July 1, 2014 (Days 1-2)

Exhausted. The only word to describe any sort of emotion or feeling I've had over the past four days. When I started, I had all these grand ideas about the deep insights I would gain, but I'm too tired to even think. Here I am at 7:30 on the fourth night and I am just now mustering the strength to scribble a few words before I fall asleep. Here's a recap:

Day 1: Lincoln City, OR to Siuslaw National Forest (25 miles towards goal, ~27 ran)

Of anyone who has run across the country unassisted, I can guarantee no one started like we did. Google Maps recommended a route for walkers between L.C. and Corvallis that crossed the Siuslaw National Forest and private land. I had done my due diligence to mark the GPS coordinates of every intersection I could see on satellite and marked them on a screenshot printout map. I had even scouted the road coming from Corvallis the week before only to be welcomed by a "Road Closed" sign (spray paint on plywood). The timing belt broke on my '02 Ford Escort broke on that trip and I ended up selling it for $300 that day.

After saying goodbye to family, we proceeded down Hwy 101, turned onto the Siletz Highway and stared up at the mountain that was National Forest Road 900. After climbing "roads" our reward of a downhill was to control our 100+ lb stroller. 15 or so miles in, after only a couple of quickly corrected wrong turns, we managed to get lost. Playing hide-and-seek with the closest coordinates, we got help from a guy headed to moonshine (only the second person we'd seen in the woods) We eventually made camp at 9pm and ate in the rain. Sticking to your sleeping bag because of dried sweat is the worst!

Day 2: National Forest to Corvallis (37 Miles)

No getting lost here! Just 15 more miles on good forest roads and the second longest run I've ever done. It was nice knowing that there'd be a shower and bed waiting for me. My legs actually felt completely fine in the morning.

We ran 12 miles more this day than Day 1 in about a half hour faster. Despite this, the familiar path of Fitton Green to home had never felt longer in my life.

July 10, 2014 (Days 3-11)

Alright, alright time for some catch up. My body has slowly been adjusting to the grueling task of putting in so many miles a day and I've started to find more energy to do things outside of running. I suppose this only being a 21 mile day that finished at 11 am has helped my desire to recap. Here we go:

Day 3: Corvallis to Sweet Home (34 Miles)

Started by running half of our infamous I-5 and back run we did freshmen year-pretty much the only run I've ever legitimately hallucinated. Crossed I-5 and went to Lebanon where we dined at the Peacock East. Finished the 14 mile stretch to Sweet Home by alternating pushing duty every 2 miles and switched sides of the road to stay in the shade. Stayed in our first warm showers visit with the Hoys, a great family about 1 mile off the road. Amult, the German mother, left us with the message "The Destination is the Journey"

Day 4: Sweet Home to House Rock (28 Miles)

Our first venture into the Santiam Pass started with a discovery that "All-American Pies" contained 450 calories a pop and they soon became a staple for breakfast. Climbs on this day were pretty gradual with some tight turns. The non-pusher would run out ahead to try and warn cars of our presence. It was very tempting to jump into the Santiam River at several points but we found our way to the campground by early evening. We weren't expecting the rain that came that night so we made an emergency midnight "Get stuff into the tent and get the rain fly on" trip.





Day 5: House Rock to Lost Lake (22 Miles)

Here was the climb! House Rock = 1800 ft, Lost Lake = 4,100ft. Our normal practice of switching shifts every 2-4 miles devolved into every 1/2 mile to mile. We navigated the tight turns safely and succeeded to climp up to 4,000 ft only to be dropped back down! All of our hard work wasted! We took an hour or two for lunch at the 126 junction and resumed the climb at the 22 junction to the top of Potato Hill. We were greeted by a motorist in the turnout with cold drinks while his wife made a phone call. He was a supervisor for the Foster and Green Lakes dam-I shared my experiences with PGE.

We descended a mile into Lost Lake and the thousands of mosquitoes who'd found dinner. We bathed in the lake, and then in Deet. I could see in the distance the top of the pass we had to climb in the morning.

