Date: 2005-04-04
From: Microtel, Robbinsville, NC

To: Microtel, Robbinsville, NC
Miles today: 0.0

Well, now the waiting is going to get harder. The whole herd moved out this morning, heading into the Smokey's. Boy is it ever going to be crowded in the shelters tonight!Meanwhile, back at the Microtel, Private 2nd Class Walter M Longhaul is attending to the business at hand, which consists mainly of looking on the bright side of things and trying not to think about what he'd much rather be doing.At this point, I am still hoping against hope that my hike is not over. Most of the day my knee is clearly trying to tell me it is, but then every so often it will allow me to stand up and walk almost like a normal person - which immediately gets my hopes up again.I have been wearing a pretty sturdy knee brace since last Friday, which didn't do anything to help the pain at all but probably helped to constrain the swelling. I put my Cho Pat back on this morning, and I seem to be doing better with it than I was earlier.At this point in time, I'm looking at three options: If the knee is still painful on Wednesday - too painful to consider hiking on it - then I may have throw in the towel for now and head home for an MRI and possible surgery - again. The second option, if I think I could get at least another 35-40 miles out of it, I may catch a shuttle to Davenport Gap at the northern end of the Smokies and hike from there into Hot Springs, where I'll meet up with my wife for some R&R - in which case I'll be leaving myself a 72 mile hole to make up later. The only downside to this plan is that I will now not be able to link up with my current hiking buddies because of the delay in their departure from here.The third option, probably the least likely at this point, is that the knee will feel good enough with 2-3 more days rest to have a go at the Smokey's myself. The first camping area is only 5 miles in. Although it is almost all straight up, my knee is generally ok with the uphill climbs. If the knee doesn't want to continue beyond that section, I'd simply reverse my steps the next day and head home. If I can continue on, I'd have another bailout point 2-3 days later, so it's not like I'd have to do 72 miles or else. I would, however, need to have a pretty clear weather forecast, since snow, wind and/or low temperatures would raise the risk to unacceptable levels.The main virtue of that third option is that I would not be leaving any holes in my trek north. Instead of being 2-3 days ahead of my hiking buddies, I'd be 3-4 days behind, but the truth is that I've still got plenty of new best friends to make out there. C'est la vie. Anyway, all of that is still only conjecture. I just find myself doing a lot of conjecturing these days. Gives me something to do...The other thing I've been thinking about today is how great it has been to be hiking these mountains down here for as long as I have. It is hard to describe the joy I felt so often during a day's hike. It came from so many different sources.One that stands out is simply the exhilaration that comes from meeting the physical demands of climbing up and up and up, sometimes for more than an hour at a time, pausing only occasionally to rest my legs. Standing there on the side of the mountain, resting on my hiking poles, surrounded by nothing but nature, silence except for the wind in the trees, or sometimes the sound of rain or snow hitting the ground, and feeling like I could hike forever and not get tired of it - feeling stronger than I have in years, and knowing that every day I am adding to my strength (and further reducing my waist-line...). Frankly, I can't remember when I have ever felt that good. You can imagine why it is so hard for me to accept that such a joyful experience may be over so soon!!The other major source of joy is the camaraderie that exists among the people of the trail. Tomorrow I hope to begin some profiles of my companions. Today I'm simply missing them too much to bear thinking about them. Coming back to the theme of yesterday's journal entry, I would like to dedicate today's "progress toward recovery" to my older son's Boy Scout Troop, which is also supporting my daughter's Venturing Crew - Troop 1577. As with Pack 1169, the parents make a huge difference, and we have been blessed with a most incredible group of dedicated leaders, beginning with our Scout Master, Kirk Brandt. As a boy-led troop, however, we are doubly blessed with the quality of leadership displayed by the older scouts, including the Senior Patrol Leader, Zac Mathis, and his team of officers. The whole program is just incredible, and I really miss being there to take part in the activities. One more thing to look forward to whenever I do return home!Stay tuned, LonghaulP.S. The weather report for the Smokey's looks great through the next seven days....