Date: 2005-04-14
From: Atkins, VA

To: Knot Maul Branch Shelter
Miles today: 25.0
Weather: clear sky

Hello everybody,I thought I'd get on and give everybody an update on my hike, or the lack of a hike. I got back on the trail last week and after only a day my tendonitis had come right back and my inflamed ankle hurt worse than before. In retrospect, I probably would have chosen not to hike a 24 miler my first day back on the trail. That night at Partnership Shelter my feet and body in general were in pain. When I put my shoes on the next morning I went to put my shoes on and I could hardly stand on my left foot. I had some serious pain where my shoe pushed against my ankle bone. The solution to this problem was to pull out the knife and cut a section of my shoe so that the bone wasn't touching. This helped a lot, but still bothered me as the day went on. That day we only did 11 miles but it felt like at least twice that. We stayed in a motel in Atkins and when I got there the inflamation made my right heel stick out about half an inch. I iced it down and elevated it all night to get the swelling down and it felt a lot better. We woke up in the motel that morning rested and feeling better, my ankle on the other hand was still bothering me. I popped some advils and the pain went away after a couple miles of hiking. The plan was to make it 22 miles to Chestnut Knob shelter but I didn't quite make it that far. After about 10 miles my right ankle was bothering me so much, especially on uphills, that I was ready to quit. I hiked another 3.5 to Knot Maul shelter, I was the only one there and didn't really want to stay there by myself. After taking off my shoes and resting for a while, I laced back up and started to make the additional 9 mile hike to Chestnut. I only made it about 3/4 mile when I stopped and reconsidered making this hike today. Ultimately I decided it's my hike and I don't feel I can do this today so I turned around and went back to the shelter. I got back to the shelter at about 5:30, made dinner and since there was no one around to socialize with, I went to bed. The next morning was lonely, I'm used to liveliness in the shelters in the morning and it was just me...alone. I geared up and left a little early to try and meet Dewd, assuming he waited for me at the next shelter. I hiked the 9 miles which was almost completely uphill and this took a toll on my tendon, it was throbbing with pain. I met up with Dewd at the shelter and talked about our plans for the week. I was worried about my ankle so I decided it would be best to take a break from the trail. We hiked another 10 miles to meet up with Webb and talk about our plans. I planned to hike into Bland, VA and stay at a motel Saturday night and wait for a ride from Dennis on Sunday. That would've gotten my a ride to NC and then I would've had to figure out transportation back to Atlanta. While making dinner at the shelter a group of 5 section hikers showed up to camp. We began talking with them and found out that 2 of them live not very far from my house. I told them of my plans to get picked up the next day, when they heard this they immediatly offered to give me a ride back from central Virginia all the way back to Atlanta. Pretty unbelievable huh? Erin and Kimberly are a couple who live in the same county as I do, they are unbelievably cool people and I am forever in their debt for the huge favor they did for me. I stayed at the motel in Bland on Saturday and sure enough on Sunday Erin, Kimberly, Brian and the gang all showed up at the motel to get me. We all had lunch at Ruby Tueday's and then hit the road. I got back into Atlanta Sunday night and have been resting and relaxing since. I went to the Doctor on Wednesday and told me that my right ankle is still suffering tendonitis and I actually sprained my left ankle, which I was suprised about, I thought it was tendonitis. The doc told me the best thing for my ankles Is RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I have been RICEing them down every night since I got back. I got on TJ for the first time Today since I've been back. It's depressing to look and see what I'm missing while I sit here and deal with everyday life and all the things that the trail keeps you from being exposed to. I have an appointment to see a foot and ankle specialist on Monday who specializes in custom insoles for shoes. I hope he can tell me something that will make my ankles heel as quickly as possible. My older sister Allison gets married on May 7th, I plan to stay at home at least until the wedding and hopefully by then I'll be ready to hit the trail. I'll keep updating my condition and what my plans are for heading back.Take care,(Not So)SuperFeet