Day 50 – Mason’s Walk (The Rock)

20 Jun Day 50 – Mason’s Walk (The Rock)

So today was tough. 40 degree heat and a 30-35 mph wind coming from the south. Very dirty again but I am kind of getting used to the dust in the air.

Shaun

Shaun decided to get up with me for the first leg. He is far quicker at getting ready than I am, I will put that down to first day enthusiasm. Anyway when we walked and talked about everything from film styles to the facinating facts Shaun knows about the gas and oil industries in the US. Some pretty scary stuff. We had a steady pace but we left 10 minutes early, at 5.50am, so it was nice just having a relaxing stroll on the first leg of the day. It is funny how when people walk for the first time how they like and dislike different things. Shaun really didn’t want to know about the millage. He just wanted to walk and enjoy it as we went. After we had hit ten miles he said what was in my head, ‘where is the RV? Did we go take a wrong turn?’ glad to know I am not the only one who panics at mile 10.

Road conditions

The road conditions worsened pretty quickly on leg 2. Withing a mile or so I was in quite deep sand and this is really tough not only on your balance but also your energy. Soon enough I was on the road again and then it was just dead straight roads for miles. These are nice but with the wind I just wish it changed direction a little so that the resistence was on different parts of my body.

Fragile

On leg three we had a small issue. The RV didn’t take a turn at mile 9.5 and we missed each other by only a short distance. By the time I had hit mile 31 I was getting quite worried. I was out of water and nothing was in sight. Shortly after this, a guy called Josh Sawatzky stopped to ask if I needed a lift. I declined but forgot to ask if he had any water. He drove off but pulled into a farm house just up the road. I thought I should stop in and ask for some water. When I got there Walt, his grandfather answered the door. When I explain what I was doing they offered me some iced water and all was getting better, or so I thought. When I took my first sip of water, my head started to spin and I felt faint. I had to sit down. It played on my mind that half of the family including two young girls, Reagan & Addyson Gagne, were looking at me as this guy who had trekked half way across America and could barely stand. After a few minutes I got back on my feet and said my goodbyes. I was feeling weak. Luckily when I got to the end of their drive I saw the RV. We stopped for my final break but I was not in a good way. My pupils were the size of pinholes and I was overheating. After an extra 15 minute break I headed off for my final leg, shaken up and worried about the last 10 miles. Everything got back into the flow when I got going, but not a good feeling mentally. I would like to thank the Sawatzky family for their help and also letting Chris and Shaun film an interview with them.