Days 8 & 9 of Wisconsin-Minnesota Hike

Tues., June 8 - I talked to Jim about 7:45 (his time) this morning. It had rained all night and he had a fitful night's sleep with the rain noise waking him several times. When we talked, the rain had pretty much stopped and it was very breezy and chilly (mid 50's). He will need a lot more clothes on today - the good news is that it makes his pack lighter! His feet are beginning to swell badly (not all that unusual) and one toe is pretty sore. He will doctor it before walking today. Since today was a travel day for me, we didn't talk again until this evening. As it turned out, it was much too wet this morning for Jim to pack up his stuff. He just sat in his tent and read and did Sudoku puzzles. He finally took everything to the shower room and packed up there. He didn't leave the campground until about noon. He walked about 1.5 miles to get the main road and a total of 5.5 to get to a very busy highway, when the rain started up again - he quickly got soaked. He had just turned off the highway when his Red Wing, MN classmate (Buck) drove by and stopped. Buck really wanted to pick him up right then, but Jim turned down the offer - "it wouldn't be fair". Buck did make Jim's P.O. stop for him to get his re-supply package, so that was helpful. Jim continued on in the pouring rain and arrived at Buck & Joan's house about 5pm - a soggy mess! He had walked steadily today without a break. He says his feet are "hurting but surviving". When we talked he had already had a shower and his soggy clothes were in the washer. Joan was cooking up a special meal that I know Jim will appreciate. I arrived in Minneapolis about 5pm today and will "hit the Mall of America" tomorrow morning bright and early!! Jim called about 10pm to tell me a story he had forgotten (this would only happen to Jimmy Boy). When he was a few blocks away from his destination, a car with a couple of ladies in it stopped and said "Are you the guy who is hiking from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico?" He said "No, I'm the guy hiking from Portland, ME to Seattle, WA". They asked if he was hiking for a cause and he explained about the Trail Conference and keeping the local trails in good shape. They decided that was a great cause so one lady gave him $15 and the other one $5. So I have added $20 to the spreadsheet I am keeping for Jim's "Pennies Per Mile" pledges.
Miles Today - 15 Total Miles to Date - 152.5

Wed., June 9 - We talked this morning around 7:30 and Jim had a real good night's sleep and a good breakfast at Buck & Joan's house. He is quite apprehensive about his left big toe on the underside - it is VERY sore. He may try bandaging it to immobilize it - that seemed to work very well on his pinkie. He is looking forward to a bright sunny day today. I am looking forward to my Mall of America excursion! How many miles will I walk??? We talked again at 12:30 while Jim was resting (gave me a short rest as well). The wind today is so strong that he can barely move - a real test of his leg strength - quite a hilly walk as well. It is a beautiful day (low 70's and low humidity), except for the extreme wind. When Buck picked up Jim's P.O. package yesterday I was expecting him to have a note there from me, but he didn't. So after Jim left, Buck went back to the P.O. and got my note and found Jim on the road to give it to him - THANKS, BUCK!!
I can report that the Mall of America is AMAZING - the amusement park in the center of everything is fun to look at while walking the mall. I had visions of being there from 10am to 9pm but I have to confess that I petered out around 3:45 - how does Jim do this day after day? He did say that he wanted to see it, so I think we'll pop over on Friday - some great looking restaurants for us to try.
Jim called around 5pm and he was lost, or more precisely the campground was lost. I did some google-mapping for him and hopefully sent him off in the right direction - we shall see... We talked later in the evening and as it turned out, he gave up on the campground fairly quickly. He was apparently at the right address but it was actually a trailer park, not a campground - oh well! Fortunately, there was a nice motel nearby with an Applebee's Restaurant about a 5-minute walk away - perfect! As soon as he checked in, he had a hot bath to soote his aching muscles - just what the doctor ordered. The good news is that he had no problems with his feet today - yea!!! He says he is now confident that his feet are going to hold up - I think we should still pray for that anyway!!! Today was a much tougher day than the mileage would indicate because of the heavy winds. Someone at Applebee's told him about a good breakfast place on his way out of town. You can add one more prayer to the list - that I can find him where he is supposed to be tomorrow - those who know me well know that I can be directionally challenged at times!
Miles Today - 21.75 Total Miles to Date - 174.25