Day 6: Lost Lake to Sisters (28 Miles)

After climbing the pass, the descent offered amazing views of all the Cascade volcanoes. The awe I had always experienced upon this sight while in a car was greatly magnified by being on foot. We had earned the right to be amongst these giants.

After Black Butte Ranch, we turned to a shortcut provided by our hosts for the night-Jim and Jill, who lived a couple of miles north of town. The views of ranch land leading up to the Three Sisters and Broken Top were spectacular. Upon arrival to the doctors' dream home, we got a ride to town where we ate at a Mexican place and devoured a box of Snickers ice cream bars in front of Ray's Grocery Store. The evening was spent over great conversation and Jim's homebrews. 



Day 7: Sisters to West Powell Butte (28 Miles)

Rest was on the horizon and I needed it! My right knee was in quite a bit of pain and was super stiff. I couldn't wait to get today over with and spend as much time as possible at Mary and Dave's. I wanted the stroller for all of today and I used it as a walker. Having my mom's cousin Misha run with us from Redmond was a very welcomed sight as it marked an 8 mile to go mark.

We arrived to our temporary home and ate, ate, and ate. Mary, my great aunt, had cooked and baked for days leading up to our arrival. After several hours icing my knee, we watched 4th of July fireworks from Bend to Redmond from the top porch of their home.

Day 8: Rest at Mary and Dave's

My knee felt like someone had smashed it with a hammer over night. Rest and stretching would serve it well. The vast majority of the day was spent lounging on the back porch looking over the Cascades from Bachelor to Mt. Jefferson. This view would be sorely missed as we head east the next day. Don't think I could've run today. 

Day 9: West Powell Butte to Hwy 26 Milepost 36 (31 miles) 

The knee had recovered well enough to trek on. There were 13 miles to Prineville, another 9 to the Ochoco Reservoir, and 9 to our campsite on the side of the highway to split the distance to Mitchell. After our Dairy Queen stop, we walked through town and struck up conversation with an Aussie riding across the country who'd passed us on the descent into Prineville. We caught back up with our new friend Daniel at the reservoir where we passed the heat of the day. It would have been nice to stay, but we had to keep on for another 9 in the evening. We made plans to race to the top of the Ochoco Pass Summit the next day. Late in the evening we arrived at a decent spot on the side of the road. Our first unofficial site!



Day 10: Milepost 36 to Mitchell (30 Miles)

We won the race to the summit where we built a monument of rocks, pinecones and dirt drawings to celebrate our victory over Daniel. A 5 am wakeup did wonders. About 3 miles down from the summit, after passing through a construction zone, we heard "you bloody insane f***ers, I'd thought you'd slept in and I passed you!! How....?" With 13 miles to go, we promised to meet our Aussie friend in Mitchell in about two hours.

These 13 miles ended up being the hardest of the trip so far, despite them being completely downhill. Despite a nice downgrade the whole way, the heat was blistering and dehydration was becoming an issue for Sam and I. Two miles out of town, we met our first cyclist finishing the trans-America route-I was more excited for the day's end than the conversation.

We set up camp in the city park, then head to the diner for burgers and milkshakes. Daniel joined us for our last meal together as he was headed to Dayville. I was hoping he would've stayed with us, as he was great company, but I suppose I should start getting used to these frequent goodbyes with the new friends I make.

There came a point in Mitchell while lounging around after forcing down another serving of Mac and Cheese with cheese that came out of a foil bag, where I realized this really wasn't fun......no longer was there novelty dealing with sore joints, sunburn, and preemptive stages of heat stroke while doing dishes in a stream-this was my life for the foreseeable future. The running felt like a 9-5 day job that exhausted me too much to enjoy the rest of life. Maybe I'll call it after Oregon-that's still an alright feat. We crashed at 8 pm with ease in anticipation of a 4 am alarm.

