Date: 2017-06-03
From: Fox Creek, VA 603

To: Mt. Rogers Visitor Center, VA 16
Miles today: 21.4
Weather: overcast clouds

Thru hiking the Appalachian Trail certainly has its ups and downs.  Yesterday was probably the best day of the whole hike, and today I'm in a slough of despond.  The thought crossed my mind today - for the very first time - that I may not be able to finish this hike.  I'm not thinking of quitting, but I've had so many falls and injuries I'm beginning to wonder if my body can hold together long enough to do it.  Before I started, I told myself that if the hike began to do me permanent bodily harm, I would have the good sense to quit and go home.  Tonight I gave up that good sense.  I've already done more than 800 miles, more than a third of the trail.  I'm not going home unless I can't move.  I know this is a bit crazy, but it requires a certain kind of craziness to do a thru hike.  I had my tent packed up and was on the trail at 6:30.  There was a long uphill, which was good because I didn't want to strain my hurt left knee.  I walked carefully, almost gingerly.  At the end of an hour I had gone 1.7 miles, which is decent.  I put the knee straps on for the long downhill, and my knee felt fine.  About eight miles in I started thinking about ways to prevent further injury to my left knee.  Long ago, in my running days, a sports podiatrist told me that my left leg is a quarter inch longer than my right.  Because of this the left knee and hip hit the ground harder than the right and are prone to injury.  He remedied this in the context of running by putting a quarter-inch lift in my right shoe underneath the orthotics.  Rennie had suggested that if I hiked with my stick in my left hand maybe my arms and shoulders would absorb some of the shock that would otherwise go to my knee and hip.  I decided to try using my hiking stick in my left hand.  I was trying this out when my left leg tripped over a rock, and I went flying.  I landed hard on my left wrist, and my right foot landed outstretched upside down.  It hurt so much I gasped.  Then I carefully righted myself and sat on the ground for a moment to collect myself.  I checked my right knee, and it was again scraped up.  My left wrist hurt a lot. I got up and continued on.Less than a mile later I reached a road at Dickey Gap, where hikers Gin Gin and Gadget were doing trail magic.  They were giving out Powerade, yogurt, bananas, apples, donut holes, and cinnamon rolls.  I took a break there and chatted with them while I ate.  They were getting ready to leave for the day and urged me to eat or take as much as I wanted.  I cleaned up my skinned knee and put a bandaid on.  Gin Gin wrapped my wrist with athletic tape to stabilize it.  A large knot had started to form between my thumb and my wrist.  They offered to drive me to my end point for the day, but I needed to finish the miles.  When I got back on the trail at 12:30 I had 13.9 miles left to hike.  Two miles past there I met Lizzie headed south.  She was headed to her car and could get ice for my wrist.  She suggested we look at it after we iced it to decide whether I should go to the emergency room and that I sleep in the van to save time on setting up camp.  We have another very long day tomorrow: 23.4 miles. I knew the remainder of the hike was going to take a very long time, and it did. Later on my right ankle and leg really started to hurt also.  I pulled up my pant leg and rolled down my sock but I didn't see any injures.  The front of the ankle is very tender.  I think I've pulled muscles or tendons in my right ankle and sprained my left wrist.  Now that the tape is off I can see that the wrist is very swollen.  I didn't get to the road where the van was parked until just before 8:00.  Lizzie was headed back out on the trail looking for me as I arrived at Partnership Shelter, right before the place where the van was parked.  She and Rennie helped get me situated in the van for the night.  Lizzie bought ice in town and made an ice pack for my ankle.  I'm sleeping on the box. Rennie and I are planning to leave at first light.  Lizzie will again be hiking south and has a lot of car shuttling to do.  One good thing about the day: when I got to a ridge close to the end I was finally able to get cell coverage and talk to my sister Diane for a few minutes. This is the first cell service I've had for two days.  Keep those good words coming.  I need them.