Date: 2006-07-17
From: Buffalo, NY

To: Buffalo, NY
Miles today: 0.0

I'm back in Buffalo again. Wow, I didn't think I'd be writing that before reaching Mt. Katahdin. I haven't placed my feet upon the Appalachian Trail since getting off at Vt 12 a week ago. The fact of the matter is my diarrhea got worse and worse and worse. Thurs night/Fri morning I found myself writhing in pain upon the toilet hour after hour, crapping little but blood. It was the most debilitating experience I've ever gone through. I had gone to the health center in Woodstock, VT the morning before but they figured I just had a bad case of diarrhea. However, they did send out stool samples to test for giardia, the results for which I'd receive Friday afternoon. Well, when I was in agony on the john Thurs night/Fri morning I hoped it was JUST giardia. I've never felt that horrible, and consequently feared the worst. The blood, the muscle contractions, the blackening vision, the sweating. I thought I was done for. I called Amy at 4am, terrified. She convinced me to wake up Charlotte and Cary and have them take me to the Emergency Room. By 6am I was regaining some coherency in a bed hooked up to an IV at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. They held me for 4 hours, pumping color back into my flesh with a few bags of IV. They took another stool sample as well as a blood sample, from which they determined I had Bacterial Gastroenteritis. They gave me a prescription for the same medication used to treat Anthrax, although they didn't know what the bacteria causing my diarrhea was. Because Intestinal Anthrax sounds a lot cooler than Gastroenteritis, I'm sticking with the former when asked what I have. Hey, the symptoms aren't that far off AND I had been hiking through quite a few farmlands. Who knows.Anyway, I lost a good deal of weight and strength during this whole ordeal, so decided to come back to Buffalo to recuperate. I'm keeping food and liquids in much better now that the antibiotics have been at work for a few days. However, I still can't venture too far from a toilet with my explosive bowels. It'll probably be another week or two before I'm back up to trail strength, and a month before I actually return to the trail. There's now no way I'd be able to reach Katahdin before the wedding I need to be at Aug. 18, so it makes more sense to wait until after the wedding to finish the last 460 miles. This whole thing was been a seriously frustrating setback. I was less than 20 miles from the VT/NH line, meaning I really only had 2 states left, the most beautiful and rewarding states they say. I had met up with a great contingent of thru-hikers, all of whom were looking to finish around early to mid-August. I was lined up to finish on time, even with a visit from Amy somewhere near the NH/ME line. But then I watched it all slip away during my days in Woodstock. Now it'll be late August by the time I return to the trail, and it'll be late Sept, early Oct before I finish. More likely than not, there won't be much of anyone I know still hiking by the time I get back on. Furthermore, I suspect my finish will be somewhat anticlimactic given my month-long hiatus. Argh...But I'm trying to stay positive. Being home gives me a chance to recuperate in the company of loved ones. Amy and my family have been superbly accommodating. I am so thankful for how much they've gone out of their way to help me. Being home also means I can make some money, so I needn't worry about running out. Furthermore, returning to the trail late August means the days will be a bit cooler and the bugs won't be so bad. Even if I won't know anyone, I'll meet people. Plus NH and ME will be beautiful and rewarding, period. I'm also looking at this setback as simply another challenge. The main reason I wanted to hike the AT was for the challenge involved. I've definitely proved that I can push myself physically and overcome the rigors of the trail. However, most of the challenges thus far I've been able to overcome independent of others' assistance. I'm not good at asking or accepting help from others, usually because I fear it implies my own weakness. I know that is wrong, and that it takes strength to admit I need help. For that reason, this sickness has been a blessing in disguise. It's forced me to be completely dependent upon those around me. I had no choice but to appeal to my fellow thru-hikers to help me into town. I had no choice but to ask Charlotte and Cary if I could stay for free at their Bed & Breakfast. I had no choice but to ask my mom if I could borrow money to help cover the medical expenses, and if she could come pick me up. This experience has humbled me, presented me with a whole different set of challenges. And I'm overcoming. As Charlotte, Cary and I were conversing after dinner a few nights back, they asked about the conclusion of my trip. I hadn't the slightest idea when I'd finish. I knew I'd go home, recuperate, make some money, attend the wedding, and then return to the trail. Above all, I knew one thing with absolute certainty: I will reach Katahdin and complete this thru-hike. Bear CanPS - My deepest thanks go out to my mom, step-dad, Amy, Charlotte, Cary, Grizzly, Buttercup and Doogie for the help over the past week. It's truly meant the world to me.PPS - There's a saying us thru-hikers have: "No Pain, No Rain, No Maine." I think this idiom is a bit deficient, so I've revised it: "No Pain, No Rain, No Crapping Your Pants, No Maine."