Day 11: Mitchell to Dayville (39 Miles)

Waking up was the best feeling of any sort I'd had in a long time. Despite the early morning-the discouraging thoughts had been slept off enough. We attempted the climb out of Mitchell begrudigingly but had very smooth sailing to our original intended campsite-the Highway 19 junction at the John Day River. We spent five good hours under the bridge there, sleeping, cooking and swimming-we were officially homeless. I spent the past few years of school learning to design bridges, and here I was already living under one. Swimming in the river canyon was one of the more surreal experiences of the trip. I was amazed I had never heard of all the beautiful geologic features of the John Day Fossil Beds. At about four, the canyon walls cast enough of a shadow to do the 7 extra credit miles to Dayville. While buying drinks, Sam discovered the Presbytarian Church had unlocked doors for thru-travellers to stop, shower and rest. This amazing hospitality restored my faith in the journey.

The store at the gas station cooked us a pizza with enough leftovers for breakfast the next morning. Although the church stayed quite warm, I slept like a rock-ready to tackle the 20+ miles tomorrow to Mt. Vernon. The trip was fun again, and Dayville is a wonderful town.

July 12, 2014 (Days 12-15)

As I sit here in the Clarion Inn in Ontario OR, with Idaho in sight, I finally have a little chance to catch up with my entries. It has been tough to figure out how much time to devote to recording this trip, and how much to be out living it.

Day 12: Dayville to Mt. Vernon (23 Miles)

An easy day! Not even a marathon! These shorter days are almost harder since I put no mental preparation into them. I expect 23 to feel like 4 and of course it doesn't. We arrived in Mt. Vernon at about 11:30 to the Bike Inn, the guest house of someone friendly to the TransAm bike route cause. After returning from lunch at the Silver Spur and weathering a temporary downpour, we returned to find 7 new guests who would be spending the night with us, 5 of which were part of a travelling by bicycle religious group. Three more joined-so we slept outside without a tent. It was a late night due to conversation about religion and education. 

Day 13: Mt. Vernon to Prairie City (21 Miles)

We left our new friends for Prairie City a little later than most mornings. We walked through John Day about 8 miles in to savor all that the town had to offer. Stopped at a store to fulfill my pregnancy cravings for carrots. Ended in Prairie City about noonish and found camp at an RV park along a small creek. Prairie City offered several dining options not seen in the past week-Mexican Food!! I had several hours to write (played major catch up in this journal) and rest up for the Monster that would be tomorrow. From borrowed cyclist maps we knew there'd be a 5200' peak to be climbed first thing in the morning.

Day 14: Prairie City to Unity Reservoir Turnoff (36 Miles)

Because of the mental prep today seemed a bit easier. I've found when about to go through a mountain day I have this mentality that I have to climb a mountain AND go 36 miles. It always turns into a bonus that the climb contributes 6+ miles to the journey's total. After the TransAm turnoff at Highway 7, I figured climbing would be done as we'd skim to the the south of the Blue Mountains. Highway 26 made a mockery of this by throwing the 5,100' Blue Mountain Pass in our way. Without fancy biking maps anymore, these climbs are certain to be surprises in the coming weeks.

Coming down from the second climb, Sam's parents caught us at milepost 204. I figured our destination to be at 208 only to be informed that it was actually 210. We got there and earned some rest! Jim and Joyce took us to lunch in Unity and drove us 60+ miles down our route to the hotel in Ontario where I'm writing now. After a week with no beds to hotel room was a welcomed sight. LeBron also announced his return to Cleveland. 


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Day 15-Rest Day Ontario (7/12/2014)

Today was relatively uneventful with several errands made in preparation for the coming week. I almost wish we could have run today just to get Oregon done sooner, but six days running is plenty. I wanted to make sure we never crossed into Idaho-that will be on foot in three days from now. My legs feel pretty fantastic on the whole with a couple of troubling signs. One, there is some tightness behind my right knee that feels it could pop pretty soon. Second, my left foot gets random sharp pains that feel kind of similar to my stress fracture last year. The stress fracture was from running too many days in a row-I've gotten a lot smarter now and take a day off every week! (just ignore the fact I put up 180 miles this week) Now we've got 4 30+ mile days in a row before our next rest day at Greta's in Eagle, ID. Idaho will be better planned there but I'm leaning towards hugging the Snake RIver lifeline rather than venturing into the (shorter) Highway 20 desert. Just gotta get to Idaho Falls then through Jackson to join our biker friends again.

