Date: 2008-10-25
From: NOC (Nantahala Outdoor Club)

To: Franklin NC
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

I took a break today. I skipped about 16 miles of the trail. I guess I'm only hiking something like 2160 miles rather than 2176. If I sound bitter or sarcastic it's because I am. There are people who us thru hikers call "arm chair thru hikers". These arm chair thru hikers love to judge how we hike the trail but have never done it themselves. In addition to arm chair hikers I have run in to countless day hikers, section hikers and tourists who are also quick to judge when they discover that I do not do something according to how the unwritten book of how the AT must be hiked states. Where is this book, these rules? Who determines what considers my hike a successful one? I have been in the little subculture of AT hiking long enough now to know all of the judging and pointing of fingers that goes on. Well... I am nursing a stress fracture in my left foot and I am more concerned with finishing the trail and not crippling myself for life than being a purist and making up for miles that I decided to sit out for. I insist on summiting with my crew and have no regrets about my choice today.Having that said... today I rested. I went down to the river which is something like 50 degrees and submerged my foot for 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off (off and on for hours). The swelling definitely went down and my foot remained numb for most of the afternoon due to the frigid water. I also resupplied on Advil at the NOC outfitter and ate lot's of food all day to help my body recover. I recognized recently that we had not had a zero day since Virginia. During the first 3/4 of the trail we were taking zero's almost every week. When we hit the home stretch we became more determined to get close to the finish line and did not figure in any breaks. Here and there we have had ultra short days... but no zero's. Today I felt it was necessary to stay off my feet completely. The sun was out all afternoon and I watched people kayak and canoe down the absolutely freezing Nantahala River. I sat directly in front of a class 3 rapid and watched a group of well experienced trick kayakers do unbelievable stunts on the rapid. The five of them would keep circling around to hit the rapid over and over. They were playing and competing with eachother to do better tricks. One of the guys was doing back flips in his kayak. He would let the rapid jam him under water and propel himself back upright with his body and land boat side down. I can't really describe what these people were doing but it was awesome and it kept me entertained while I sat by the river timing my foot submersion every 15 minutes.Spoons friends have been shuttling the crew around. We decided to spend one more night at the NOC. At first we discussed pitching our hammocks in the woods somewhere to save money. Then we decided to try and squeeze everyone in one room but only rent one of the beds. I went to the restaurant and asked if they could help me sign in for a bunk room. They said that they had a few places to put me. I explained that I was a thru hiker and I had a lot of smelly gear. I suggested that they put me in an entire bunk room alone, they did. I got myself situated in the bunk room as the rest of the crew snuck in and filled the other bunks. We shut all of the window curtains and kept the packs low to the floor. Because I signed in after hours I can't imagine that someone else will get assigned to this room and find that the bunks are full and the room is stacked with hiking gear. This scam cost each of us $5. We are certainly breaking the rules but... uhh this is cheaper.I feel good about my recovery today. I don't know if I really improved anything, but mentally I can at lest tell myself that I tried and feel better about that. Never have I felt it more necessary to take a zero day. I am looking forward to getting back on trail tomorrow and testing things out. My foot is swollen right now but it seems to feel a little bit better when I attempt to wiggle my toes.~Santana~ "by myself but not alone"