Day Eight
Saturday, October 18, 2025
Lisa: We made the tough decision to walk twenty miles in a day–because we were determined to bypass the weirdness in Rantoul (no offense, Rantoul!). We woke up feeling stronger than we’d felt the first day, so we were excited to get started.
Marianne: Got up early to walk 22 miles! Walked to gas station to get water and it was CLOSED until 10:00 a.m.! Discussed whether to walk to Casey’s on the other side of town. Lisa called for an UBER driver!! Hooray! I stayed with the strollers while Lisa went to Casey’s. A dog barked at me pretty much the whole time.
Set out on the trail at 7:16 a.m.
20.79 trail miles, 22.58 total miles
62° to start with a high of 73°
Ottawa to Osawatomie and the end of the trail
Click on the yellow crosses to the right to read the sections below
Downers
Lisa:
- Coming to the end, as usual.
- Getting caught in an insane microburst just two miles from the finish. Lightning, thunder, pouring rain blown horizontal, and we got soaked. See video of it below at 5:43.
Marianne:
- As we were cruising through Rantoul, we passed by Chester’s place and he was pulling out of the garage! We had to keep our head down and look busy!
Highlights
Lisa:
- We got an Uber (nearly impossible in these little towns) to take me to Casey’s to get the water we’d need to get to the end. Kevin, our driver, was a great encourager.
- Walking twenty miles made us feel invincible
- Overcast and cool, perfect hiking conditions
- Met Kevin and Darla. Darla told us about a cross-country bike ride she would be participating in.
- When the rain hit we were in the middle of nowhere, but miraculously, there was a house and an open barn just fifty yards away. Lynnette and Johnny let us hang out in the barn until the danger had passed.
Marianne:
- Ate our last breakfast on the trail about 10 a.m.
- Saw more people on the trail since it was Saturday. Darla and Kevin Graham gave us lots of great snacks and a mandarin orange!
- We also met a cool kid named Phillip who was hiking from Ottawa to Osawatomie and back. He tried to camp at the trailhead in Osawatomie and a police officer made him move at 1:00 a.m. because he didn’t have a permit.
- About 3 miles from Osawatomie, a full grown coyote ran across the trailin front of us. He was not a scrawny size either! Another magic moment.
- We finished the hike! I felt tired but also full of joy and wonder of what we had just been through!
Water sources
- 1.04 miles after 7th St. trailhead Rock Creek
- 2.15 miles after 7th st trailhead tributary of Marais des Cygnes River
- 7.76 miles after 7th st trailhead Rock Creek
- 11 miles east of Pomona, Rantoul has a Porta-Potty
- Osawatomie trailhead has a Porta-Potty, and the town has restaurants and stores
0:0 The $250,000 worth of calves that kept us up all night
0:20 circling hawks
1:29 tour inside the Sleep Shack Basecamp Flint Hills
1:41 Trees and birds, your moment of Zen
2:14 Rustling trees, moment of Zen continued
2:25 The Monarchs accompanied by Bach
4:40 Spinning leaf out of focus, more Zen
5:00 TRAIN
5:21 Tiny snake
5:34 Re-enactment of a scene from Stand By Me
5:41 Junebugs
5:43 Microburst aftermath in the barn
Photo Gallery
Click on a photo for a captioned slide show to learn what you're looking at
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