July 14, 2014 (Days 16-17)

Day 16-Unity Reservoir to Milepost 243 (33 Miles)

Waking up at 4:15 in Ontario, we started running at about 5:30 after a 1.5 hour drive (time change from Mountain to Pacific). We moved at a pretty quick clip with about 6 miles being sub 6's-we had a World Cup Final to watch (which Germany won 1-0), Our desire to get done quickly allowed us to beat any significant heat. We piled into the car and drove back to home base in Ontario.

Sleeping in the same bed as the two previous nights gave the illusion that no progress had been made. The drive back also allowed us to see our miscalculation in splitting the difference and that tomorrow was to be two miles longer than today-shoot!

Day 17-MP 243 to Vale (35 Miles)

Today was pushing some limits. Before the sun rose, it was 80 degrees. After a power nap in the car after a 4:15 wake-up again, we left out. One bonus was the cart had been fixed and I could once again use it as walker.

Our fast pace (3:02 for the marathon distance running) was offset by longer breaks. Drinking the same amount of water regularly through the day, piss breaks went from every five minutes to non-existent. Even in saunas, I don't think I'd ever sweat that much in my life. The tailwind blew beads of sweat onto the cart with every stride.

Sam was hoping to find a place in Willow Creek (about 11 miles from Vale) to rest 'til evening, but with no such luck we pushed on. Outside of the approach to Mitchell, this was the most dehydrated I'd been this trip. We found refuge under a shelter for a transformer (one similar to the one I designed for PGE!) and in the shade of several trees. We finally found our way into town and saw a five-story building for the first time in a week. After "cleaning" off in the Malheur River, we established camp in the city park and went grocery shopping. Idaho tomorrow and a baseball dugout to sleep in tonight. Keepin' it classy!

Final Night Reflections in Oregon-July 14, 2014

Here I sit, my last night in Oregon for a long time, in the 107 degree heat of Vale. After running on the surface of the sun today for 35 miles, it is difficult to comprehend the rainy, cool conditions of Lincoln City being only just over two weeks ago. I feel I've lived several months' worth of experiences, exploring new places, meeting new people and slow cooking on the left shoulder. By slowing down to eight miles per hour, life has mysteriously sped up.

Over these two weeks Sam and I have got to appreciate the state we call home in a way almost nobody else will. We've seen every mile, listened to every mile, smelt every mile, and certainly felt every mile in leg muscles we didn't know existed.

The geographic diversity of this state is immense. As fast as landscapes change by car, they change by foot. No two days offered the same scenery. The sandy beaches quickly turned to coastal forests which quickly turned to Willamette Valley agriculture and then into forests of firs into the Cascades. Firs turned to pine and sage brush through mountains and valleys until the desolate desert of Malheur County, where we temporarily reside.

Highway 26, our home for the past week has offered a revelation of sort. The same stretch of highway that causes so much stress to tens of thousands everyday through the Vista Ridge tunnel in Portland, offers therapy through the Ochoco and Blue Mountains and the canyons of the John Day.

Suddenly it all seems possible. We have crossed a state- no small one at that. Next up, Idaho-where we will hug the Snake River and the heat shows no sign of letting up. We plan to be in Wyoming by the end of the month where all significant mountains will have been climbed and the Divide signals it'll all be downhill from there. But one day at a time-hell, one mile at a time.

The places we've seen, the hospitality from complete strangers, and the support for this trip have all made me very proud to be an Oregonian. If the rest of this country can be half as good, the trip will have been a tremendous success.

Day 127-Atlantic Highlands to ATLANTIC OCEAN!!! (7 Miles)

I woke up feeling lucky that no one tried to rob my room last night and dragged the cart on its side to fit it through the narrowest doorway I've seen. The weather was absolutely miserable with pouring rain, cold temperatures and crazy wind. Luckily I didn't have to spend very much time in it. I got back onto the Henry Hudson bike path, took it to its end and reached the last bridge of the journey I had to cross.

