A running diary of today’s walk:
5:30am: The alarm blares and I spring to life. I can’t claim that this happens every day, but I know this will be a long one and I’d love to finish by 4pm if I can swing it. I pack everything with moderate efficiency, swig some coffee, and hit the road assertively
6:15am: All systems go. No aches, no pains, no concerns
6:45am: I left the Katy in Boonville to swing northward to my sleeping place, so after some backtracking I arrive at the point on the gps where I should rejoin it. I pass the Knights of Columbus on my left, cross a minor overpass, and then pass a private residence, only to discover that–according to my gps–I’ve already missed the Katy. I turn around and backtrack carefully. Still nothing. After longer than I’d care to admit, the lightbulb comes on–the Katy is below me, shrouded in the thick foliage beneath the overpass. There’s no viable access point from the road, so I skirt the edge of a neighboring business and then bushwhack my way to the trail.
7:05am: Tick check–all good. And off I go…
10am: I arrive in Pilot Grove, the only town of any real size along the walk. The absence of any notes or observations over the preceding three hours reflects the Katy’s monotony and also the ease of walking. Pilot Grove has a few buildings left on its Main Street, including a bar that will open later and a grocery store that is donezo. I cruise over to Casey’s General Store, a line of gas station + convenience shop that has suddenly become commonplace over the last couple of days, and will remain so in Kansas. I grab an iced tea; the clerk tells me the price and nothing more. I return to the trailhead for a rest
10:30am: I resume the walk, glancing at the time and experiencing some surprise at the already-late hour. As easy as the walking was, I burned some time this morning, and it all added up. The next 12 miles are important, so I tighten my straps, lower my head, and gun it.
11:30am: Crushing it.
12:30pm: Crushing it.
1:30pm: CRUSHED IT. I arrive in Clifton City, knocking off that second chunk of 12 miles in three hours and keeping the possibility of a pre-5pm arrival possible. Clifton City could be sued for false advertising; there’s one visible house from the trailhead, though I guess there are a few more uphill from there. I take a five-minute sit-down, bemoan the lack of water at the trailhead, and then push on, with maybe a half-liter of water to ration through the remainder of the walk.
1:40pm: I merrily munch on chips, left over from dinner, making them last for nearly a mile. This was not optimal for a person on water rations, especially when I inadvertently inhaled a lungful of chip crumbs and dry-heaved for a couple of minutes, but it was otherwise brilliant
2:40pm: Four more miles in the books. I should note: on the Katy Trail, there are white mile markers along the full length of the route. I hate them and yet keep an eye peeled for them
4:00pm: I’m slowing down, but with four more miles knocked off, the end is starting to come in sight.
4:15pm: Oh god, there’s a detour. The Katy Trail apparently had worked out an agreement to use the land for the final stretch into Sedalia, but that lease has expired. I saw this mapped out at an earlier station, but it’s impossible to gauge scale from a small diagram. And the scale of this is much greater than I anticipated, or at least feels that way. The road is covered with a fresh coat of asphalt, a strikingly deep black, and it’s billowing heat. The shade, the precious shade of the Katy that I have never properly appreciated, is gone completely. As is my water. Ah, well.
4:45pm: I pass by a cemetery which, mercifully, has water taps. Chug, chug, chug.
5:15pm: I’m well into Sedalia now, but my hotel is well on the westside. I abandon the Katy, which picked back up in the city limits, in order to see more of the town itself. Broadway leads me due west. I’m tired, but heartened to know that the end is near. And then I look to the right and see an arch across the road, announcing Historic Sedalia. I can see a nicely preserved Main Street extending northward and curse. If I don’t go now, I’ll never go, but the last thing I wanted is a detour. I go. And in that moment, I’m proud of myself for not bailing on the chance to see this.
5:45pm: I arrive at my hotel, but trot across the street to hit a supermarket. Once I sit down, I’m not going to want to get up. I think a man in the supermarket is very concerned about me, asking me at a couple different points if he can help me find anything, but I recognize I might look more than a little bedraggled.
6:10pm: I check in to the hotel
6:20pm: Shower
6:30pm: Handwash clothes
6:40pm: Collapse into bed. I grab my phone, remembering to shut off my gps, and discover in that moment that my walk covered 39.5 miles today, the second-longest day I’ve ever walked. And I’m more than a little salty that I didn’t find a way to squeeze out another half-mile.
