At great risk of TLDNR (too long did not read) I'm gonna use the next 2 hours to crank out a post that catches you up to this very moment of my journey. If this post seems a jumble, it is. I'm juggling right now. But, every day is a journey and the journey itself is home.
Vanity on the AT?
I came off trail last eve with Bonus who like me needed a zero. New Jersey from Delaware Water Gap to High Point has retained some of the viciousness of Rockslyvania ... at least from the perspective of my knees which have taken a beating. A beating I delivered. Moving fast down hills in the South. Ignoring the arguably obvious fact that a sixty-two year old with a 25 pound pack on his back should proceed gingerly on the trail as most of my contemporaries on trail were doing. Instead I felt young and energetic and pursued ever faster hiking speeds with my 25 year-old hiking partner. I was having fun and proud (is that it?) that I was keeping up with him and folks were commenting on my speed. Attachment to vanity.
Meat and Sinew
Knee Pain #1: Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome has been overcome through a cortisone shot and physical therapy.where the patella (knee cap) goes off track ... causing pain! Directly caused by my aggressive downhill performances of North Carolina and Tennessee.
Knee Pain #2: bilateral arthritic pain, swelling and tightness in both knees. Currently under control following 3 weeks of physical therapy. [ I love physical therapists!]
Knee Pain #3: strained right medial collateral ligament - a common sports injury caused by forces pushing the lower leg to the outside. Think tackling in football or futbol. While hiking it happens when the foot swinging forward catches on object - rock or branch - that deflects your forward swinging knee to the outside. You feel a sharp twinge on the medial (inside) of your knee and, in my ... case start screaming Fuck! Shit! Fuck Me! in the woods causing all the songbirds to pause and listen to my strident song.
That's my musculoskeletal summary current through July 2, 2022.
Heat Intolerance
It's been hot. And, yesterday, I could not keep enough water in my body. The day started sweetly with an amazing trail angel, Moose, who set up a trail magic station at Culver Gap that was a full hiker buffet of food and resupply items. Fresh brewed coffee or tea, cold drinks, ice cream, cantelope, watermelon, and on and on. Bic lighters, Shoe Goop for shoes coming apart from the abuse, toilet paper, bug spray, and on and on and on. And, he's gonna be there all day every day through July
But then after the first measly hill I was overcome with heat. Normally, I drink 2 liters every five miles in warm conditions. But, today I was consuming water twice as fast. I believe I may be the worlds's sweatiest man. And, streams and springs along this section of trail were dried up by July. I made several water stops in an attempt to rehydrate. I needed to scoop water out of barely flowing streams, create wooden spouts to funnel trickles of spring water into my CNOC water bag. And, without much deliberation I hiked 0.4 miles each way to Rutherford Shelter to get water only 2.4 miles after I had replenished at the water cache maintained by an angel at Mashipacong Shlelter. My knees were holding out but I sensed the effects of dehydration and hyperthermia. I was wringing out my bandana and shirt every hour or so. I figure I wrung out a half cup of sweat each time. Thoughts were clouding. I'd check my guide for mileage to the next waypoint and seconds later struggle to remember what I had read. This was serious. I made it to High Point State Park two hours after my "slower" hiking buddy, Bonus.
We were both cooked - he gently sautéed, my overbaked like the worst, dried out Thanksgiving bird you've ever had. Luckily we found a single hotel room with a king bed in this resort region on a holiday weekend hours from Manhattan.
And, here I am. Cleaned up a bit, laundered and writing at the library.
Tomorrow, I will head north again. July 4th I will be in New York somewhere. Hopefully it will cool down after thunderstorms that never came.
Rocksylvania - A Special Report
Whoa! Rewind the Story a Couple Weeks to June 12
Writing on June 12 ....
After two more weeks of physical therapy I am ready to return to the trail. My painful right kneecap is cooperating by staying in its pre-ordained track. My legs feel stronger. I’ve enjoyed the comforts of home too long. I gotta get back out there.