As I got up the bridge deck sidewalk, the winds became like nothing I'd ever felt before. They pushed from left to right and I had to work pretty hard to keep the cart from blowing over into the roadway. As I turned north on the other side of the river, I faced the winds head on and could barely even open my eyes to see my family outside of the rental car further down the path. I didn't run to them, but instead opted to climb over a little dike and run across the beach as soon as I could. The sandblasting the wind gave me was actually really painful, and any plans to go for a long swim were ruined by my fears of the pretty big waves. There was no sitting at the shoreline to contemplate the achievement, just a mad rush to get to the van to stave off the hypothermia. 

And with that, it was over....

We drove back to a hotel in Neptune that Jan and Todd from Grundy Center generously gave my family for a couple of nights. I shaved my beard except for the mustache (which I intend to keep through Movember), showered, and hit the road to Seacaucas, NJ where we took a train back into the monstrous city of New York.

A drive to Philadelphia waited for us tomorrow and I would continue south on a bus to Baltimore. This distance, which would take me a week to run, would be covered in just a few short hours. I suppose I will re-acclimate to distances as I take the long way home.

Day 126-East Brunswick to Atlantic Highlands (22 Miles)

I started the day with a pack of Pop-Tarts before checking out of Motel 6 and hitting the road for my last real day of running. I wanted to get done somewhat early in the day in the off-chance that I could catch a ferry to New York City for the evening. After running through a maze of side roads and busier state highways, I eventually got to the head of the Henry Hudson bike trail. This trail pretty much marked the end of running where I had to share the same piece of pavement with a car.

A few miles into the bike path, there was a break in the trees that had continuously lined the trail. To the south there was extensive home re-buildings, most likely from the devastation of Hurricane Sandy. To the north was where the picture below was taken. It's hard to describe that sight, but I savored it at nearby park bench for quite some time. The last few miles into the Leonardo Motel-by far the sketchiest motel of the trip-flew by.

Without wasting much time, I walked 2 miles to the SeaStreak ferry to catch the 5 pm boat into New York. The ride was about an hour long and cost me $45, but there was no way I was going to run this far and not go into the heart of the city. Waiting to board, I struck up a conversation with Glenn, an avid Civil War reenactor going to visit his girlfriend who was in town for the holiday with an elaborate costume. He gave me the advice to walk from the northern ferry stop and catch the returning boat further south.

Walking from 35th St up to Times Square, across half of the Brooklyn Bridge, and then down to Wall Street to Pier 11 was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. During these four hours I probably saw more people than I had seen in the past four months combined. The fact that at least half of them were dressed up for Halloween added to it all.

Back at 10 pm at Pier 11, I met back up with Glenn and took the last ferry from New York back to Jersey. Him buying me a candy bar on the boat and driving me back to the motel would be the last acts of kindness I received from people who had once been strangers.

Day 125-Somerville to East Brunswick (16 Miles)

I woke up and milked yet another motel check-out time before proceeding through a construction zone that would take me to the Deleware-Raritan Canal Trail into New Brunswick. At the end of the trail in town, water was spilling into the river from the canal over the cobblestone path. It took several minutes to push the cart over the very rough surface through a few inches of flowing water.

Getting into the city that contained two of Rutgers' main campuses, I decided to head towards the local bike shop to get some route planning advice. Google maps showed an upcoming highway crossing to be "bike-friendly" but the satellite image of no shoulder and a clover-leaf interchange had me skeptical. Two guys at the shop told me it'd be alright and that was enough for me to proceed.

After running through Rutgers' Cooke Campus I got to Ryder Lane's crossing of Highway 1. I noticed that there was a sidewalk on the other side of the guardrail over the bridge so I decided to go down an exit ramp a ways to get around it. Getting around the guardrail on the other side of the highway was a different story, however. Because the guardrail extended all of the way down to the highway below, I would have to go over it. With the cart being too heavy to lift over, I worked at unpacking all of my stuff then lifting it over. The ridiculousness of this whole situation became very clear when a couple of walkers passed me by.

