Trip 04, Day 04 (Day 31):
TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2007: HIGHWAY 395
After a warmer night, we got a decent start, arriving at Milepost 95 by 8:30 a.m., and Joe ran his first 5 miles while I waited. I started just before 9:30.
Starting point: 43.53864 N, 119.69904 W – elevation 4368 feet
Ending point: 43.54196 N, 119.50313 W – elevation 4242 feet
The walk began much as the previous days had, the desert stretching out as a sea of sagebrush in most directions as far as I could see. The GPS map showed the Chickahominy Reservoir very close by to my left, but the land was so flat that I could see no water – possibly it was entirely dried up. However, I could see a number of RVs sitting over in that area.
At 7 miles, I saw a sight in the distance indicating a fundamental change in the nature of the land: a green pasture. We had reached the edge of some farm country. Shortly, on both sides of the road were fields of green alfalfa being irrigated by long lines of rolling sprinklers. The aroma of sage was replaced with that of verdant alfalfa. I stopped at a pond near a farmhouse and observed how lush the foliage was around the edge, as though the vegetative life-force were multiplied to compensate for the harsher perimeter.
More ranches and further signs of civilization came into view. The road was perfectly straight for the entire walk on this day, so when I came over a rise about 4.5 miles from the end, I could just barely see the big billboard sign at Riley, my target and the spot where Joe was waiting with the car. The sign grew larger and larger over the next hour and a half. I was quite warm when I arrived, a sign of improving weather.
Walk rating: 6.0
Money found: Day: $.04 Trip: $0.27 Project: $12.73
Distance: Day: 10.0 miles Trip: 40.0 miles Project: 291.4 miles
Significance: First day with entire walk in a straight line.
