Was it Google Maps that led me astray? Last week, on the way to Athens, Ohio, I took a wrong turn and wound up on a narrow, one-lane, broken asphalt and gravel road with a grade that the Ohio Department of Transportation would never approve of.
Once on the road there was no turning back, nothing to do but see what happened next. The “road” went on for a couple of miles, and deteriorated as I descended. I suddenly had a waking nightmare of reaching a washed out wooden bridge or a Dead End. There was absolutely no chance of turning around because the forest encroached and there were no driveways. Not even the U.S. Trucker of the Year could have backed up that hill given the grade and the disintegrating pavement.
For a moment I realized that this was the end of the journey and the end of everything. There is no AAA for this. It would take a couple of helicopters and some kind of Airstream diaper to lift me out. The only thing to do would have been to pour kerosine over the rig and the pickup and light a match.
I could hear strains of the theme song of “Deliverance” rising like the music at the end of a talk show segment. …
I had long since broken into a cold sweat. Somehow I bucked and slid at 2 miles per hour down to the end of the road and there was a left turn onto something like a real farm-to-market road.
I drove to the nearest truck stop and slumped over the wheel for a while.
I’ve provided two views of my situation here.
First, (see above) how it seemed as I reviewed my life and tried to compose a farewell note that exonerated me to the extent possible.
Second, how it actually was.
I reckoned the rig would eventually be found like the green bus of Chris McCandless in Jon Krakauer’s “Into the Wild.” I’d gain a worldwide reputation for being the D.B. Cooper (D.B. Nincompoop) who disappeared into the wilderness 6 miles from the university town of Athens, Ohio.
Et in Arcadia Ego, (And in Arcadia I am.)
Over the next few months, Clay is shadowing Steinbeck’s 10,000-mile trek around the USA (and making a few detours of his own). Clay’s expedition is a central part of LTA’s big initiative to explore the country and take the pulse of America as it approaches its 250th birthday. Be sure to follow Clay’s adventures and subscribe to our newsletter.