The Motel 6 on the other side of a busy highway was my home for the evening. After taking a nap and cleaning up, I head to the nearest restaurant, a Chinese Buffet. The water they gave me tasted like molding compost and completely made me lose my appetite. It took the whole length of the country, but I finally found disgusting tap water.

The Jersey Turnpike

Day 124-Clinton to Somerville (24 Miles)

I started the day with what I thought was a free continental breakfast until a bill was handed to me as I started to leave back to my room. It was a bit of a bummer, but I was able to fill up until eating hurt. I had a noon checkout time here that I took advantage of until 11:30. 24 miles seemed like a pretty long ways today after the previous few runs.

Google Maps proved to be money as I arrived into Somerville with zero stress with regard to traffic and no shoulders. The run really opened my eyes to the fact that most of New Jersey is rural farm and forest land. This was true until getting into town where, for the first time, I felt like I was in the suburb of a huge city. It reminded me of the southern suburbs of Chicago I crossed over a month ago.

The motel I was staying in was a couple of miles from the main drag of town. After walking through Somerville and what claimed to be the oldest continuous hotel in the US, I started running east and north to the motel off of the really busy Highway 22. After cleaning up, I went next door to the Houlihan's where I ate dinner at the bar with a couple of businessmen who had just gotten off of work.

Today was again pretty low key. I'm liking these low mileage days as they seem almost effortless. Three more days!

They claim to be the oldest continuous hotel in the US

Day 123-Belvidere to Clinton (20 Miles)

The owner of Hotel Belvidere sat down at breakfast with me and gave me a history lesson on the town dating back to before the Revolutionary War. It was great to have such a knowledgeable host and it made me appreciate how much older the history is here compared to out west. After breakfast I just lounged around a bit before the 11 am checkout time.

I started on the run despite not getting my map (phone) to turn on. I knew how to tackle the first eight miles or so from memory, and hopefully it would start working after that. It eventually did, and it proved to be necessary to navigate through the labryith of local roads that climbed the steep hills that dove through farmland and mill towns. One quarter mile stretch of roads was undoubtedly the steepest of the entire trip outside of Day 1 when we climbed through the Coastal Range on forest roads. Even walking up this monster needed three rest stops along the way.

Even with a later start, I finished the day at the Holiday Inn around 3 pm. I took a nap, showered, and ventured the half mile into town. The downtown had amazing old buildings and was bustling with several small business that were out of my price range for dinner. I walked through town to a Subway where I loaded up before going back to the hotel to relax for the rest of the evening. Me knee is just starting to feel a bit better.

Downtown Clinton

Day 122-Stroudsburg to Belvidere, NJ (17 Miles)

By the time I had woken up, Jamie had already left for work. Graydon was the next one awake and we ate cereal together from his fancy new bowls with straws built in before he had to catch his bus. My cart had been in the back of Lawerence's pick-up all weekend so we didn't have to load it up. We waited for Brian to show up to start work for the day and started out to the Stroudsburg. On the way out, we stopped at the Jonas gas station where we ran into Lawrence's dad and his paving crew about to head out for the day.

We eventually got to the Sunoco station and I had to run my last few miles in Pennsylvania. I said goodbye to Lawrence and Brian after Lawrence had stuffed something into my cart and told me I wasn't allowed to see it until he left. I soon discovered the note telling me to keep a positive attitude and to pay it forward along with a Visa gift card. I was extremely lucky to cross paths with Jamie and Lawrence on this journey. Checking up on me on the side of the road, taking me in for the weekend, and this final gesture were all acts of great kindness that showed what amazing people they are. I look forward to hopefully seeing them again soon as they are looking at taking a trip west.

After climbing a massive hill and arriving to Delaware Water Gap, I crossed the famed Appalachian Trail that stretches from Maine to Georgia. I proceeded down 611, which lost its shoulder and gained a Jersey Barrier as it carved into the walls of the valley made by the Delaware River. Several miles passed where I could see New Jersey but remained in Pennsylvania. In the familiar sounding town of Portland, I crossed the border into my 10th and final state of the trek.

