It was a good day today, if a little frustrating. I felt like I got stronger as the day went on and instead of taking a break during the hottest part of the day I pushed on. I was very mindful of the fact that there was a difficult end to the day with a climb to over 4000 ft.
I got talking to a couple of ladies (see today's photo of the day) in Devore Heights and they warned me to watch out for the "weirdos" on route 66. I didn't think much of it, but 7 miles later when I stopped for some pasta in the RV things were to take a potential turn for the worse.
There were a few cars driving around us and one pulled diagonally opposite the RV and the guy inside just sat there staring at us. He was there for a good 15 minutes before pulling alongside us just out of sight. Richard, Stu and I were part nervous and part wanting to confront the man. To top things off, some huge guy in a white vest pulled his truck right in front of the RV, blocking the exit. "It's time to get the **** out of Dodge" exclaimed Stu! Thankfully, both cars left not long after and I cut my break short to get on with the run.
One of the fascinating things about the last few days has been running near the train lines. The size of the line of carriages is amazing. I counted one convoy of 130 carriages today. I think to myself "what is in the containers?" or "where are the trains going"? Hardly a moment went by today where I couldn't hear that loud horn noise from the train. Even up at 4000 ft.
After route 66, there was a good stretch of 6 miles that were through a forest trail. The views were spectacular. You could see for miles from the 4000 ft summit.
I was accompanied on this stretch of the run by Publisher Stu. As the light was dimming we heard a growl from the bushes on the right of the trail. The looks on both of our faces must have been a picture. All of a sudden we started running a bit faster and agreed to maintain "radio silence". Further up the trail, we heard the noise again. This time from the bushes on the left hand side of the trail! Stu thought the creature had moved. I thought that it was just another creature lying in wait in the bushes. Based on the tone of the creature's growl, I imagined that it was the size of a bull with huge fangs for teeth. My imagination was working overtime. Now I think about it I had a Grufallo type creature in mind. Stu and I then had a proper Scooby Doo "Zoinks" moment. Imagine, our relief when we found out that the noise was from a bird's wings. Phew!
Unfortunately, I had to cut the day short due to fading light. Put quite simply, it wasn't safe to go on. This was the view at 2030 with 7 miles left. This was a real shame as I felt really strong.
(St Benedict's Hospice)
(The Children's Foundation)