Damascus, Virginia might seem like an odd re-entry point for my return to the trail. I hiked out of there over a month ago. It’s 600 miles south of US 60 in Buena Vista, Pennsylvania where I limped off last.
But, Damascus is Trail Town USA. And, mid-May it fills with AT hikers for Trail Days.
Trail Days
A festival of everything AT. Gear, music, food and hiker reunions. A small Burning Man in the woods. So, with Lizzie again as my driver and co-conspirator I was off to Damascus for one last luxurious weekend filled with friends new and old. Keep in mind … my concept of luxurious.
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| Lizzie and I at the Damascus gateway |
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| Lizzie & I run into Giving Tree, an angel from my past |
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| Lizzie & I with my hero, Strider |
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| Two lovely hounds, Sweet Caroline & Savannah |
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| Peach & Lizzie amid parade |
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| With Poet who with Hippy Chick, runs Shaw’s Hostel in Monson, ME I’m wearing my favorite AT T-shirt that I bought there in 2018. It reads: SHAW'S At HOSTEL Every day is a journey and the journey itself is home. ~Matsuo Basho |
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| With a local, Chuck, & Lizzie |
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| Will, a new friend from Tennessee |
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| Tree House, running the Broken Fiddle in style |
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| Feeling happy at The Broken Fiddle |
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| I wasn’t alone |
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| Fathom and I enjoying the evening |
Back to the Trail Again
May 15
So, after all the fun and love of Trail Days Lizzie drove me 600 miles north to Shippensburg Rd, tween Gettysburg and Carlisle, PA and once again at 9:30 I headed north on foot
That night I arrived at my campsite late but just in time for the 1 AM lunar eclipse [but my pictures suck]. The five mile flat hike-in was easy in the moonlight and the knee felt fine.
May 16
In the morning, Martian and friends will arrive. Juice Box, Laps, Teddy Bear, and others. I notice how small Masshole’s pack is. I’m enthralled.
We hike out. I’m intentionally going slow today to give my patella a chance to stay on track. I let the others hike ahead. Only an hour into my day I notice that I am experiencing incredible tightness behind both knees. Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome is quiet. But, going down gentle slopes my leg won't swing forward like it always has. As I swing my legs forward the backs feel like taught Saran wrap and my stride goes from 4 feet to 3 feet. Both knees are suddenly tight, swollen and constrained. I'm worried something is gonna pop.
I meet the crew at Pine Grove Furnace State Park General Store where 40 plus years ago a smart manager realized that at around the half-way point of the trail hungry hikers would love ice cream. Since then about half of the hikers have taken the half-gallon challenge by attempting to eat a half-gallon of ice cream in one half hour. If you succeed you win a small wooden spoon that reads "Member of the Half Gallon Club". And, since the ice cream industry downsized half gallons 20 years ago, modern hikers must buy and eat a "what used to be a half gallon" and a pint. At $12. Now that's retail genius. With my unpleasant history with dairy and an eye for a rip-off, I passed.
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| Half Gallon Challenge - Half a Gallon in Half an Hour at the Trail’s Halfway Point |
After eating lunch and watching Agent Penguin and Marathon both win their spoons, we took a dip at the lake and again headed north. Again, I purposely went slowly as other strode ahead. And, to make sure they got way ahead, I had to return to the General Store to recover the phone charger I'd let people share there! An extra two miles!!
May 17
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| Lovely views from an easy ridge-line trail. |
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| Flat trail through the Cumberland Valley |
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| Trail maintainer, Dennis Hurley(?) |
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| Though the Cumberland Valley was flat my knees were sore. |
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| Picasso and Macy shared some trail joy with me |
May 18
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| Eye Nut - local hiker and trail maintainer heading SOBO to PennMar |
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| George, Sharon & Jackjack enjoying a hike |
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| Sharon, Anna, Julie and Angela enjoying the trail |
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| Rob & Julie with Juice Box lunching at Darlington Shelter |
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| Lady Slippers and an Oak |
Look deeply into nature and then you will understand everything better.