A few miles passed on a busier US highway before turning onto a quiet county road into the town of Belvidere. I checked into the only hotel around for several miles, Hotel Belvidere, and talked for a while with the owner. The hotel was originally built in 1826 and had been beautifully restored just a few years ago. The owner let me store my cart in a storage closet outside.

I showered, walked around town with beautiful old Victorian homes for a bit, before stopping into the local bar and then a deli when I realized the bar didn't serve food. I ate on the back balcony where I could absorb the sun's rays like a turtle, as the owner put it. It was a pretty easy day that was only hindered by my lingering knee pains.

Crossing the Delaware River

Day 121-Rest in the Poconos

I started the day off with an icing routine for my knee which really needed the rest day. The morning was perfectly relaxing and Jamie made a huge breakfast. After a few hours of watching football, I left with Lawerence to help winterize a couple of the houses he manages as part of his company.

The first home was the one he offered to have me stay in in Effort. I'd never really seen a foreclosed house before, and it was interesting to see what can happen to a pretty new home after over a year of being vacant. The drywall was ripped up in a lot of spots where the copper pipe had been stolen and several of the walls were tagged with spray paint. The stolen pipes made winterizing very quick as the water lines didn't need to be drained.

After taking a bit more time winterizing the second home, we went to Lawrence's cousin's house to catch the start of the Eagles game. I've officially left Steelers/Penguins territory and am now very clearly in the land of Eagles/Flyers. We finished watching the game at Lawerence's parent's house where we had a great dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup. I also got my first taste of apple dumplings which were amazing.

We left for home after a heartbreaking Eagles' loss. I got to meet Jamie's 8-year-old son Graydon before he went to bed. I spent my last night in Pennsylvania watching the Packers get mauled by the Saints. It wasn't a very good weekend for my sports teams, but my new friends in the Pocono Mountains made it a great one overall.

Jamie, Lawrence and myself

Day 120-Effort to Stroudsburg (16 Miles)

After breakfast, I left with Lawrence and Jamie on their way to get flu vaccinations. They dropped me off at Lawrence's uncle's car wash which I had passed on the way to the foreclosed house yesterday. I quickly found myself lucky to be running without the cart as the first few miles proved to have quite a bit of traffic with no shoulder at all.

I eventually got to run a few miles on a less busy cutoff road through state game land before getting onto the super busy Highway 611. Running with the cart through this would've been a nightmare as dodging the traffic to the strip malls and big box stores would have been pretty tough. After going through the busy outskirts I arrived to the bustling small-town downtown and crossed I-80 and waited at a Sunoco gas station for Jamie and Lawrence. They got me a Poconos Mountains t-shirt in Stroudsburg while they waited for me to finish.

They drove me back a different way than what I'd run and we got home just in time to watch Oregon State get whooped by Stanford. After this disappointment we drove up to Penn's Peak for dinner with Lawrence's parents and sister. It was just dark enough to not get a full appreciation of the view, but it was a very cool restaurant and concert hall with lots of memorabilia from the pretty big names that have played there. We got home and I crashed on their couch, falling asleep during what ended up being an exciting Penn State game.

Didn't see this until Day 122, but it was close to my end point today

Day 119-Albrightsville to Effort (11 Miles)

After waking up I met Erva, who had returned home last night just after I left for bed, and enjoyed a massive breakfast. She is a sales rep for Scentsy, and left me with an air freshener before Cliff drove me back to the Exxon station. The beautiful weather seemed like it was weeks removed from the pouring rain of yesterday.

The string of four long hilly days left my knee feeling like someone had jarred an ice pick into it. I took an extended warm up walk to an abandoned pool supply store where I started doing some stretching. As I was laying down a pickup truck stopped by worried that I had just been hit by a car. I started talking to Lawrence and Bryan a bit and Lawrence offered me a foreclosed house that he was managing in Effort to stay in for the night. I was originally planning on staying at an overpriced dumpy motel and was glad to take him up on their offer.

