Date: 2018-08-22
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

Thought I¢d give an update to those of you that had been following along on Trail Journals, and were wondering ¢Opa, what is going on with you????¢ I am happy to report that the conditions with my health that forced me to get off the trail appear to have been addressed, and I plan on resuming my hike 08/30. I fly up to Bangor, ME on 08/29, one week from today, will spend the nite at the AT Lodge in Millinocket, and start hiking again on 08/30.I¢ve been thinking about the trail every single day since I had to get off way back on May 21st, so I am raring to go! Instead of being a NOBO I will become a flipflopper as I resume my hike by starting at Katahdin and hiking south. My preference would have been to continue as a NOBO, but I was concerned that with my end of August restart I would simply run out of time and not make it to Katahdin by the time they close the mountain in mid-October. Even if I did make it to Katahdin by mid-October I¢d be faced with having to deal with that ridiculous thru-hiker quota system that Baxter State Park has implemented. Admittedly if I am successful in completing my thru hike this year, finishing at Vernon, NJ will be somewhat anticlimactic (no offense to New Jersey) - but the main goal here is to actually COMPLETE a thru hike, irrespective of where I finish. As far as my health is concerned, I feel pretty darn good. My hernia surgery went well and the incision has healed nicely. The prescription medication I¢m taking (Flowmax) to address the issue I was having with my enlarged prostate and urination difficulties seems to be the ticket: ever since my Urologist put me on this drug I have been able to pee normally again, without any pain/discomfort. Thank God for modern medicine! I also had new orthotics made this summer that will hopefully minimize the recurrence of any serious inflammation in my heels due to my plantar fasciitis (I will of course continue with my nightly ritual of toe crunches while on the trail). As far as the stress fracture in my right foot is concerned, on occasion I experience some mild discomfort but nothing major. My podiatrist indicated the pain/discomfort was not unexpected, and I may continue to experience some discomfort for up to a year. Bottom line is he gave me the green light to resume my hike, so I can live with the little bit of pain I¢m experiencing. Man I tell ya, I¢ve got more ailments than I can keep track of....it¢s tough getting old. However my spirits are high, and barring any unforeseen developments I plan on giving it everything I¢ve got to finish my thru hike. As far as my conditioning is concerned the stress fracture has limited my workouts this summer to primarily riding my bike so I¢m not nearly in as good a shape as I was when I started my hike back on February 10th - but that¢s OK. I expect I¢ll have to take it easy for the first week or two on the trail until I get my trail legs back. Overall Kayanne and I have had a very busy and fun summer. We were fortunate to have many family and friends visit and spend time with us at our cottage on Conesus Lake, we really had a grand time! There is nothing better than getting together with family and friends! The big news for the summer was the birth of our sixth grandchild, Owen Ludwig Gsellmeier, on July 18th! Kayanne and I are now truly blessed with six wonderful grandkids, two boys (the bookends) and four girls: Link, Lucy, Elena, Evelyn, Charlotte and Owen. The Lord has been good to us in so many ways!I plan on continuing to post daily entries in my trail journal, although I¢m hearing that cell phone coverage in Maine is spotty at best - in which case I will post my entries a day or two after the fact whenever I am back in coverage. I¢m so glad that I took the time to post journal entries for the first leg of my hike, as it really was a nice way to document my hike. I¢ve also enjoyed very much reading the entries of other hikers that have similarly documented their own hikes, and have been living vicariously through them. I¢m anxious to join you all again on the trail very soon!At this time I¢d like to give a heartfelt Thank You to family, friends, and trail journal followers, who have offered me your well wishes and been supportive of me during my recovery - I can¢t begin to put into words how much this has meant to me. I am inspired!