Ted's Daily Diary
Day 19 - May 25, 2010
Time for a new map on Day 19
- 17 miles, 317 total
- Gray skies, seems like all up hill and with a head wind
- Tired in the morning, energy picked up after lunch
- Mike Hubbard called. Said he lost both small toe nails from "giving his all" for three days of walking
- 1 glove, 54 total
- 1 pair of sunglasses
- 1 cross
- Ended at Mt. Vernon and drove up a big hill to the Inn at Juniper Ridge, our home for two days
- Ahead of shcedule, tomorrow a day of rest
Day 18 - May 24, 2010
Jan and Ted walking in perfect unison
- 19 miles, 300 total
- Left the Skyhook Motel in Mitchell, which was great
- Stopped first the Boot Tree (60-70 pair of shoes/boots hanging high in tree)
- Then started walking about 6 miles before junction to Hwy 19 to Kimberly
- Cousin Jan Steele joined me for four miles and then her husband Mike joined us for lunch
- Into Dayville after 13 miles
- Lady gave me fresh asparagus to eat - very good
- Long day, good weather
- 2 gloves (1 from Mike Steele), 53 total
- Ended almost 6 miles east of Dayville
- 510,000 steps so far
Day 17 - May 23, 2010
Signs of encouragement for Ted from Roger and Susan
- Beautiful central Oregon with blues skies, sunshine and cool enough for gloves into morning
- 10 miles in morning then lunch in Kimberly at Darryl and Kathy Ferguson's orchard
- Also joined by cousin Jan and Mike Steele, Roger and Susan Ferguson, Kurt and Judy and Ted and Nancy
- Greatest lunch ever, ribs from the grill and deviled eggs!
- Wow - real food!
- Signs at junction saying, "I can't drive 55" and "No more 55, Go Ted" from Roger and Susan
- Thank you Darryl and Kathy and Roger and Susan
- 0 gloves, 51 total
- Saw Jan and Mike's place in Kimberly
- 5 miles after lunch, 281 total
- Checked out Lands End B&B for tomorrow night. Amazing place!
Day 16 - May 22, 2010
Ted on the seven mile uphill to Keys Crest Summit
- 17 miles, 266 total
- Lots of snow driving over Ochoco Pass
- Started walking 10:00 AM
- 5 1/2 miles into Mitchell and then up, up, up a hill. Seven miles up to Keys Crest Summit.
- 3 gloves and a wrench
- Snow showers or sun
- Beautiful valleys leaving the Ponderosa pine forest
Day 15 - May 20, 2010
Ted and Mike at the Ochoco Pass Summit
- 16 miles, 249 total
- Mike Hubbard joined me for 3rd straight day and my 9th straight day of walking
- Started with snow and had many snow showers and also sunshine during the day
- Hit the summit of Ochoco Divide, elevation 4,720 feet at about 10:00 AM
- Only 1 glove
- After 9 straight days of walking and ahead of schedule, taking tomorrow off
- Thanks Mike for the boost
- Mike got blisters but cut holes in shoes for blistered toes to come out. Worked well. He did 50 miles in three days
Day 14 - May 19, 2010
Ted at halfway point of walk
- 17 miles, 233 total
- On road early, 6:30 AM start
- Beautiful blue sky, sun, streams and Ponderosa Pine
- Mike Hubbard again - good company - stories to tell if we can remember them all
- Leapfrog cars again - Phyllis at home
- Lunch in car
- Climbing the Ochoco Divide
- Came to halfway point of walk 24 miles east of Prineville at 230 miles into the trip
- Only one glove
Day 13 - May 18, 2010
Ted at the Grange
- 16 miles, 216 total
- Start 4.5 miles west of Prineville
- Mike Hubbard, college friend and lifetime friend walks with me
- We leapfrog cars to give Phyllis a day off from driving
- Interview with Ramona McCalister of the Central Oregonian, Prineville's weekly newspaper - interview went well
- Lunch at Toni's - ribs - very good
- Policeman stops us to ask about Mike's green car parked at Toni's. All is OK
- Past beautiful and very full Ochoco Reservoir
- Only 1 glove today, 46 total
- Ended at the Grange
Day 12 - May 17, 2010
Ted with Natalie getting a trim
- 17 miles, 200 miles total
- Started near Heimholz Lane
- Walked to Natalie's hair salon. Great job Natalie!
- Heading out Hwy 126 to Prineville
- Busy traffic road
- Saw Ben Mallery
- Phyllis dropped chair and cooler for lunch with rock marker. After I ate lunch someone stole cooler and chair but left the rock. I hope they enjoy my cookies!
