Thurs., June 10 - Jim called VERY early this morning to say he decided to get on the road early (like 5:30 I think) to hopefully avoid much of the predicted rain this afternoon. We talked again around 7am and he had already had breakfast and had stopped on the lawn of a local school to temporarily set up his tent to dry out while it was still sunny & breezy. There is nothing quite like the smell of a wet tent, so this was a practical use of an extra half-hour. While Jim was stopped at the school, one of the kids came over and asked what he was doing. Jim responded "drying out my tent" and then proceeded to explain how it had rained earlier and it wasn't a good idea to fold up a wet tent, etc. No curiosity at all about the bigger picture - like why was Jim hiking with a large pack on his back, etc. We talked again about 9am and Jim said he was making good progress. He was just getting off busy Rt. 55 and getting onto Pine Bend Trail - looking forward to some trail walking vs. busy roads. He said his feet are great and actually "couldn't be better". Thanks for the good feet prayers - they seem to be working. I now have my rental car (didn't need it for getting to the mall) and am ready to pick him up whenever he calls. We are hoping for a 1pm meeting.
Well.... the best laid plans.... Jim called around 11am and the first thing he said was "it won't be 1pm" - googlemaps failed him again. His map led him directly to a fence at an oil refinery property - no way to get around. He then found a road that was going in the right direction. Fortunately I was in the hotel room with my laptop, so I gave him the correct road info that he needed - maybe it will be 2pm! Oh and... it was sprinkling rain as we talked - UGH!!
He called again around noon and said he was doing well even though it was raining lightly - he had covered his pack and put on his rain jacket. He was 3.6 miles away from the county park where we planned to meet. I had a quick lunch and headed out. With much relief I found the wayward traveler at the right place around 1:20pm - he had been there only about 5 minutes ahead of me. I must say he was walking a little funny - his gait really looked tired. He actually said that he could not have walked any further! The first thing he did when he got to our hotel was take a hot bath. Yesterday's walk in the extreme wind really took a toll on his legs. He said they felt like jello - he actually couldn't even drive us back to the hotel! We went to the Mall of America for dinner tonight and Jim's first comment after walking inside was "I haven't heard this much noise in a week and a half!!" I don't think he was impressed, but dinner was great (Bubba Gump Shrimp Company).
Miles Today - 20 Total Miles to Date - 194.25
Fri., June 11 - Breakfast at the hotel - skype conversation with Jim, Jr - mini golf (Jim won) at the mall and an A&W lunch (Jim's request). A total of 3 hours at the mall did Jim in - too much walking in regular shoes! Later in the afternoon we were resting at our hotel when Jim's guardian angel tapped him on the shoulder. He started feeling apprehensive about Sunday's hike continuation because it would be taking him over a large marshy area. So we decided to drive the route and sure enough the bridge that google maps had him crossing was closed even to pedestrian traffic - good thing he found that out before he arrived at the bridge. We found an alternate route that will work for him (although it does involve a busy Rt. 77 for about a mile and a half) - thank you, Lord!
We later met our friends, Jim & Ruth for a wonderful dinner at the mall - they actually drove 4-5 hours from Wisconsin for this weekend! We had great food and conversation - even our waiter (originally from New Jersey) wanted the hike blog info!
Sat., June 12 - Breakfast at our hotel with Ruth and Jim and then back to the M of A. The four of us did the Aquarium and loved that. Then back to mini-golf where Jane shaved off 18 strokes from her yesterday's score - yea! We all had lunch, did a little shopping and then back to the hotel. Jim and I went to Mass and then met R & J for dinner at a wonderful place - new to us but familiar to R&J - "Buca di Beppo". We highly recommend it if you ever find one in your travels.
Sun., June 13 - After breakfast at the hotel, I dropped Jim off where I had picked him up on Thursday afternoon. He is hoping for no rain today but not real confident. He is able to walk without his pack today because his route will take him right by this hotel, so he left it here. Around noon he should be at the hotel where he will meet classmate John Gordon. John's wife will take the pack back to their house and Jim & John will walk the rest of the day together. It is great for Jim to have the company. We talked around 11:30am while I was waiting for my delayed plane (UGH) and Jim reported quite an adventurous morning. He got to the entrance ramp to Rt. 77 (the altered route due to the closed bridge) and saw a sign that we missed on Friday - "NO PEDESTRIANS". He backtracked to a fence we had seen and scooted up a hill and over the fence - reducing the amount of time he needed to be on the illegal Rt. 77. He made it half way to where he could get off that road but sure enough a MN state trooper stopped him and said he couldn't walk there - wouldn't you know he'd be caught! The trooper then gave Jim a ride to the exit he needed and gave him a written warning but no ticket - he was actually quite a nice guy. Jim is most upset about the 3/4 mile gap in his hike, but there is no way to accomplish that. Maybe we'll go back to Minneapolis after the bridge opens up again and he can walk that section on the original route!! We talked again this afternoon and John met up with Jim as planned and as they walked the planned route, John was able to show Jim a better route that included trails and a beautiful greenway along a lake and creek. There were lots of other hikers and cyclists. It was a nice cool day with no rain - very pleasant. All of the lakefront property in this area is owned by the city and they have created miles of walking and biking paths along the lakes and creeks. Officials were smart enough to set aside this property in 1883 and all the land, whether along the MS River, lakes or creeks is publicly owned - what a GREAT idea. Jim also was very impressed with the huge mulberry trees - 200-300 years old, 10 feet in diameter and 100 feet high - absolutely majestic! We talked again after I got home and John is working diligently to find Jim a better route for tomorrow's hike. As it turns out, the campground that Jim had planned on doesn't exist. They found another one which will add about 5 miles to tomorrow's hike - bringing it to 21-22 miles. Jim isn't too concerned because the weather is supposed to be good tomorrow and it will reduce a higher mileage day planned for Tuesday.
Miles Today - 19 Total Miles to Date - 213.25
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