Aimless

Sign Interpretation 101

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:40:00 +0000

This means you have to drive like a fucking retard for the next 9 miles.

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:55:00 +0000

Gila Bend, AZ. No, I haven't seen a Shaqtus yet.

UFO over Phoenix?

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:23:00 +0000

Anyone remember the shows about the "UFO over Phoenix" maybe ten years ago? Even though the show's producers tried to present the lights as something really mysterious by ignoring the real evidence and instead focusing on the interpretations of crackpots, I was pretty satisfied with the explanation (and evidence) that said the lights were flares. Now having seen them for myself, I can tell you the lights in these pictures are most certainly flares. Yeah, I was in awe when I first saw them, but after a while it was pretty clear what was going on. You probably can't tell from the picture, but these things are VERY bright. They're so bright, you can sometimes see the trail of smoke above each flare as it slowly falls toward Earth. Oh, and the fighter jets... This was about 100 miles SW of Phoenix on an Air Force range near Mexico. --> I should be in Phoenix's west suburbs tomorrow night.
So Eric, call me very soon if you intend to meet up with me. --> Does March Madness start this week?

Cattle guards

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:57:00 +0000

These things scare the shit out of me, especially when my pack is heavy. (It's almost always heavy.) When you're carrying a lot of weight, your steps rarely hit their target. As you can see, there's not much room for error on these things. So every time I set a foot down on one of them, there's a chance I might break a leg or something. And yes, I've had to walk over a lot of these lately, even though I haven't seen a cow in days.

Booty

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 20:44:00 +0000

Nature provides. --> Thanks, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Paul. I sincerely appreciate your help. --> Phoenix ETA: Sunday.

Vulnerable

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:37:00 +0000

Apparently no one is willing to help me get any of the things I desperately need right now, like new footwear, a good headlamp, and a reflective vest. That's OK, though. It just lets me know I really am alone out here. Not having these things might get me seriously injured or killed, but at least I know where we all stand.

Did you know Yuma is

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:22:00 +0000

Did you know Yuma is actually supposed to be pronounced 'Yummay'?

18 days and 362.5 miles

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:06:00 +0000

18 days and 362.5 miles from the Santa Monica Pier to the Arizona state line above the Colorado River in Yuma.

Today: A day of rest and fundraising in Yuma

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 23:52:00 +0000

Waking up 22 miles from the Arizona state line yesterday, I knew I had to bust ass and take very few breaks to make it to the sign before darkness (to get a visible pic). So wouldn't it figure that some CHP asshole had to stop me not once but twice to hassle me and tell me I'm not allowed to walk along the ONLY FUCKING ROAD. Instead, I was supposed to walk over giant sand dunes and wide irrigation canals with no bridges. Essentially this dude negated all my break time by making me stand around and listen to him with my pack on. You probably haven't thought about this, but every minute I stand around carrying my pack is a minute I'm neither resting nor moving. It adds up quick, as do the extra miles. So I ended up having to walk 23 or 24 miles, with almost no rest, to make it to the state line in time for a pic. (If you haven't done this, you don't know what pain is.) Much more to it
than that. --> Thanks to whoever contacted John Sears for me. --> Need your help getting some gear...

If I don't get a

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 18:55:00 +0000

If I don't get a really good headlamp, I'm gonna end up seriously injured. If you'd like to help, call me so I can let you know how. Thanks.

Yuma

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 01:49:00 +0000

So much to say... later.

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Dunes

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:23:00 +0000

If I don't get a

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:26:00 +0000

If I don't get a really good headlamp, I'm gonna end up seriously injured. If you'd like to help, call me so I can let you know how. Thanks.

27 miles today; 72 the

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 07:44:00 +0000

27 miles today; 72 the last 3 days; 300 the last 15 days. South of El Centro. Finally averaging 20 miles/day. Yes, I hurt like hell all the time.

If I don't get a

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 03:05:00 +0000

If I don't get a really good headlamp, I'm gonna end up seriously injured. If you'd like to help, call me so I can let you know how. Thanks.

Some dude on a bike

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:44:00 +0000

Some dude on a bike just told me God loves me. Is that why my ass hurts?

Evil desert

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 19:35:00 +0000

Pic: Chaco feet. Jealous, huh, winter-bound, pale-ass Ohio honkeys? --> My god, yesterday was a bitch. Rain. Sun. Rain. Wind. Wind. Wind. I got off to a great start, with 10 miles before noon, but the weather took its toll, along with the absence of anywhere comfortable to sit. The wind kept me from cooking. I wasted an hour of energy just trying to set up my tent as a windshield... unsuccessfully. In fact, I almost lost the tent a few times. Bent the poles a little more, too. So much more hellish than I can describe here. Was shooting for 30 miles yesterday, and I could've done it with semi-decent weather. Instead I stopped at 8:00 beside a huge stack of hay, which shielded me from the wind and saved me from even more misery. Still did 22.5 miles, though. Slept about a mile short of Westmorland. --> Would someone please contact John Sears at Gregory Mountain Products and ask him to
call me? I have feedback and questions for him, but I don't have his number handy. Thanks!

So I walk into a

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 02:39:00 +0000

So I walk into a truck stop after a smokin' 20 miles, and what's on the TV but Forrest Gump. Ever feel like everything is as it should be?

Desert

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:08:00 +0000

I think this means I'll be in the middle of nowhere in a few minutes. It also means I'll be in Arizona in about five days. --> Brad, will you make sure Eric Eves sees this? If you can, also let him know I'll be in Phoenix in two weeks or less and that he should call me. Thanks.

Coachella. Left takes me east

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 21:04:00 +0000

Coachella. Left takes me east of the Salton Sea; right goes west. I'm going right. Lots of water and ramen noodles makes for one heavy-ass pack.

Sbarro's prices have gone up

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:52:00 +0000

Sbarro's prices have gone up while their pizza has shrunk by at least 2". You were already overpriced, Sbarro. Guess where I'll NEVER eat again.

Palm Springs to pedestrians: If

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:09:00 +0000

Palm Springs to pedestrians: If you want to be able to see where you're walking or if you want a sidewalk, fuck you! Go buy a car.

Machine/badass

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:00:00 +0000

Last Thursday, after walking for hours without a break, I realized I'm about 82% machine. Later, though, when I weighed my gear on a scale at REI, I became aware that I'm 100% badass. Thinking I was carrying a little over 40 lbs at the time, I was actually carrying 51.5 lbs. But that doesn't make me a badass. Here's what makes me a badass: For the first couple days of this new adventure, I was carrying an additional 2+ gallons of water. That's 17 or 18 lbs right there, and it means my gear weighed 68 or 69 lbs when my water bladders were full. That's HALF AS MUCH AS I WEIGH, and that number's gonna go up in a few days when I'll need to stock up on water and food to make it across the desert. But here's what really makes me a badass: I don't fear the desert. This'll be easy. --> I have always raved about REI, but they've really pissed me off lately because they won't remove my Gregory
review, which I've asked them to remove twice. So now I'm gonna trade in my beat-up tent for a new one.

Desert Shadow

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:04:00 +0000

VERY IMPORTANT! If I should

rmpowell@att.net (Ryan M. Powell) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:01:00 +0000

VERY IMPORTANT! If I should ever be hit by a car and cannot speak for myself, I want the perp to be prosecuted very aggressively. 2 B continued..