All the Way to the End - Day 12 on the Inman 300

Waiting for the bus - final day. 

I adapt quickly to new things - jobs, living situations, activities. etc. It usually takes me two weeks to a month to feel that my new way of life is normal. In walking the Inman 300, it took about a week. At the end of nearly two weeks of walking, it now feels normal to me to fill most of my daylight hours with walking. Tomorrow will be a welcome recovery day. And then after that, I will feel that sometime is missing when I don't walk all day. And then, in about 2 weeks, I will once again think that it's normal not to walk all day. And so the ending of this route is full of mixed emotions. I reached the end around 3pm this afternoon, near Cabrillo Beach. I was accompanied the last 8 miles with three new friends, Carey, Dean and Amy who provided delightful company as we wove our way through San Pedro, collecting a few stairways amidst the miles. This was a tough hike. Only now do I feel strong enough to take it on, as my body has adapted over the last 12 days. Sometimes the doing of a thing is the way to prepare for it. Many thanks to the people who helped me complete the trek! 

Sidewalk stamp - hard to believe how well these sidewalks have weathered the years

Views all the way to Angeles National Forest

Walking by a farm - what variety the miles have shown me

An old carriage? 

3 foot high field of clover demonstrates how well plants grow in this climate, and why it's such a challenge to keep the stairways free of overgrown vegetation. 

A truck brimming over near the Pacific. 

At the base of the final stairway. After this, just a few hundred meters remained to walk down to Cabrillo Beach and across the sand to touch the Pacific Ocean. I took it one step further and dunked myself three times in the cold salty water, allowing myself to be enveloped in the fact that I had completed all the stairs and all the miles. I feel satisfied.

Celebratory Dinner with my new friends.