Date: 2017-10-08
To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

Abrasions: Three weeks after finishing my thru hike, my body is nearly healed. The scabs have fallen off all the cuts and scrapes on my knees. The large bruises on my right hip and leg have disappeared. The u-shaped flap of skin that I tore on my right arm is now a faded small pink triangle. The places that I skinned on my right elbow are healed, although there is still a large hard knot on the bone. The two sores on my clavicle where the sternum strap fasteners hit are almost healed. The calluses on my buttocks from sliding down rocks are gone. My bruised tailbone is healed. The sunburn on my arms and legs has faded and peeled.  Feet and knees: My knees still will not allow me to get into a full squatting position, but they¢re better than they were and don¢t hurt. (They stopped hurting sometime after we got past the Pennsylvania rocks, except for on long downhills.) The middle finger on my left hand, which I sprained in a fall, is not quite back to normal, but is close. Both feet have large thick calluses on each side of the heel and on each side of the forefoot. These don¢t hurt and would be useful for hiking purposes, although dry and ugly, if I were going to hike soon.  Broken wrist: Probably my only permanent souvenirs will come from my two broken bones, one in my left wrist and one in my right foot. The wrist was immobilized in a cast for six weeks and in a splint for six weeks after that. The splint was due to come off in Monson, eight days before the end of the hike, but I decided to protect the wrist a little longer. I kept the splint on till I was down Katahdin at the end of the hike and left it off the next day. The wrist hurts a bit several times a day and has lost some, but not much, range of motion. The musculature of that forearm is still somewhat atrophied. I will get some occupational therapy and do what the therapist tells me to do.  Broken foot: My right foot has been immobilized in a boot for a bit more than two weeks. I will see the orthopedist after it¢s been four weeks. The foot has not hurt at all since I got the boot. I continue to drink milk three times a day, as I have since I broke my wrist.Overall: I am stronger and more aerobically fit than I have ever been in my life, although that is diminishing now that I¢m not exercising 10 to 12 hours a day. I have well-defined muscles in my arms, legs, abdomen, and buttocks. I have ridges of muscle in my abdomen like those of men in ancient Greek statues, although mine aren¢t as pronounced. The day after the hike was over I was so tired I could hardly sit up to ride in the car. For the first two weeks I felt like going to sleep every time I ate a meal. I¢m not quite so tired now, but I¢m still sleeping 8 or 9 hours a night. I¢ve gained 3 pounds but seem to have stopped gaining weight. Although I¢m only 5 pounds lighter than my normal pre-hike weight, I¢m much smaller than I was. My body is more dense and compact. All of my jeans and shorts are one size too big. I¢m starting to want to go for a walk or a bicycle ride. State of mind: I feel happy, relieved, and proud to have completed the hike. I¢ve definitely gotten the AT out of my system, but I¢d like to do more long distance hiking. When I first got home music was still playing in my head, but that has stopped. I can summon music to mind, but it doesn¢t come unbidden. I no longer have crazy thoughts like my feet being named 105 and 106. (That¢s so strange I probably didn¢t mention it before.) I now have energy to read. After experiencing so much kindness from so many people on the trail, I¢m stunned by the amount of violence I see in the news every day. Lots of public places like restaurants seem unpleasantly loud; however, driving a car seems totally normal. Life seems to be returning to normal, but I¢m not the same person I was when I started the hike.  I hope to wrap up the journal this week.  I still have some odds and ends to write about, and I want to reflect on what I learned on the trail.