Date: 2012-11-15
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

With my usual impulsiveness, optimism, and pig-headed determination, I set about to make the necessary improvements in my gear. Mike and I went to REI for a new backpack. Fun! I discovered just how expensive these necessary items can become. The very helpful REI employee asked me what I wanted in a backpack. I said, of course, comfort, light weight, durability, lots of storage space, and low cost. To his credit, he didn't laugh at me, but he helped me to realize that some of those qualities are contradictory, and asked me which of them was most important to me. That's a hard question! I thought they were all equally important. So, we tried on packs, and he measured me, and filled packs with weights and let me wear them around the store, and otherwise exhibited a lot of patience with me. I know he was thinking I will never make it up the entire AT. But anyway, I walked out of there with a lovely, rust-red backpack sized for a woman. It felt great. I also later bought a pair of Oboz boots that feel like feathers compared to my old boots. I revamped my food options, and off we went for Shakedown part two--on the actual AT!We live only a couple of hours away from the southern end of the trail, at Springer Mountain, Georgia. So off we went, with a plan to hike from Springer to Neel's Gap, about 30 miles, in three days. It was great. It was exciting to me to be on the actual Trail. I have read so many books and journals of other people's adventures on the trail, and here I was, literally walking in their footsteps. I thought about all the people who had walked there before me, and wondering what they were thinking about as they hiked. It was beautiful. We camped at the end of day one by a spectacularly beautiful waterfall that felt like our own private resort--not another soul around. It was idyllic. I was feeling good, until, on day two I started to feel a sharp pain in my left groin area. It got steadily and rapidly more painful, until I was totally unable to lift that leg in an uphill fashion. Going uphill became impossible, so hiking the AT was then impossible. I pulled a groin muscle. Walking downhill, or on level ground didn't hurt, but I could not walk uphill, at all, and I was so discouraged. I had no choice but to turn around on the steep uphill we were on, walk back down to the forest road crossing, and call our shuttle guy to come pick us up. Devastating.Mike did go on to hike it, and I drove to Neel's Gap to pick him up. There is an outfitter there that is famous for their pack shakedowns, where they will go through your pack and help you eliminate weight. They say they can average 12 pounds off an average pack, which is just a huge amount. I was proud that they found no extra weight in my pack, and the only recommendation was for a lighter weight pack, itself. Turns out my cute rusty-red REI pack weighed almost 4 pounds, which is just way too much.So, another lesson learned. The cause of the muscle injury was that I was asking too much of muscles that just weren't prepared for it. My groin muscles weren't strong enough to pull me and a loaded pack up steep mountainsides. The remedy is to lighten my pack still more, but mostly to strengthen those muscles. I returned my pack to REI (I am thankful for their generous return policy) and am waiting for the December sales at Mountain Crossings to buy a ULA Circuit pack, although I am now also considering a Golite Jam 50. But mostly, I am hiking up a very steep hill behind my house daily, or as often as I can, to strengthen those lazy, flabby, soft muscles. I will whip them into shape!