I am still probably a good three days walk from the next place I will be able to see the MR, which will be just outside of Minneapolis. The terrain I have been walking on has started to change from the thick forest of the north to the more open farmlands as I get further south. This is a good sign as i guess I am making progress.
9th October
After a long day I am camped on the property of what looks like an old church that was attempted to be renovated but was eventually left to grow old alone. I say a long day as I was late to get started and had to really push the last few hours to reach my goal, having to skip a few breaks in the day really makes a difference. I said goodbye to the staff of the “Blue Goose” Bar and Grill around 10am this morning, a good bunch of people in the town of Garrison, thanks for the company and refilling of my water and coffees!!
Today I was to run into some people a little different to the ones I have been becoming accustomed to. I hope it is not the trend, but the further south I have been getting today the more stand offish and wary are the people. I stopped out the front of a farm house for a quick drink and the thought of going in to ask if I could fill my water bottle. I caught a glimpse of two people sitting on the front porch which was 50 or so meters away, so I gave them a big wave, no reaction, I thought they must not have seen me so I gave them another, but they just kept on staring before another fella arrived from inside the house to join the staring game. This house gave me a bad vibe, it felt like something from the movie “Deliverance” or a scene out of “The Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington; however this made my decision to keep pushing on much easier, I would have waited for rain before heading up that driveway for water!
After setting up my tent next to the old church, I got my sleeping bag out and realized that myself and the sleeping bag were not producing the best odor, so for the sake of Mum and Cami… something had to be done. I hung my sleeping bag up on a tree to air out and noticed a couple of hundred meters away was another old farm house, but after that little experience (the spooky starers) I was probably on edge a tiny bit. I was pretty sure nobody was home so I snuck over to look for an outdoor hose for a quick wash. I found one quickly, stripped off to my jocks and began to slowly get the sweat and grime of my skin. When I almost resembled a man again, wouldn’t you know it, a bloody car started to pull into the front yard. Luckily for me I spotted them before they got a view of the bloke showering in their backyard. I ducked down quickly and waited for them to go in the front before making my getaway, clothes and towel in arms around the back of the barn house. I must say I do feel a hell of a lot better, for both getting away without an incident and for the wash!
I had an interesting menu for dinner tonight, looking into my backpack as I was settling for the night I was to pull out the only remaining food from my pack which was half a pack of corn chips and half a jar of peanut butter. Now it wasn’t your premium nachos you would get from the local Mexican restaurant but after 30kms of pounding pavement, peanut butter with corn chips was good enough for me. At least my sister Toni will be happy I am eating the foods to keep the weight on!!
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