After kind of limping through the run and climbing one last final hill to the house, I met back up with Lawrence and Bryan who informed me that they wouldn't be able to turn the water on for me because someone had stolen the copper pipes out of the walls. Lawrence then offered to let me stay at his place back in Jonas, a town I had passed earlier in the day, which I gladly accepted.

Before driving back to his home, Lawrence wanted to show me one of his favorite sites in the area that he had just recently discovered. We drove awhile before stopping at some state game lands that were probably less than a half mile from Cliff and Erva's home that I stayed in last night. After about a half mile hike, Lawrence made me look down at my feet while I got into the clearing before revealing the gorge carved out by the Lehigh River. This was probably the best view of nature I'd seen since western Nebraska.

We arrived to his house after stopping at the family farmhouse that he would be moving into this winter. Here I met his girlfriend Jamie and took a shower in the first spa shower I'd seen on this run. Lawrence's sister, an avid runner, came over to meet me and we had dinner from Mike's Pizza. After hearing my plans for the next few days, Lawrence and Jamie offered to pick me up from Stroudsburg tomorrow and host me for an off day on Sunday. I was really lucky to meet such a great couple who would give me a great last few days in Pennsylvania.

Lehigh River Overlook

Day 118-Hazleton to Albrightsville (27 Miles)

While the rains continued from yesterday, I attempted to wait it out before the 11 am checkout time arrived. I started out east through the very busy beltway around Hazleton, a surprisingly large city, in the rain. After a lunch at McDonalds, I started down a a less busy highway that had a pretty good shoulder.

After passing through the highest borough in Pennsylvania, Freeland at an elevation of 1972 feet, the bike route started going down country roads again before getting to the Lehigh River valley. At Lehigh Tannery I jumped onto Highway 534 which took me through the large Hinkley State Park. After a massive descent and climb into and out of the main valley, I passed the empty campground that I would have stayed in for the night if my uncle Jason hadn't found me a connection through his church.

I gave Cliff a call outside of the Exxon station in Albrightsville at the junction of Highways 903 and 534. The shelter didn't do much as the wind drove the rain. Soon enough, he arrived, we loaded up the cart into his car, and drove south to his home in the woods outside of Jim Thorpe-a town named after the Olympic decathlete.

After showering and getting situated in their guest area in the basement, I joined Cliff for an amazing steak dinner and great conversation. I learned that he and his wife Erva, who was out at a Halloween parade, were originally from Idaho and that Erva was from the small town of Soda Springs, which is very close to where my grandma is from in Bennington. They moved out to Pennsylvania from Utah several years ago for Cliff's job with a foundry. One of their sons back in Utah was an ultramarathoner who has completed several 100 mile races.

Crossing the Lehigh River

Day 117-Danville to Hazleton (40 Miles)

Today was another case of leaving the motel earlier than I could have in order to get done before dark. I started back down the highway towards Danville before running on what claimed to be the oldest rails-to-trails in the United States, an old Reading Railroad line that was converted in the 1800's. After walking through the main part of town, I continued east after town on a small back road that

After the town of Catawissa, I continued down back roads towards Hazelton. Even though I had crossed taller mountains earlier in the state, I climbed them on highways which took the steepness out of them. These country roads were something else, a sign warned of 14 percent grade for a half mile on one of them. The curviness of the roads always

As I turned down Tomhicken Road, the road that would take me into Hazleton after about 10 miles, the forewarned rains started. The worst of this Nor'Easter was to the east, but I The forest I ran through provided some shelter, but it still got plenty wet. When I got to the b

Outside of my room at the Forest Inn I met Anthony, who was about to start a seasonal job at one of Amazon's largest plants in town. After showering and getting situated I went with him to dinner across the street at Denny's. It was interesting to learn his involvement with the 12 Tribes, a religious based farming community in upstate New York. After dinner, I went to bed exhausted yet again happy that tomorrow would be under 30 miles.

Beaver Valley