Day 2: Rain, Rain, Rain

Day 2 of my journey is complete. For the second day in a row I had to contend with rain. My feet were soaked within five minutes of setting out and the rest of me followed suit shortly. It rained continuously for over an hour before subsiding into a peaceful drizzle. I had barely managed to dry my shoes and cloak out in front of my fire the night before and after my second foray into the rain they were soaked again. Instead of contending with the hassle of starting another wood fire, I laid my shoes and cloak out over the hearth to dry in hopes that they will be ready come the morrow. I am now convinced that the weather is conspiring against me. It wants me to give up this venture and stay indoors. Maybe if I listen closely I can hear the fell voice of Saruman on the wind as he conjures up a storm to dampen my spirit (pun very much intended).

My journey again took me to the footpath outside of my town and I conquered the hill that gave me so much trouble on day 1. Today, however, I only made it 6.83 miles (11 km). My goal was to make it at least 8 miles (12.87 km) so I could wrap up the 18 miles the hobbits walked on their first night. Unfortunately I had taken my sister along with me and she was not as willing to walk in wet shoes as I was. So I had to turn back a lot sooner than I would have liked.

At this point in the journey for the hobbits, Pippin has started to lag and show signs of fatigue. Though the hobbits teased him good-naturedly they soon stopped for the night to accommodate their youngest, and because they believed they had enough time to make their projected arrival at Crickhollow. I wonder if Frodo felt any frustration in stopping early, he certainly didn’t seem to in Chapter 3. Oh well, I guess it is my own wish that Frodo should have been as frustrated as I for having a walking day cut short. All things considered I learned, just as Frodo must have discovered, that travelling with companions has both blessings and drawbacks. Hopefully I will encounter more blessings than drawbacks as I continue on.

The road goes ever on and on,

~Daisy Buttons