Trip 03, Day 4 (Day 25): Brothers
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2006
One word: COLD. We drove east through Millican and managed to locate the specific roadside post that Joe had wrapped twine around as a marker for our starting point. Joe started out again, braving that penetrating wind so characteristic of the Oregon desert and so startling in its ability to get inside a windbreaker. At 3.4 miles, it was my turn to go back and start. I was afraid I would need to add another layer of thermal insulation, but, fortunately, the wind was mostly at my back and, thus, bearable.
Starting point: 43.86264 N, 120.77773 W
Ending point: 43.80987 N, 120.58877 W
This walk redefined the parts of our vocabulary having to do with “desert” and “emptiness.” Finding a unique picture for each mile became a major challenge. I began to see, though, how the skyline silhouettes changed from mile to mile, even if the road did not. I felt very small, but decided that there was something fundamentally good and pure about all this absence of human industry. The wind subsided, and the temperature became quite comfortable for walking. And my tender feet seemed to be just slightly tougher than they had felt 24 hours earlier. The blue holes through the clouds opened wider, and for the last 3 miles, I walked in sunshine comfortably without the jacket. At 9.8 miles, I reached the only group of buildings encountered on this day: Brothers. It may be true that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I have to state factually that Sisters is (are?) prettier than Brothers. This small community had a gas station, café, school, and a handful of modest houses built to withstand cold winters, as well as a rest area for drivers and cowboys, and even an exercise area for their horses. But if there is such a place as the middle of nowhere, this could possibly be it. The walk ended a half-mile past the middle of nowhere.
Walk rating: 5.2
Money found: Day: $.57 Trip: $1.24 Project: $11.93
Distance: Day: 10.2 miles Trip: 41.4 miles Project: 229.7 miles
Walking time: Day: 3:17 Trip: 13:21 Project: 85:19
Significance: None.