- Legs and feet tired
- Ladies at Powell butte store were all for my cause and a young man was amazed at how far I had walked
- 2 gloves, 45 total
- 1 license plate, 45 total
Day 11 - May 16, 2010
Ted leaving Sisters with Mount Washington in the background
- 16 miles, 183 total
- Leaving Sisters on a beautiful morning past many Ponderosa Pine and many deer
- But first, Damn it - Where's my rock? - Where is my rock? (Ben Mallery possible suspect) But we still have rock
- Woman stopped to take my picture - her husband passed me earlier and is riding his bike across the USA - Florence, OR to Maryland
- Had interview with Jim Cornelius of The Nugget, Sister's weekly newspaper
- 3 gloves AM, 5 gloves PM, 8 total for day, 43 total
- Ended up near Heimholz Lane almost to Redmond just before rain
Day 10 - May 15, 2010
Ted with Wanda in the beautiful Ponerosa Pine forest
- 18 miles, 167 total
- Started in Douglas Fir with the view of Suttle Lake
- Douglas Fir becomes Ponderosa Pine as I enter central Oregon
- Wanda Sobiegraj walked with me for almost 10 miles
- Fun conversation and good Mexican food lunch
- Walked into Sisters, man in store showed me article in the Oregonian about WAO
- 3 gloves, 35 total
- Tired body, glad to have a bath tub
- Saw two deer, second on almost hit by car
Day 9 - May 14, 2010
Ted at the beginning of Day 9
- Another beautiful morning with sun coming through the Douglas Fir Trees
- Seeing mountain peaks
- Past Hwy Junction 126 and 22
- Lunch at Clear Lake - beautiful spot
- Ran into the two guys who had stopped the day before and offered me a ride
- 5 gloves, 32 total
- Made it over the Santiam Pass, elevation 4,817
- Passed the Pacific Crest Trail
- Sisters tomorrow or bust
- Not much wildlife
- I need to say a big Thank You to my wife Phyllis for all her work on the Blog, as the Sag Wagon driver, for constantly shuttling me and friends round, for her great cooking of meals, for working late on the computer and up early to haul me out to walk. And all the time being doctor, psychologist and cheerleader for a whining walker!
Day 8 - May 13, 2010
- Beautiful morning
- Crisp, blue sky, sunshine, great air
- Moss laden fir trees in sunlight were amazing
- Lots of uphill – heart beating
- Man stops to say he saw article and congratulations. I give him a flyer
- 19 miles, 133 miles total
- No gloves so far
- Really felt like I was in Oregon with forest and elevation
- Sunny, warm, nice
- Summit Tombstone Pass at 1:45 PM, elevation 4,236 feet
- Two couples stopped to congratulate me – I gave them flyers
- Woman stopped and gave me a quart of water
- Nice, long downhill after summit
- Cool air from the stream surrounded by snow
Day 7 - May 12, 2010
- Start at the Point Restaurant near Sweet Home and Foster Reservoir
- 18 miles today, 114 miles total
- Angie Sobiegraj walked with me first 8 miles
- Then I realized I had car keys for Phyllis’ Sag Wagon in my pocket
- Ange heads back, sees a woman in her yard and talks her into driving her back to Phyllis. Turns out the lady was 90.
- Phyllis takes Ange to her car, then picks me up and takes me back to our South Santiam Cottages in time for interview with Sean from The New Era, the Sweet Home weekly newspaper
- Walking is beautiful, beautiful along the scenic South Santiam River in the Deep Green Forest
- Feeling good, 3 out of 10 on pain scale
- Woman stops her car says she’s lost looking for Hwy 22 and Silverton. I sent her to I-5 via Sweet Home and Lebanon
- Couple in Corvette ask me where I started and give me a Cliff Energy Bar
- 48 cars per hour, low traffic, nice
- Sun and clouds
- One Oregon license plate
- 5 gloves, 23 total
Ted ending the day at Foster Reservoir
- Start 7:30 A.M.
- 10 miles
- Policeman pulls over, gets out of car and says, “Hey, saw the newspaper article about you. Great job.”
- Bought a paper at the next store
- Bike rider goes by and says “Saw your article. Way to go”
- Young couple stops and give me two bananas. Said they saw me reading the article in the grocery store. They wish me good luck and say the “bananas will help”.
- Happy Mothers Day
- 2 gloves
Day 5 - May 8, 2010
With Jesse Skobou of the Mid-Valley Newspapers
- Ann Wulff walked 3 miles with me toward Lebanon
- Am finding myself talking to cows, sheep and horses
- Photo session with Democrat Herald along route
- Found 3 gloves
- Beautiful weather, sunny and warm
- Tired but no pain
- With pacing and mental math I figured out I take 1,780 steps per mile, so I have taken 153,080 steps so far
Remaining vigilant on Hwy 34 on Day 4
- Started at 9:00 AM
- Walked though Corvallis
- Sunny and warm
- Found two gloves
- 68 miles to I-5
- 931 cars per hour on Hwy 34 headed toward I-5
- 6 out of 10 for pain
- Body tired
Phyllis and Ted at the Blodgett Country Store on Day 3
- 8:00 AM start at Burnt Woods
- Met Ange Sobiegraj about 9:00 AM near the Blodgett Store
- Ange walked about 14 miles with me
- Found five gloves
- 196 cars per hour
- Lunch at Woodsmen Tavern
- 7out of 10 for pain, calf still hurts
- Ended in Philomath
Day 2 - May 5, 2010
Ted at the Yaquina Bay Hotel on the evening of Day 2
- One hour of rain during morning walk just to show me I was in Oregon
- 6:30 AM start
- After nine miles of construction, no shoulder and dodging trucks, last seven seemed like Freeway – clear sailing
- Found four gloves and one license plate (Oregon)
- Did counting and mental math on cars passing, came out to 96 per hour
- 6 out of 10 for pain
- 8 out of 10 for pain after pulling tight calf muscle stepping out of ditch
Day 1 - May 4, 2010
Half-way through Day 1
- After counting and doing mental math I figured out 384 cars per hour passed me One Way.
- Hitch hikers wished me good luck on my WAO
- This is why you retire so you do crazy things like this.
- Walking is my new job
- Lunch at Dairy Queen – go grease
- 7 out of 10 on pain scale
- Rain 7:00 AM, Sun 8:00 AM, Rain lunch, Sun and rest of day, Someone watching over us
- Found two gloves on road
- 17 miles 1st day
- Maryann and Mary Emma walked first 2.5 miles with me.
- Maryann found a dime on street, gave it to me and I’m keeping it for Good Luck Charm.
The final few feet of Day 1!
Rock marks the spot where Day 2 begins
