A rough day with a happy ending...

Day 140
7-25-2006
Started: Osage City
Finished: US 56 Beyond Allen, KS
Today's Miles: 25.1
Total Miles: 2025.1

So today had a "rough day" written all over it from the very start. We did mange to sleep well through the night but it was obvious from very early on that Randy's feet were not going to cooperate. He tried several different wrapping techniques to continue to try to prevent his hot spots from becoming full fledged blisters, but it was a losing battle all day. Fortunately we had a constant heavenly breeze, so the many breaks we took to tend to Randy's feet were actually quite pleasant, even when we were not shaded from the sun. Just as we left the town of Osage City, we watched as a minivan passed us by only to hit the breaks a short distance later then pull off the side of the road just a couple hundred feet in front of us. It turns out it was a woman who worked for the local newspaper who was on her way to the office when she spotted us and thought to herself that there had to be some kind of story to report. We spent some time answering questions and posing for a picture, but forgot to even ask what paper she was writing for. We are hoping that since the reporter is currently doing an internship for the summer with the paper and is really a full time high school English teacher, that we will hear from her again. We knew when we left Osage City this morning that we would not have access to any water source for roughly eighteen miles. By the time the afternoon rolled around the temperatures had reached the 100's, and we figured our water was better off in us then in our packs. It wasn't long until both of our water bags were empty and we were still quite a few miles from town. Normally we would consider asking a homeowner to use an outside hose to refill our water, but the few homes that we actually did pass were only visible off in the distance and way too far off the road. We kept pushing on toward the town of Allen until the heat took its toll on Randy. He was sweating profusely, feeling extremely nauceous and far too dehydrated. After a brief rest on the side of the road we continued down the road and fortunately came upon a high school where we found the one and only water pump on the entire campus that worked. We must have consumed two gallons of water in a matter of minutes and then decided to take a long break in the shade. We realize that we will have to start carrying extra water in our packs in order to survive this heat. Eventually making our way toward Allen, Randy's feet were feeling exceptionally terrible. His battle to contain his hot spots had failed and he now, once again, had full fledged blisters. It was no longer possible for him to keep his feet contained in his shoes so he opted to wear his camp shoes for a couple of miles. However, his camp shoes are definitely not designed to support large loads so it wasn't long before both pairs of shoes made it impossible to walk. This is when the Kansas trail magic kicked in. We watched as a large truck pulling a trailer full of equipment performed a U-turn shortly after passing by us. The truck slowly made its way back to us and the gentleman inside told us that he had seen us much earlier in the day and he was concerned because we had not made much progress since he saw us last. We explained the situation with Randy's feet and how we were picking up a new pair of shoes in Counsil Grove and the next thing we knew we were in his truck headed to town. Our Kansas Trail Angel's name is Chris and he is a native of Counsil Grove. We figured we would get a ride into town tonight, pick up Randy's shoes in the morning from the post office, then find a ride back to the trail in the afternoon. Chris took us to his house to meet his wife Denise, so we could figure out where we were going to stay for the night. Today was one of those days that is not only physically challenging but becomes quite the mental test as well. We plan to nurse Randy's sore feet the best we can tonight and hopefully have them feeling better tomorrow in a new pair of shoes. We can't thank Chris and Denise enough for their kindness, Kansas is overflowing with kindness. We are looking forward to "discovering" the very historical town of Counsil Grove in the morning.

Your Friends on the ADT,
Randy and Sheri
Follow our Journey at www.treckusa.com