Date: 2019-06-19
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Miles today: 0.0

I get knocked down, but I get up againYou are never gonna keep me downI get knocked down, but I get up againYou are never gonna keep me downTubthumpingSong by ChumbawambaMy last post included a picture of the X-ray that I had taken in Lincoln, New Hampshire. That X-ray showed a nice clean fracture just above a joint.  WOW noticed multiple fracture lines above this. He said that they would probably have to pin it or put plates in. I should have listened to WOW when he told me to get an X-ray. I thought that I had just jammed it again and that it would gradually feel better. I was also motivated to get through the White mountains while we had a fairly good weather forecast. Of course the mountains make their own weather and conditions can change rapidly. Just as WOW predicted, the orthopedic doctor diagnosed me with what turned out to be multiple fractures in the bone. There were two options to repair the damage. The preferred procedure was for the doctor to use X-ray to manipulate the fragments back in place. He was skeptical that this would be possible because it had been 11 days since the fracture occurred. This was the best option because the recovery time would be much shorter. The other option was to surgically open the finger and move the bones around. The first question that I asked the doctor was how long would it be before I could get back on the trail. I told him of my plans to hike the Oregon section of the PCT with Nancy (wife) for the AARP:Triple Crown project in July. I also told him that I needed to go back and finish the AT in August after Nancy goes back to work (5th grade teacher). I guess that my enthusiasm was apparent because he went way beyond what a normal doctor would do.  I went into the operating room on 18 June hoping that pining was going to work. After I woke up from the anesthesia, the doctor came in and showed me X-rays of my finger with three pins. I was so happy. As far as I¢m concerned he is a miracle worker. Every night I dream of getting back to the White mountains to finish my adventure. I often think back to the extreme conditions that I encountered and learned how to overcome. The beauty of the trail, the smells and sounds of the birds and rushing water are still fresh in my memory. As I¢m fond of saying: ¢This to shall pass¢  puts all of the difficult times in perspective and invokes a sense of pride in my perseverance. I¢m doing some research to find shoes that will provide stability and stick to wet granite. My Lone Peaks worked fairly well but the sole (not just the toe bumper) of the right shoe was coming unglued from the midsole. My Salomon XA pro 3D shoes worked great on the rocky dry trails of Pennsylvania but were worthless on wet granite and mud pits. The insoles would bunch up when wet and would cause foot pain. I ended up throwing the insoles away. I also slipped on slick rock slabs five times during a steep descent. I¢ve made no secret of my dislike for ridiculously dangerous (my opinion)  trail conditions but I always kept hiking because like it or not steep, slick rock slabs are part of the AT experience. I started this hike because I want to be a thru hiker and hopefully my broken finger is just a hiccup in my adventure. As the song says:I get knocked down, but I get up againYou are never gonna keep me downI get knocked down, but I get up againYou are never gonna keep me downTubthumpingSong by ChumbawambaYou could easily change the ¢I get knocked down¢ to ¢I fall down¢. My 9 year old grandson told me that I should change my trail name to Fall.If all goes to plan you will see a journal entry describing my climb up and over Mt Washington sometime in mid to late August. Thanks again for following my adventureHappy hiking, Silver Streak