End of the Journey: December 3, 2009
What a Difference 6 Hours Can Make!
At
I turned off the heater in the room, but had a hot bath. My sore feet stung, but it was good to feel clean again.
At 9 am I walked out of the room, just as the motel house-keeper, Toni, was passing by. She stopped to talk to me and I told her about the walk. Toni had been in the navy and visited London: there she had seen the changing of the guard outside Buckingham Palace and other sights of London. Toni took me to meet Ellie, who worked on the front desk during the day. I talked to Ellie and also the motel manager Scott. Ellie’s husband, Lyle, was a newspaper reporter for the paper in Lakota and Ellie gave him a call to come over and meet me.
It was amazing the difference that six hours could make. Meeting the friendly people in the Sunlac Motel breathed life back into me and I could feel the energy rising in me again. I sat down to breakfast and was grateful for the orange juice, coffee, eggs, sausages and toast, which was all free of charge.
Lyle arrived and interviewed me, as I ate. I packed up my gear and posed for photos in the lobby of the Sunlac Inn.
A Freezing Start to the Day
It was 11 am by the time I set off from Lakota. The temperature was 5 ° Fahrenheit, but a strong wind blew, giving a wind chill of minus 30. I wore my gloves, thermals, ski-masks and goggles. I also wore my boots and each step was painful. One mile, 2 miles, 3 miles went by.
A snow plough driver, called Steve, stopped to give me a donation for hospice. He said I was ‘strong’ to be walking in the cold; and there was me just thinking, no, I’m just cold. A short while later an elderly couple stopped in their car. They asked if they could drop me a 100 miles down the road. I thanked them, but said, no, that I had to walk. They gave a donation for hospice and headed on down Route 2 towards
Four miles, 5 miles and 6 miles, I was still going. An Air Force sergeant from Grand Forks Air Force base stopped in his car, again to see if I needed a ride. I explained about the walk once more and handed him a card with the National Hospice Foundation website. He wished me luck and said ‘keep on marching.’
The wind was high, the sky a clear pale blue and it was cold. The air now was dry, as all the moisture had fallen as snow. No ice formed from my breath, now; instead the air sucked the moisture from me, it was like being slowly freeze dried. I didn’t want to stop to eat; I didn’t want to stop for any reason, as the walking was the only way to stay warm.
Seven miles, 8 miles, 9 miles, Lakota disappeared behind me. The town of Doyon passed by: just a small collection of houses. Ten miles, 11 miles and 12 miles came and I had reached the 283 mile marker. It was now
Just ahead, a dark van pulled over by the roadside. I picked up my step and moved towards it. Two women climbed out and introduced themselves as Becky and Sharon. I was overjoyed to see them. Becky drove me to
A Remembrance Service for The Mercy Hospice
The Mercy Hospice was holding a service of remembrance, in which people lit candles for relatives who had passed away. The service was held outside, next to a huge Christmas tree. In truth I wanted to be anywhere but outside, but I stood next to Carmen Tronson, as she spoke the words of the service and began to light people’s candles. A local priest said a prayer and the gathered people of
Inside the hospital building there was hot cider and cookies. I talked to several people about the walk, but I was just about exhausted. By around 7.30 pm people started to leave. I explained to Carmen that I hadn’t eaten since about
The Journey is at An End
Over dinner Carmen and Becky suggested that I should stop walking, now that the weather was due to become even colder. With the condition of my feet, the lack of food over the last few days and the cold, I decided it was time to stop. The journey, at least for 2009, was at an end. Minot, which was where I had planned to stop, was about 136 miles further on, but I figured it would still be there when I came back to walk through to San Francisco.
To decide, over dinner, to stop walking, left me with a strange feeling inside. Becky and Carmen dropped me back at
Editor’s Note: Colin took a train from North Dakota to Washington, DC, where he arrived on December 9th. On December 10th, he visited with staff at the Center for Care at the End of Life (home to the National Hospice Foundation, the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, FHSSA, and the Hospice Action Network). On the 11th, he toured some Washington sites and then took a bus to New York. After staying one night at an airport hotel, he flew home to Great Britain on Saturday, December 12. We at NHF are deeply grateful to Colin for his extraordinary physical effort and for spending his “down time” writing this blog. We hope he returns in 2011 to complete the walk, from North Dakota to San Francisco.
