Date: 2011-06-25
From: (89) China Town Bus

To: (90) Home
Miles today: 0.0

6/25/11 ¢ 7/6/11I got off the bus around 2am and found myself back in the old world. I was home, or rather, a Wal-Mart near my house, but it felt good none the less. For months I had traversed the unfamiliar, and behind every bend laid a place I had never been. To now be standing on such familiar ground felt strange, but I quickly grew used to the idea. My dad arrived to pick me up, and I began what would become a long vacation from my AT vacation, though I did not know it at the time.The next day I went to my high school 5-year class reunion at the pavilion behind my town¢s local Legion. It was great to see so many of my old classmates for the first time in years, though I was disappointed by the turn-out. I spent the night catching up, and learning what my classmates were up to in life. I got a lot of ¢Aren¢t you hiking the Appalachian Trail?¢ that night, which was fun.I could have returned to New York City that weekend (which would have been disastrous, as you will soon read), But luckily I procrastinated and ended up staying longer. On the next day, the 27th, I went to work with my dad (a noble plumber) and helped him fix a toilet, pull a well pump, and then mow the lawn (no rest for the weary). I don¢t know why, but it did not feel strange at all to be doing these things. In fact, it felt perfectly normal to be working, maybe even a relief to be doing something other than hiking. What didn¢t feel normal was that as the day wore on I gradually became sicker and sicker. In the morning I had felt slightly feverish, and by suppertime I felt absolutely horrible. My body and knees were very sore, my throat itched, and I had a headache in my forehead. That night I went to take a bath, and upon undressing saw in the mirror a large rash on my hip. For a few days my hip had been itchy at night but I had never investigated as I figured it was only a mosquito bite or poison ivy. But now, my heart leapt as I saw that the rash had doubled in size, and all the signs pointed to an obvious answer: I had Lyme disease.I went to the doctor¢s the next morning (Kyle Downs drove me), and was prescribed three weeks worth of doxycycline (they didn¢t wait for blood results as my symptoms were so obvious). The doctor said that I had caught the disease early, and that it should be completely eliminated from my system without any long term effects. In addition, I would start feeling better within 30 hours of medication, and could start hiking again as soon as I was strong enough (I could barely walk I was so sore). I took my meds, and by the end of the day was feeling a lot better. Though I made a quick recovery to my old strength, I decided to stay home for a few more days, and then after those days had gone by decided to stay a few more to watch the fireworks on the fourth of July, go to yard sales, see my mom who was returning from a trip, and see my friend Garret, the SERE Specialist (teaches pilots in the Air Force how to eat bugs, drink pee, and sew finger puppets in the event that they are shot down) and his Fianc©e Emily (I get to be best man at their wedding!). They had come home from Washington State to visit Garrets family, and so the timing was excellent.My spare time during these days was spent swimming, eating, going to the movies, and even running to stay in shape (ridiculously fast, no matter how hard I ran I never felt tired, even though running uses different leg muscles). Having Lyme disease was actually proving to be an enjoyable experience for me, and I was hardly concerned about it at all. I took my meds every day, and would continue to take them when I got back on the trail. (The only thing I had to watch out for was taking them on an empty stomach, something I did once and never will again as it knocked me on my butt with nausea). My time at home continued to feel for the most part perfectly normal. In my head I was still on the trail, and this was a part of it. I had been incredibly lucky to have been hit with Lyme disease while at home, and could only smile at my good fortune. I was getting better, seeing family and friends, and soon would be back in the woods. A China Town bus leaves my local Wal-Mart every morning at 2am heading back to New York City. On July 6th, nearly two weeks since leaving Bud Heavy¢s and three since zeroing at his house, I packed up my gear and headed out towards my long put-off return to the trail. More than anything, it felt like going home.