'Unconditional' activism

Here are a few more thoughts from last week; both seem important.

First of all, on the subject of activism - A friend and I were recently discussing the ever more urgent need to engage actively in standing up for our principles - and for liberties we have probably been taking for granted.  In particular, how can we know that our efforts are having an impact, and, more to the point, I believe, is it necessary to see concrete 'results'?   Lately it seems to me that such assurances (of results) are a luxury and that activism is simply our responsibility, whenever and however we can participate, and whether or not we are convinced of or can see its effects.  Many of our actions will be 'fruitless' in practical terms, but we cannot let that fact silence our voices.

And speaking of taking things for granted - in my several seasons of pilgrimage so far, it has never been so clear to me as it is now,  that I might not have the nerve to embark on this walk were I not a white person.  That thought has certainly crossed my mind regularly in past seasons; it's just that in our present sociopolitical climate it becomes even more painfully obvious!

Next steps: learning to go forward with an open mind, a positive attitude and a broken heart...

Some responses to this question seem to be dawning on me as I meditate on the paradox of discovering equanimity, even optimism, and grief all together within the same activities.

After the 'presidential election' it occurred to me that I had come to feel 'curdled' by negativity and cynicism, was avoiding contact with fellow humans in groups larger than one or two, and withdrawing even further than usual into a bubble of apathy, or was it antipathy?  This attitude is contrary to the essential purpose of my walk-journey, and so I resolved to take steps to turn it around. Among the various 'therapies' undertaken was a 10-day fast beginning on the Winter Solstice, incorporating meditation and contemplation with gentle walking, resting and reading.  The fast also had a physiological purpose and, now that it's been over for a while I can say that the results were positive all around.  

Otherwise, aside from whatever odd-job work is available, my attention has often been focussed on 'walk practice', and participating in those sorts of gatherings (more frequent these day) that involve marching with signs and yelling slogans! As to the subject mentioned above - time will tell how this year's walk (Stage III!) unfolds, but based on past experience it seems possible that, through meeting the challenge of engaging in openminded mutual inquiry with others, I will continue to encounter kind and generous people, which does wonders toward the maintenance of a positive attitude!  My broken heart will go with me, and may help guide encounters with those who share my grief for the earth and its many dispossessed people and critters.  This pilgrimage is less about a belief in human capability to stop or slow the massive, runaway train of global abuses, and more about appreciating our planet's many existing (and declining) life forms and meeting other people who care!

Practice walk between storms!

Joining hands across the GG Bridge!

The tree that fell on my neighbor's house in the last storm this week.

Removal...

Speechless

...been having an ongoing struggle with speechlessness ever since my return from this protracted and oft-interrupted walk venture.  First there were the weeks of post-jaw-fracture treatment to endure. (See last two posts.)  Dental work from this ordeal is still in process, what with the additional weeks that elapsed as I readjusted to chewing and before I could open my mouth far enough to see a dentist.  The 'bite' will probably never be the same, nor will my my yawn be as wide as before. But I can at least function with a degree of normalcy.

In the midst of this experience, and as soon as it was able(!), my jaw was dropping with the influx of election-related news that, to me, defied all reason.  Clearly, the outcome was based more upon emotion than reason, and I know that my own emotions are running higher with each announcement of presidential cabinet picks.  Horrified amazement predominates.  Every day I am struck dumb all over again.   And filled with dismay for the future of the non-human inhabitants of our fragile planet, as well as most of(!) the human ones. In light of the most recent devolution of our sociopolitical situation I am more determined than ever to resume walking this spring. What feels different now is that I am not sure how it will be possible to 'complete' the pilgrimage. What would that look like? When will it seem that I have walked far enough? Getting to the East Coast may not be the end of it, though it may be the end of me, stamina-wise! So - in the spring I shall embark upon OEWP-Phase 3, heading to my last year's stopping point in Indiana.

Meanwhile, waxing sentimental about the holiday season is a practice I must leave to others, though I can take a moment to enjoy the seasonal drifts of red and yellow leaves on our street, collecting in the gutters and creating havoc for the street sweeping trucks.  Festive enough for me!

Street art...

Good luck to us all in the New Year!!

Uncle...

Home again!  And within a day I'd had an appointment with a maxillofacial surgeon who 'wired' my jaw back into the approximately correct position, a situation to be endured for a possible 4 weeks.  This is so far one of the most painful and unpleasant experiences I can remember, and one I had hoped to avoid altogether, but...

Last Wednesday A.M. I was gathered and ready to resume walking a rather short experimental day, and had a host arranged for that night as well as the next one.  But upon waking in the morning I had a 'writing on the wall' moment, featuring physical discomfort, a touch of mental disorientation (beyond my usual AM fog), and the dawning realization that food was going to be a real issue as I tried to drink or slurp enough calories for the task at hand, and over the course of the following weeks or months! Eating had been consistently painful. And how did I know that my injuries would not have further ramifications to be discovered down the road (literally)? The way became clear at that point, and by noon I had a plane reservation and was rearranging gear for a flight back to San Francisco.  Arrived early Thursday morning and the various medical appointments happened pretty fast once I got here.

During the preceding week, and thanks to my awesome and gracious Indiana host, I had learned a lot about the American Discovery Trail route through Indiana; the county roads and former rail lines look like beautiful walking and I am more than a little disappointed not to be seeing them this year.  But it also must be said that it's good to be home, looked after by family and friends.  And, cardinals and fireflies notwithstanding, I do generally prefer the summer weather in these parts!

So  -- here's looking at a 3-part pilgrimage, rather than the one or two-year trip I had envisioned. Boundless gratitude to all the many folks who have offered food, shelter, financial encouragement, good wishes and prayers.  If it is still in the cards, I hope to resume the trek next spring, perhaps with a heightened appreciation for the vulnerability of this fleshy vessel!!

