I was packed and on the road by 8 and this made me happy. Ahead of me was a good stretch of blank mileage, no towns nor people to chat with so I’d resolved to myself that I’d hit it hard. That cheesecake from Old Chicago in Boise was weighing heavily on my mind and I thought the quicker I got there the better. As I walked though I began to think, why take just a slice when one could buy the whole cake for a fraction more? Just thinking, kids, that’s all.
So I moseyed on down my black top for a seven mile stretch before coming across a road crew. I was seeking a break so, given that the sign bearer on my approaching side was a cute lil lady I figured I’d stop and possibly have some company. Mind you, folks, I’m not looking for dates or anything out here, I just like a little flirting in my banter. I asked if I could sit by her truck and take a break and she happily said that was fine. That was pretty much all that was spoken between us. I ate my hard boiled egg and a Clif bar and headed off. Oh well.
Past the road work my terrain took a turn in style. My pathway suddenly reared its head and shook with delight as it started curving up and around hillsides, sprouting mountain views of valleys below, then dipping into them and treating me to a flat stretch here and there before bucking again. It didn’t faze me much, I liked the change and my legs were up for it. As I wandered these curving roads visions of my diner I wish to start when I get home danced in my head and I laughed the whole day long of how it’d be run.
My midpoint was 15 miles as I figured I’d strive for 30 that day. The marker for this was on the side of a steep hill and I figured on going one more to eat atop a nice overlook. It was worth the wait. At 16 miles I hit the crest and a turn around was carved out of the side of the road over looking the puddle of a reservoir after the longest drought in 100 years. I dropped the ole pack and set to work.
Cooking a delightful meal of rice and spaghetti with seasoning I sat back and enjoyed it with some hot cocoa. By the time the dishes were done and all was packed my water reserve was down to about a liter leaving my load pleasantly lighter and my concern for it over the next day minimal. I set off again.
Winding some more I slipped into my autopilot stream of consciousness. The legs simply moved and I forgot them into my own dreamy world. After passing the abandoned town of Tollgate, last bastion of closed stores, I came across my final dirt road of the walk. It was my short cut to the interstate which I’d have to walk to get to Boise.
The road was beautiful. As much as I didn’t like being back on the rolling rocks under my feet and the haphazardly bouncing locusts bopping around, it was beautiful terrain and opened over the valley in the distance. After a steep cliffside road weaving down into the valley I went two extra miles until the sun set calling it a day at my longest yet. Thirty two miles. Once more I attempted the script and got another third of the way in but soon succumbed to exhaustion.