Day 15-2 – Manchester to Merrimack
Over the course of our walk, we had moved from the beginning of August to the end of August and while we were past the horrid heat wave of two weeks ago, it was still hot, hot hot.
When you are walking on hot pavement, it can feel even hotter.
Merrimack has wide main streets with commerce on both sides. Griffin and I both realized that our bodies weren’t keeping up with the heat even on top of frequent stops to buy water. The cold drinks were going down quickly and nothing was coming out.
Dehydration can be a killer even for walkers.
To pass the time, I told Griffin about the Hitchcock story I had read last night.
We had discussions about what we saw in our town – from the perspective of walking.
At one point in the middle of a conversation, Griffin turned to me, “Mom, I think you need more water.” Apparently I had said something that had seemed more ridiculous than what I normally say.
We pulled over to the side of the road and sat under the shade of Matthew Thornton, New Hampshire son and signer of the Declaration of Independence’s towering grave marker. I took off my shoe and sock to remove the tiny pebble that moved around my sock with each step.
We still had about 5 miles to go before the end of the day. Our house was so close – it would have been so easy to call for a ride.
Convenience sometimes tempers confidence.
“Come on mom,” said Griffin after I had replaced, tied my shoe and sucked down half a bottle of water. ”We can do this.”
Again, there it was, our journey’s rally cry. That simple phrase that kept us going in the beginning when we didn’t think we would be able to make it another day, when we didn’t think we’d make it to the end of our day, and now when the end was so close and temptation to ease off so great.
“You’re right, sweetheart,” I returned drinking the rest of my bottle of water and picking up my pack from the ground. “You’re absolutely right. We can do this.”
(Here’s some information on why we took this trip.)
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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