Day 4 – 7/2 – Richmond to Blountsville, IN – 27 miles

When one thing goes wrong, it’s annoying. When two things go wrong, it’s infuriating. When three things go wrong, it’s a comedy.

Today’s walk was thoroughly relaxing. I woke up rejuvenated, ate the cold spaghetti that was left over from last night–I really need to stretch out my stomach asap; I ate shockingly little for dinner–and then hustled outside before dawn. After a very short jaunt through downtown Richmond, during which I realized that there was quite a bit to like, if only there had been the time, I emerged on the rail trail, which would lead me northwestward for the entirety of the day. The “greenway” name is well placed, as trees lined the route for much of the day, offering excellent shade, and enough shelters and benches were sprinkled along the way to provide quality break spots.

I was much better today about pacing myself. It’s another stealth camping night, so I wanted to carefully manage the hours. The goal was to arrive in Losantville–the only town with food–as close to 4pm as possible, as the pizzeria would open right around then. My goal was to hang out there for as long as possible, hopefully taking advantage of wifi, before carrying on a kilometer or two to a viable sleeping spot. In service to this, I went horizontal at every bench, and even though I still arrived in Losantville quite early, I took a nap at the town’s shelter on the greenway. When I finally marched over to the pizzeria, I was quite pleased with myself.

Unfortunately, the pizzeria’s door was locked. They were closed for the day. I took this harder than I should have. It wasn’t just the pizza; it was the two hours of indoor seating and wifi; it was the reward for a day well managed. I recovered without losing my dignity. The gas station had a fried chicken shop, so I figured I could grab some jojos there and then head to the Amish grocery, which was reputed to have good sandwiches. The good news is, I secured the jojos. They were wildly overpriced and undersized, but they were warm and salty. The gas station had seats, so I decided to stick around for a bit and savor the meager a/c. There appeared to be wifi. It kept announcing a successful connection. I kept trying, reloading in vain, getting increasingly frustrated with the empty promises. After a half-hour of futility, though, I decided to go sandwich-hunting.

As I approached the Amish grocery’s front door, the clerk came up, flipped the open sign to closed, and looked at me sheepishly. “Sorry, we close at 5pm!” She kindly offered water, but unusually for this trip, that was one thing I was well supplied with. I turned back around, retracing my steps along the highway.

Walking back in the hot sun along the highway into town, I started laughing. Some days, you lose. Besides, it could have been worse. Losantville also has a pair of dollar stores, so I didn’t go hungry. Just a little dissatisfied.