I'm a little surprised ~7-hours round trip is considered long distance.

Must have been needed for progression. RNG is a monster sometimes.

Is walking 8 miles particularly notable? Is it a typo and they mean 18 miles or something? For someone reasonably fit 8 miles is maybe a 2 hour walk. You'd leave in the morning and be back for lunchtime.

I regularly walk that far before breakfast.

I also recommend using Tor to access websites. Knowledge should be a right.