HOTS update day five and a half!
.
the heat came back today.
boy did it ever come back.
even in the shade the air felt like standing in front of an open coke oven.
.
i saw that some (who had the opportunity) took refuge for hours.
those caught out on the open road simply got fried.
.
still, in spite of everything
the long thin line moved on.
after 5 days this is what they do.
this is who they are.
there is no end.
there was no beginning.
just a white line
and they must follow it.
i wonder if they even remember why?
.
john clark staggered to the win.
after an hour of elation i put him in the car and started down the hill.
sitting there in the air conditioning he started to talk.
then went silent mid-sentence.
i looked and he was sound asleep….
.
we had traveled less than 100 feet.
.
brian trinkle and henry lupton joined forces somewhere after the quad battering horror of the descent from signal mountain
to struggle through the blast furnace that was downtown chattanooga.
they finally reached big daddy’s a few hours before checkin.
and there they stayed until 1900.
now they have resumed the trek to the rock.
they can smell the finish.
but sand mountain looms in front of them.
hell is not finished with them yet.
..
behind them were stories of desperation and despair.
but only lonnie threw in the towel.
.
63 footwarriors fight on.
james turner once again took the lead of the trailing pack.
the next 3 or 4 places have been fiercely contested for days.
there is still a lot of ground to cover
and a lot of battles to be waged
before those spots are settled.
.
increcibly, diana C made up 4 miles on oprah in the searing heat….
is it even humanly possible that she can get back in this thing?
tonight will tell a lot.
mary hosbrough is in deep trouble.
a 6 mile day left her 3 miles behind the laughing reaper.
we all have our fingers crossed that she has been holed up somewhere cool
and can come roaring back tonight.
everyone has been through so much together.
we hurt each time another falls.
.
siri is tied with the reaper.
but she took the whole 12 hours off to try to recover.
it is not enough time to actually recover.
that may take weeks.
but maybe it bought her the strength to get back ahead of oprah.
.
5 others are within 5 miles of the cutoff.
every one of them is threatened.
every one of them needs a strong night tonight….
.
for tomorrow will be hotter than today.
the forecast calls for 103 and;
“Mostly sunny and very hot; caution advised if outside for extended periods of time”
probability of rain?
0%
.
god help the walkers!
.
.
Categories: HOTS