Today we finished Ninety miles from our coastal starting point In Wilmington. We’re taking a much needed day of rest at Redlands United Church of Christ, Redlands, California. They graciously provided space for us to pitch tents in their back yard. The kitchen and dining hall are also at our disposal. It is wonderful sanctuary after our last night in a Fontana parking lot with no running water available to us. We have had back to back days of more than 17 miles with late starts and meetings taking up so much of our extra time. Cars, highways, and smog are wearing me down as are the footsteps. A left knee has fatigued by mid afternoon making my last 3-4 miles of the day uncomfortable. My trustworthy knee brace from the Camino de Santiago has found a renewed purpose.

We are now seeing clear spaces in front of us with Mountains in the distance. Soon L.A. will be only memories. We met a lot of nice people along our way, . It hasn’t been easy for organizers of the march to cut through all the red tape to move marchers thru the city. Had it not been for small church congregations we never could have walked out of the city. I hope my next entry will come from open spaces!

I don’t know how many highways we have walked along, over, and across in this mega cityscape but their volume of concrete defies imagination, and the sound of traffic on day 4 began overwhelming my senses. We walked 18 miles today. There were two turns. One at the beginning of the day as we left camp, and the other as we reached our new one. It was a straight shot down a section of Route 66.

I know you must be wondering about how this march takes place … the nuts and bolts. It takes much more work than I could have imagined.  Each morning we tear down our tents, repack our belongings and take our things to the gear truck. We are now in the process of creating job schedules… truck loaders, getting meals made, clean up, communications, and daily logistics … its a very busy time right now and hardly a moment for blog entries.

Who would have imagined our march kickoff in L.A. would meet head on with a weather event of such magnitude.  As we walked north from Wilmington, we waded the streets of South L.A. in a driving rain.  Water covered the ankles at the intersections for most of the 200 plus blocks traversed our first day.  I should add it was a profoundly special day for we marchers and for many residents of Wilmington and South L.A.  The march didn’t come to hip Malibu and walk east through affluent sections of the city.  Instead, it went to the site where people of color, (the global majority) reside.  These folks are paying the greatest price now, and in the future as we fail to do anything meaningful to tackle climate change.  Their school children marched with us, and their families gathered in the early stages before the rain turned extreme.  It was worth the soaked body and swollen feet to be there that day and to know that climate change means something to folks in Wilmington and South L.A.  It’s not just an issue to be addressed on college campuses, and in affluent, educated sections of this city.  No, it’s an issue that is felt at the bottom as clearly as it is at the top.  If they sense hope through change, I think we all should.