On the Road Again (heading east) #8

I didn't sleep well that night The ground was rough and the weeds were thick and stalky. It is always difficult to find a space to sleep when it is dark, not just because one can't tell if the ground is even, but also it hard to get things organized. I suppose I could use my flashlight more but I don't want to attract attention as I am getting ready to go to bed. I always know that I am trespassing and I don't want to attract the attention of people who are bored and who are looking for excitement.

By 5:30 AM the next morning I was up and packing my gear into my pack. I made use of the Flying J's bathroom to clean up and then went and had breakfast. Once again I was amazed that no one noticed me, or at least acted as if I didn't belong. I felt grubby and more than a little bit road stained. It had been a long two days.  I am not sure if I would have served me breakfast without making sure that I could pay for it. But they did and I ate my fill at the buffet. The parking lot outside looked full. I was surprised that the large restaurant was almost empty except for a older couple and a trucker who was grumbling at being stuck in Winnipeg because his load was not ready.

As soon as I finished eating I hoisted the pack on my back and walked for about 20 minutes to the nearest bus stop. There were lots of cars going onto the ring road that circles Winnipeg, but I made the assumption that most of them were just local drivers who would not be going very far. I suppose I could have stayed there for awhile but it made more sense to take a bus across the city to the east end. It was a smooth bus trip and almost with no waiting for connections I was quickly at the other end of the city.

When I had gotten up there had been a thick fog and looked like it might rain all day but by 8:00 when I was on the east side of Winnipeg, it had started to clear to become somewhat muggy. I was glad that it was not going to rain but I could have done without the mosquitoes. Last year I had made the same across town bus trip and had gotten a ride very quickly. I assumed, in part because I had had such great rides out west and back again, that it would be that easy again this time. I terribly wrong.

There were lots of cars but they all appeared to be local traffic or else contained  families.  It was Saturday and I should not have expected very much. I walked for a fair distance, always looking for that perfect spot where the shoulder and sight lines were be in perfect harmony. I was also looking for the ring road. I wanted to get past it so that the majority of cars passing me would be heading east towards Ontario. I finally got a ride from a older man in a pickup truck who was going just down the road but who said that he could get me to a good spot where there were some stop-lights. I knew the spot he was talking about and was glad. I was wrong - I was thinking of another spot and where he let me off was not good at all. It was in the middle of a construction zone.

It was dirty, every time a big truck went by a bucketful of dust was thrown at my face. I could feel the dirt between my teeth. Drivers were clearly irritated at the highway being reduced to one lane traffic and having to deal with dump trucks. They were not going to stop for me. It was really quite miserable. I was stuck there as the sign said the construction lasted for another 15 kilometers. I don;t mind walking for a bit, but 15 kilometers was a bit much. There was some occasional entertainment from some ATVers who were riding in the ditches along the highway. It was pretty swampy in the bottom and they were having a great time. They at least were dirtier than me.

Finally the driver of one of the dump trucks that had been passing me all morning felt sorry for me and gave me a drive to the end of the construction. He was a very generous guy who genuinely felt bad for me and wanted to help. In spite of the fact that I have been stuck in road construction areas before it was the first time I had got a ride from such a trucker. I agreed with him that it was dangerous for both me and the trucks to have me standing there. He suggested that it should be a policy that truckers give hitchhikers a ride to get them out of the way. I could not have agreed more!

He let me out just outside a campground that also had a waterslide which was where everyone who had been passing me had been going. To the west of this campsite - there was lots of traffic, to the east there was almost none.  No wonder why no one had stopped for me. It was going to be a long Saturday.