Date: 2014-08-04
From: Madison Spring Hut

To: Newton, MA via Pinkham Notch
Miles today: 7.8
Weather: broken clouds

The Madison Hut croo was up well before 5:00 am preparing breakfast for its 52 guests. The four of us thru-hikers, plus section-hiking Wild Bill, were scattered around the dining room floor in our bags, trying to squeeze out a few more minutes of sleep while the long wooden tables were being set around us. Eventually, when some of the early-rising guests filtered out of the bunk rooms, we gave up and started packing for the day's hike.I knew my injury needed medical attention, and I had a decision to make in how to get back to civilization. The shortest path out was four miles down the Valley Way Trail, which is not part of the AT and would have left us several miles from the nearest town, Gorham, NH. Instead, I chose to continue eight miles north along the AT with Wild Bill to Pinkham Notch, where Bill's wife, Janet, had arranged to pick him up at noon and bring him home to Western Mass. The problem with staying on the AT was that it involved a short but steep climb up and over Mt Madison followed by a long and equally steep descent over jumbled boulders down into the Great Gulf. During our descent, the wind picked up, the clouds closed in, and a light rain began to fall, making the going painstakingly slow. At one point, we passed two SOBOs headed toward Madison who asked whether it was safe to go on given the current conditions. I thought for a moment, projected my still burning desire to complete the AT onto them, and answered yes.Between the treacherous conditions and the gash in my shin, it took over two hours to cover the three miles to the Osgood Campsite, where we had been aiming for yesterday, and another two to cross the Great Gulf and reach Pinkham Notch. I was spent, physically and mentally, and sat on the lodge's porch in a stupor, recovering with a soda and an ice cream.During the hike out, Bill mentioned that everything happens for a reason, a philosophy I'd learned long ago from my wife, Tor. It will be my oldest son, Justin's, birthday this weekend, and the same way I was able to get home for Sonja's birthday in July, I believe I was meant to be home this weekend for Justin. It looks like on Saturday we'll be playing golf together, one of our favorite activities.Bill's wife arrived just past noon, and after eating lunch at the lodge we hopped in her car for the ride back to Boston. The timing of our return was such that we got caught in rush-hour traffic on Rt 128, made worse by a center-lane breakdown a few miles before my exit. Once again, I was struck by the contrast between the solitude of the trail and the hustle and bustle of civilization.I debated whether I should shower before going to the hospital emergency room and considered Space Blanket's story of being expedited when he showed up at a critical care waiting room to have his infected toe looked at, unshowered and wearing his smelly backpack. But for my own comfort and out of respect for the other patients, I showered with a garbage bag taped around my leg before heading off to the hospital. During the two-hour wait, I met an old friend whom I'd coached Little League with years ago when our kids were young. Dave, who is still involved with Babe Ruth even though his sons are now adults, filled me in on mutual friends, many of whom I hadn't seen in years. I felt like I'd been teleported from the trail to a previous life in a matter of hours. Tor arrived from her nursing job at a different hospital to keep me company shortly before I was taken to a back room for treatment.The doctor, an avid hiker himself, took great interest in my AT thru-hike. He determined through visual inspection that there was no muscle damage but sent me for X-rays to ensure that my wound was free of organic material. He decided not to stitch me up, as doing so would increase the chance of infection, and instead put me on antibiotics for a week and used butterfly strips to partially close the gash. When he told me I'd have a scar, I joked that it would serve as a souvenir of my thru-hike. He recommended that I lie low for the next few days and wait 5-7 days before returning to the trail. With the wet and mud of Maine a few days up the trail, I've decided to be conservative and wait the full week.Between now and then, I'll be posting retrospectively, sharing thoughts about the trip so far, doing a bit of gear talk, and addressing questions I've been asked by hikers along the trail.Since yesterday's post, I've had an outpouring of support from friends and readers of this journal. I've had offers from several people to drive me home from New Hampshire, and another who was willing to put me up at his house in Maine during my recovery. For all of this I'm truly appreciative.