@argonautphoto

20 years ago today I was walking across the US with my dog Cosmo. It took 154 days. Day 27: Apache Jct. to Superior, Arizona Miles today: 27 cumulative: 509 I remember this day in the first image because we almost got killed by a car that came within inches of us, breaking off a reflector and flag we had jutting out as a warning. From that day forward, when the shoulder of the road went away, we would walk into oncoming traffic so at least we could see what was coming at us and maybe have a chance to jump. We often loitered when given a good rest stop. There was nothing to do but walk and rest and eat and sleep. Life had been pared down to pretty basic elements. After taking this photo I made a call to my grandma from a payphone (I chose not to take a cellphone) and then checked my feet for new blisters. Images of those to come. This night was a cold, cold, night. I remember when we breathed it looked like locomotive breath. Cosmo walked so hard I had to pull her back. She'd gone full-on sled dog. This was our first hill of many to come, 3 weeks of hills... Cosmo didn’t slow down even on the steepest sections. The cold was the secret. She was invincible in the cold. We started to walk lots of late nights for that reason. When we finally saw the lights of Superior after the long hill, we looked for a side road to get us away from the cars. It was 1:00 am. There were no side roads, but we could get 30 feet off the pavement behind some trees, and the sky was so clear that I didn’t set up the tent, and ended up sleeping curled around Cosmo in my sleeping bag in the dirt. #3349miles