Intro to Indiana. One mis-step and... stitches!!

How can I put this in the briefest, gentlest way?  Well, on Friday I was making pretty good time towards the Erie-Lackawanna Trail, a route that takes you in a direct line to the town of Crown Point, my destination for that day.  The connecting road, Route 30, does not seem to be a good alternative route for this walk, as far as my short stretch of it would indicate.  A busy interstate highway across the northern U.S., it felt a bit like Route 6 -  not a nationally designated Interstate like Highway 80, but a heavily traveled secondary commercial route inhospitable for any sort of bicycle or pedestrian traffic.

There were no shoulders, no sidewalks, and no crosswalks east of the town of Dyer.  After hurrying crossing the wide intersection with Route 41 in the town of Schererville a piece of road trash caught me by the ankle, and, momentum being what it is, I was 'down' before I could correct, landing mostly on my chin in the grit...  Although I was bleeding profusely at at that moment, no one stopped to see if I was OK.  I was not OK.  But there was a Walgreens close by where I went to clean up and assess the damage. Before the day was out, I'd been to a hospital ED in Crown Point (thank you, Uber!!), had my chin stitched up and an Xray taken of my jaw. Friday afternoon none of my teeth would meet at all - talk about your serious 'malocclusion'! Today is Monday and I am situated in the home of the American Discovery Trail coordinator for the northern Indiana route (there is also a southern ADT route through the state.)  He has generously offered his hospitality until I can get back on track! Based upon the past few days of recovery, that should be possible in the coming week.

Bottom line(s) will be to avoid infection and learn to be more creative with 'soft food' options, as this trek requires calories. Have gained a lot of ground already with tooth alignment; however the imaging suggests that I have small fractures on both sides of the lower jaw at the TMJ points (right in front of the ears), which means no actual chewing for 4-6 weeks(!) Of course the rest of my body has to recover from its shock, sore muscles and whatnot.  I won't show you a photo of my face.  It's not too bad - just a mess of blooming bruises on the lower half.  I shudder to think how much worse that mis-step could have been!

The historic city hall in the town of Crown Point

More wildflowers I can't identify

Indiana, and thoughts about the American Discovery Trail

In another couple of days I will be in Indiana!  Temperatures are soaring; humidity is, too. The whole northeast seems to be sweltering in the same high-pressure zone just now.

OK - time to make a decision that I have been anticipating for a while.  It has been really nice to be off of the highways, on the American Discovery Trail for part of the time through Illinois. And that trail has run parallel to Rt. 6 through the state.  However, if I am to continue on the ADT (assuming I can find a decent map of the route!), the way will turn pretty radically southeast for a while at this point.  Since Route 6 is heading for Massachusetts I have known that it would be necessary to make a 'directional adjustment' right about now, in order to aim for the latitude of Washington DC, or thereabouts.  I will be meeting with the Indiana head of ADT tourism in a few days, and hope to resolve some of my questions about trail conditions, roadway alternatives and routing...

An unrelated question - why can't we have cardinals in California?  (Right, the conditions are different...)  I am so enjoying their varied, but always distinctive and entertaining songs, as well as the occasional flashes of bright red, that it makes me wish we could 'import' them to the west coast!

Below are some photos of the couple who 'adopted' me in the town of Ottawa, Illinois.  Lou stopped to talk to me on the way home after his shift.  I am not usually in the habit of 'naming names' when talking about the 'road angels' I'm meeting, but this is a case like mine(!), of 'going public for the cause' -- in their case, the public relations cause!

Ottawa hosts Lou and Karri Riva

Check out this cool big bug that was on my tent in the AM the other day...

Frankfort, Illinois

The 'Plank Road Trail' cuts throught the center of Frankfort

'Dotted line' trekking.

Walking, stopping to wait for better weather, skipping ahead, and detouring on business...  is what makes this feel like a walk on a dotted line at times. Still I continue to chalk up mileage in spite of myself.  No longer keeping track; at the end it will just be a rough estimate of miles walked.  I know - there is an app for that.  But it involves keeping the phone switched on all the time, and it is more important to save power for the times when charging is not an option.  Last year I netted between 1000 and 1100 miles.  This year it looks like about 700 good miles so far, and many more to go.

Illinois has miles of trail following two different historic canals, the Hennepin and the I&M (Illinois and Michigan).  These were built in the 19th century for commercial barge traffic; I think that both waterways were closed to commercial traffic around the 1950's. Where they are still passable, pleasure boats can use the waterways for touring and fishing. The pathways are in various states of repair; some of it is paved and kept mowed along the edges and in some places the path is dirt (sometimes muddy) and single track, and looking as if it could disappear around the next curve.  Information about access and amenities (where applicable!) is not so easy to come by.  I saw that there are actual camping places intermittently, but too late to factor them into my planning. One keeps hearing that the state of Illinois is broke and much of the trail maintenance bears that out. 

There was a great private campground in Geneseo.  I have also been blessing with more hospitality from randomly encountered folks (road angels!): cyclists who took me and my cart(!) to lunch and then delivered me to a stopping place close to an AT&T office, where I needed to take care of some vital 'communications business'; an overnight invitation from a couple in the next town, who live on 5 tree-full acres in a wonderful Victorian era farm house; and now I am visiting a city police officer and his family, and sitting out a day of occasional downpour. The next three days look walkable, though I may have to revert to a parallel roadway if the trail is to be inundated this evening and overnight.  Which would be too bad as it is ever so nice to have some shade along the canal route.  The heat and humidity can be very enervating! 

Hennepin Canal

Would these be considered an invasive species? 



Beautiful, though...

Campground with all the amenities

Building in Geneseo