Date: 2005-04-10
From: Hike Inn, Fontana Dam

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: clear sky

Well, I'm back home - for the moment. With the help of my good friends at The Hike Inn, Jeff and Nancy Hoch, I survived my knee-testing foray into the Great Smokey Mountains National Park last Thursday. And, with logistical support from them and "She-who-knows-me-best-but-still-loves-me", I was able to fly home on Friday - a wounded warrior temporarily out of action.It was wonderful to get to hug my family again, and much to be said about the comforts of home. Unfortunately, my favorite new gear are the crutches that enable me to get around without having to put much weight on my right knee. I am expecting to get the MRI done on Monday, followed by a consult with the good Dr. M., and with surgery tentatively scheduled for Thursday, April 14, assuming the MRI reveals what I expect it to. My only hope now is that the damage is not so serious that it cannot be fixed with a relatively straight-forward procedure involving arthoscopic surgery, and that the recovery and rehabilitation time will be "reasonable". As my wife is fond of saying, however, and as I must have repeated a thousand times between Springer Mountain and Fontana Dam, "It is what it is; it will be what it will be." But I have to confess that it will be very hard to accept an outcome that might involve my not getting back on the trail within what I would consider a reasonable period of time. For me, that would be four to five weeks at the outside. (Good thing I'm the patient type, isn't it?)On the other hand, if it turns out to be worse than that, I will obviously need to come up with a new plan. I'm not going to think about that for now, but will deal with it if it comes out that way. At least I should know sometime within the coming week. The reality is that, much as I love being home, I left a good chunk of my heart out there in the woods. It was just such an incredibly wonderful existence in every way that I am having to deal with major withdrawl pains!! Through-hikers will know exactly what I mean. I've already heard from some of them, and they all tell me that I am doing the right thing, and not to fret. At an intellectual level, I understand their message. The trail will always be there, and I will get back to it in due course. But at an emotional level, this was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life, and it is just extremely hard to accept that I am no longer able to participate, just because of one little joint! It's hard, that's all.Meanwhile, I've been reading up on the journals of all my hiker friends - all those whose names I mentioned last week in my brief profiles. They all continue to make great progress up the trail, and all I can think about is how much I wish I were out there with them. (Can you detect a certain pattern in my thinking here....) I'm sure I'll continue to follow their adventures for as long as they keep going, and wish each and every one of them godspeed and fair weather as they continue their northbound journeys. I will also continue to update my journal so that those who have been supporting me will know what I am up to and how my treatment/recovery is progressing. As part of this first "back to preparation mode" entry, I do want to say again how much all of your support and encouragement has meant to me. It has been a major element of the journey itself, just knowing how many people have been following me along and wishing me well. God willing, I will once again be back out there sending journal entries from the trail. And, appropriately I think, I'd like to dedicate this coming week of diagnosis and, hopefully, a repairing of my damaged knee, to all of those at Christ the King Lutheran Church who have been following my journal and keeping me in their prayers, especially Paster Paul, Associate Paster Scott, and Mike (my Church and Scout colleague).   Stay tuned!