Back on the Trail in Yorkville

We finally escaped the hot and steamy clutches of North Texas. Seriously, y’all. I grew up there, but I’ve been away for quite awhile in the relatively cooler climate of the mid-Atlantic. I’d forgotten what late July and early August in the Dallas area felt like. To really get a good idea what it feels like, I’m going to need you to buy one of those old olive drab army blankets, fill your bathtub with hot water, put the blanket in the tub until thoroughly soaked, and then get it out and wrap it around your upper body and head. Wrap it tightly, but not so tightly that you can’t breath. Breathing should take some effort, but it shouldn’t be strictly impossible. After you’re all wrapped up, go and find the hottest area you can and sit there for about an hour. A black car with black leather seats at about three pm on a sunny day should be ideal. Man that place is hot, and I’m grateful to finally be back in the more temperate northern latitudes.

Our detour down to Texas took fourteen days. I was hoping for a five to seven day turnaround, but sadly, that was not the case. As of this writing we’re one hundred and forty days into the pilgrimage. Thirty-eight of those days, unfortunately, entailed no forward physical progress. 

Dad and I both looked at the fifteen hundred mile stretch left to cover from where we left the trail in Newport, Nebraska, and we both agreed that making it all the way to the Oregon coast was highly unlikely. We also looked at the relative lateness of the season for crossing the Rocky Mountains, and we both agreed that an attempt, though theoretically possible, carried weather related challenges that we were unwilling to risk.

That’s the bad news. We’re not going to make it to Newport, Oregon on this particular trip. I’m disappointed. This trip has been the culmination of five years of planning, and being forced to acknowledge the obvious has been surprisingly painful. It was always a long shot that we were going to make it, but up until this last setback, I really thought we still had a chance. That is no longer the case.

Dad's Back on the Trail - Sandwich, IL

The good news is that we’re back on the trail! After some long discussions, Dad and I collectively decided that the next step on the journey would be a return to Yorkville, Illinois. The return to Yorkville will give Dad the opportunity to walk the distance between where his foot injury initially forced him off the trail to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he met me to provide logistic support for the westward push to Newport, Nebraska.

Today, he ambled the first ten miles of what he hopes is about a two hundred mile journey that will take him across the Mississippi River on foot from Newport, Rhode Island. We’ve traded roles, and now I’m the one providing him the logistic support that he needs to complete this leg of our adventure together.

Even though we’re not going to cover all of the ground we originally set out to cover, I can honestly say that I don’t regret any part of the attempt. It’s been an epic journey of discovery, hope, and connection. I have nothing but gratitude for everyone who has helped us along the way.

Dad’s wandering path to Cedar Rapids will result in us covering every mile from Newport, Rhode Island to Newport, Nebraska together in one capacity or another. We welcome you to stick around as we wrap up the journey.