~Albert Einstein
May 19
In the morning I pack up and head out. Juice Box kindly gave me some water, saving me from a 0.4 mile rocky steep excursion to the spring and back. Old friends, Bard & Croc Eater pass me while I'm taking a break to stretch. Rollz comes along and I pass along the news that had been sinking in for days. My knees are botched and I’m getting off trail again! Mile 1167.2 Hike well, I said as she walked out of view.
At PA 325 my thumb goes up. I start thinking of ways to not look like a murderer.
My strategy: 1) make the pack and poles visible so they realize that I am an AT hiker or at least pretending to be one, and hope they know what what an AT hiker is. 2) when car appears remove the hat and the mirrored shades 3) BIG smile that can be seen by cars approaching at 60 mph.
When they fly past turn away and cover eyes nose and mouth til the dust settles. PA 325 is not heavily traveled. And, much was commercial trucks who almost never stop. And the big dump trucks, 18 wheelers loaded with lumber and utility trucks just fly by.
But, this has always worked for me before. I just need to relax, enjoy the solitude, look at the trees, listen for birds, and someone will stop.
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| Trying to look like a non-murderer while hitching the Wrong Way |
And, here he comes. A lime green sport coupe with a big happy smile in the drivers seat calls out “Where you headin?” “Duncannon”, I enthusiastically reply. His face softens and the smile fades. “Oh man, Duncannon is the other way! I feel so bad, I don’t have the time to head back. Gotta get home.” I tell him it’s OK. Thank him for pointing out my misdirection and we part wishing each other well.
So, I cross over to the shady side of the road, and resuming acting like a non-murderer. And, a while later Buck (I might have this wrong. Reach out to me friend and let me know!) pulls over and takes me all the way back to the Doyle Hotel in Duncannon.
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| Angel named ???? Thanks and send me an email! |
Ice on the knees, an icy cold one in hand I begin to plot my next steps …. back to Pine Grove Furnace (site of the Half Gallon Challenge).
It was Thursday, and I was determined to be at Pine Grove Furnace State Park by Saturday when my friend, Sarah “Serendipity” Robison, was speaking at the AT Museum. And, after her Heather “Anish” Anderson would speak about her thru-hikes of the AT, the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). All three of which she has hiked in the Fastest Known Time (FKT).
The journey back to Pine Grove Furnace was going to require superior hitching. Three roads would be needed. I was explaining my strategy to a fellow hiker: “It’s an hour to Pine Grove Furnace SP. I figure I can hitch to Carlisle and then from there hitch to Pine Grove Furnace. I have all day to do it. Should be a piece of cake.” A woman at a nearby table asks, “Where you trying to get to?”
For the next hour, Stacy and I talked about education (she is a teacher in Harrisburg), hiking and all sorts of good things as she drove me all the way to Pine Grove Furnace State Park. We exchanged info and said goodbyes. Then she drove back home to Duncannon.
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| Sweet Stacy who kindly drove me an hour out of her way! |
May 21 - AT Museum
Heather Anderson and Sarah Robison enthralled the folk who had gathered in the lawn behind the Iron Masters Mansion. And, my girl Debbie, arrived to enjoy the day and take me and my knees back to the Burgh and my medical team.
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| Serendipity at Big Hill Ciderworks |
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| Graem Timmons, who still needs a trail name |
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| Jay Wanders Out |
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| Lucky, heading SOBO from Pine Grove Furnace |
And, then I spent three lovely relaxing weeks at home getting more amazing physical therapy and great times.
I am now about to hop off the Amtrak at Harrisburg, PA. My friend, Jonathan “And So It Goes" Desmarais, is waiting for me. We hiked together in Massachusetts and Vermont in 2018. Today he’s gonna be an angel and drop me back off where I left the trail, and again I'll hike North.
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| And So It Goes |
So, my next report will be of my hike through Rocksylvania, the sadistic and masochistic section of the trail north of Duncannon. I'm about three weeks behind but working at it!
Be well,
Buddha