Date: 2012-06-12
From: Physical Therapy

To: Preparations
Miles today: 0.0

¢All my bags are packed, I¢m ready to go.¢ -- John DenverWell, that¢s not entirely true. I have started re-gathering all of my gear, pondering any gear-swaps I want to make, and checking to make sure everything is in condition to go, but my backpack is far from packed. I still have a long list of loose ends that I need to finish up around the house before I leave.But even though my bags are *not* packed, and I do *not* seem to be ready to go, in other ways I am *so* ready. Ready to hear the night noises again. Ready to feel the cool morning air chilling my skin, to smell the earth and trees again, to see views of valleys below. Ready to head out to the mountains to follow the white blazes where they lead. Yes, and ready, too, to sleep on the ground again, to feel the bites of mosquitos and burn from the sun on my skin, to smell my own aroma after days in the woods, and to see the difficult path my feet must walk.My wrist has much of its range of motion back. I still can¢t get my right arm into a real ¢push-up position,¢ but it¢s getting close. My hand doesn¢t have the gripping strength it did, but I can do most tasks now without accommodation. My arms have not yet regained their strength, even with trips to the gym, but I guess that it takes less time to lose muscle strength than to gain it.Two more visits with my physical therapist, Sheila King, where she will, no doubt, twist, push, pull and knead on my hand and arm until I am writhing and biting my lips. But her work has speeded up my progress tremendously and I am grateful for all of her help. I am sure I will appreciate it anew when my hand works properly in some tricky moment on the Trail. Thanks, Sheila.The hand and arm are doing so much better that I¢ve cancelled my last appointment with Orthopedics that wanted one last look at them. Thanks, Brian, but I¢m outta here!I appreciate the advice I¢ve gotten from other hikers about how and where to resume my hike. I considered everything I could and have decided to restart in Bennington, VT, hike north, then flip back to Bennington and hike south, finishing in Virgina sometime in the fall. So on Sunday I will fly to Rochester to visit with my daughter, Ellen, for a couple of days and then go on to Bennington. I should be back on the Trail in time for Hike Naked Day, but don¢t worry; I¢ll be wearing my clothes.A lot will be different on the Trail from when/where I left it in March in Virginia. Spring has come and gone. Hiking in New England will mean more mountains, and more mosquitoes and blackflies. It sounds like there¢s been a lot of rain and there¢s more in the forecast.   I¢ve gained weight and lost muscle, cardio function, and calluses. It won¢t be like my start in Georgia, I hope, but I don¢t expect to be making big miles anytime soon.   But the trail legs will return; the head is already in the game.Another big change will be in the trail population. I saw relatively few people when I was hiking early in the year, and I usually had the shelters to myself. Days would go by without seeing another person. Now I expect to see more of my fellow hikers. Many more. Thru-hikers, section-hikers, day-hikers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, summer camp groups, and families out to get a glimpse of the famed Appalachian Trail. I look forward to meeting them all. I just need to remember to stay to the right so the speedy ones can pass on the left. Now I had best get busy working on my to-do list and wrap up the projects I¢ve started while home since I don¢t know when I¢ll be back again.In order to get back out there, I need to get packed and ready to go.