-SAVE TENZIN DELEK RINPOCHE'S LIFE-

Day Six:
From: Junction US 52 with US 41Earl Park; Indiana
To: Junction US 41 with SR 114 (68 miles from Chicago)

Distance: 21 Miles
Topography: Well, it's still flat. I don't know what else to say here.

Weather: Really brisk this morning. Frost everywhere but in all fairness to the region it tends to be this way when you are out in the middle of nowhere well before dawn. Overcast all day, very rarely did we receive warmth from pockets of sunshine, but occasionally it was nice to feel a bit burned.

Landmarks: Carl E. Funk Farms ­'cause he got the Funk- but seriously Carl has quite a stretch of land here. Sprawling Newton County- the apparent home ofŠ Kentland- soon to be our new home- Where Agriculture and Industry meet (Exactly what it is that they do is between agriculture and industry so don't ask anymore prying questions, it's disrespectful.) Oh yeah, and some poor family seemed to have lost their home due to a fire or a tornado or both not too far from our end point today- about 8 miles north of Kentland by the junction with SR 16. We all hope things are getting better. Sorry for your loss.

Highlight:
Yangbum Gyal's Tibetan Medical Diagnosis and Advice:
Passang- wind is little high, others are normal
Ngawang- back pain, cold, others are okay
Jigme- wind is little high, cold
Tenzin- circulation slow, wind and cold
Douglas- cold and digestion is weak

Suggestion: keep warm, need hot food and drink, relaxation and calm.

The March:
Start: 8:15am
Break: 9:30am but this is cheating since we crossed the timeline- really 10:30am)
Lunch Break: 12:30pm
2nd Half: 1:00pm
Break: no need as the second half rolled on smooth
Finish: 4:00pm (really 5pm on Indy and New York Time)

Avg. Time: 4 mph
Total Time: 5 hours

Daily Mileage: 21
To Date: 122.8

Marchers:
Core: 6: Passang Passang (Minnesota), Jigme Norbu (Bloomington), Tenzin Jamyang (Chicago), Ngawang Lobsang (Chicago), Larry Gerstein (Indy), Douglas Herman (NYC)
(WE ALREADY MISS YOU NGAWANG B)

Guests: 3: 3; Tsering Dhondup (Indy), Yangbum Guyal (Bloomington), Ngawang Gyaltsen (-aka ARYA- aka Ngawang C)

Casualties: Tenzin Jamyang's knee and leg have gotten worse. Nearly no ability to extend it properly but he walked on anyway without complaint.

Stand Outs: Tsering Dhondup's legs started off the walk in dire straits, but he still found a way to participate when possible. Larry Gerstein as well since he was diagnosed with Osteoporosis- bone degenerative disease- and was unable to walk at all this past summer. Jigme Norbu has so many blisters its not worth anyone's time counting.

Rating: After walking 30 miles in a day anything is possible. 21 felt like a halfday.

Host Families:
Sun Dec 5: Unitarian Church, Lafayette, Indiana
Breakfast: Unitarian Church, Lafayette, Indiana
Lunch: Unfortunately McDonald's and Subway in Kentland was all that's around
Dinner: Bombay Express Indian Buffet, West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Univ.) courtesy of Pala Ngawang Norbu Sherpa.

Leg 7: Although it was supposed to be a true rest day- we are restless and want to walk some more, even though it is currently raining and weather reports state no change for at least 24-36 hours. So Leg 8 starts on Leg 7.

Quote of Day: "As I stated earlier my legs are available but they will cost you."