Date: 2008-06-07
From: Chairback Mt.

To: Wilderness Camp Logging Road
Miles today: 0.0

I am drunken with pain. Jeff and I destroyed our bodies over the past few days. We have been pushing so hard to get him back to the town of Monson that our bodies started sending off distress signals. My left knee clicks a bit when lifted into a full lunge position. I have learned to compensate with my right leg until it gets better. My feet on the other hand... hurt... allot. Every time I stop to catch my breath I begin to twitch and shake my feet as if they are generating some kind of recovery. I look insane while doing it, but I cant really control it and could care less as all I want is for the pain to reside. Today I was in a fit of rage for most of my walk. I just wanted to rest. I wanted to be in a lean to in dry clothes, writing journal entries and recovering. But instead I was trekking on. We trekked over the worst terrain I have ever hiked on today. We pushed on for about 13+ miles over many peaks and down many ledges and over endless obsticals of jagged rocks and exposed roots. The trail was relentless, it just kept getting more difficult.My sympathy goes out to Jeff. It is neither of our faults for the situatuon that we are in. I totally understand that he needs to be back to MA asap. We have agreed that this was bad planning but have also agreed that there was no definite way to predict everything that we have encountered. What we should have done was schedule a couple of cushion days incase we ran in to unexpected delays.My sympathy goes out to Jeff I was saying. His left knee has also been soar for the past couple of days. A different soar from mine, his is inflamation and constant agony when he moves his leg. Today while 3000 feet on Mt. Barons summit Jeff anounced that his left hamstring had pulled. Im sure it was directly relatwed from the way he was menouvering his leg to avoid the knee pain. After the hamstring went the knee no longer had the support of his muscles and it began to throb in excruciating pain. Jeff is one of the toughest guys I know. He gets excited at physical challenges and he is more determined than ever to get out of this 100 miles of wilderness. Jeff is also a Spartan type of guy, he wouldnt mention his pain unless it was serious. So my sympathy goes out to him because after all of this he climbed straight down a 2000ft ledge on the side of Mt. Baron. we decended over 1500ft in less than 1 mile. Try to invision swinging your foot below you to choose its landing spot. You then pretty much let your body drop under the support of that one foot to decend 1 or 2 feet at a time. If you miss your mark or fall the wrong way... it could be bad. Again we are doing this with the 50 + lb packs on our backs, none the less Jeffs knee had its work cut out for it, healthy or not. After Jeff announced his injury we did this for over 3 hours. We then had to leap frog across a river with full rapids to get to our camp. I was in so much pain and so exausted that I took some not so smart chances and got across the 50ft river fairly quickly. After making it to the other side I hollered that Jeff should not take the same route. We walked up and down the river on opposite sides for some time. We needed a spot with many rocks close together so that Jeff didnt need to hyper extend his knee and God forbid fall in the rapids. Eventually we did it. Jeff got across safely and we pitched our tents right on the other side of the river. He passed out withoiut eating dinner. I strongly recommended not to do so as he need nutrition to maintain his health. He still refused... so I ate his share, nothing goes to waste out here... especially after carrying it for the past 90 miles.We get in to town tomorrow. I have no idea when we will get there. I hope Jeffs knee holds out as we have another 14 mile day in to Monson and many more mountains to summmi etc. etc. As usual I am dead tired and have to get up early for another 12 hour day.Oh we met some Canadian guys last night at camp. They are also thru hiking to GA. They were really nice and very personable. I don't even remeber their names but hope to cross paths with them again. It is pouring like crazy ouside right now. A pitty considering I spent all of last night and this morning drying all of my stuff over a fire and in the morning breeze before we set off... oh well. I intend to spend 1 extra day in Monson doing laundry, taking a rediculously long shower, calling frieds and family and organizing my gear before I get back on the trail.   Phoenix3"by myself but not alone"