bert and engaged him in the discussion. He said he would continue to work on it and call us in the morning with his suggestions.
Mom went to her bunk for lights out and I settled in to work on a journal entry. The wind was blowing like crazy. The walls of the trailer were flapping madly with occasional super-vibrations from wind gusts. From behind the other curtain (from Mom’s bunk), I heard the words, “This reminds me of Lake Elmer Thomas in Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Your Daddy and I had a ‘doozie.’” I guessed she was referring to an argument (not another activity that would fall into the category of “too much information”) because she had also mentioned that I was there with my two sibs. She went on to tell me the story of a pop-up camping trip with Mom and Dad and the kids (me and my sibs). The camper was right beside a lake and the wind must have been blowing like crazy. Apparently the whole family was asleep except for Mom who was awake and agitated because she was concerned that the trailer would blow into the lake. She told me that she awakened Dad to tell him about her concern and he replied something like, “let me know when it is in the water. I’m going back to sleep.” It’s my understanding that Dad’s statement was not received well and that a memorable discussion followed. I asked Mom if the camper at Lake Elmer Thomas fell over and she assured me that it did not. I am happy to say that I’m reassured and will now try to enjoy the clamor of the wind on the canvas as a grand demonstration of the power of nature. With that, it is time to sleep and to anticipate tomorrow’s great adventure.
A place near Kingman my dad would like to browse
