A Frustrating Day - 4/19/16

Words a backpacker never wants to hear - "get off the AT before you cause permanent damage to your right knee" - When I left Franklin, NC on 4/14/16 - I hiked a 15 mile day - too much up and down, over 2000 ft - trying to hike my own pace but the trail was easy except for those downhills - usually full of rocks/bouldering. The next few days were a bit easier, 10+ miles but still the downhill rocks kept coming (Friday, 4/15/16, the trail went down 1200 ft in 3 miles and then immediately back up 1000 ft to the Shelter). That's when I really noticed that my right knee was getting shaky - no support. On Saturday, 4/16/16, I walked down from an elevation of 4,092 to 1,732 in 6 miles - more bouldering! But I was in the Nantahala Outdoor Center - beautiful area of kayaking, 9 rivers, etc. (when I get home - I will post more pictures). I did get a small knee brace, thinking I will walk it off. The next day was a climb up from NOC at 1,732 ft to 4,391 foot Sassafras Mt. in 6.6 miles, Sunday's hike was 9.1 miles, 1000 ft elevation gain, then a 1900 foot drop to Stecoah Gap, and finally a 700 foot climb in .6 miles on a 33 degree slope - an area called "Jacobs Ladder".  I camped that night at Brown Fork Gap and made the very hard decision to listen to my body and try to get medical assistance. So on Tuesday, 4/19/16, I walked down 900 feet, 5.3 miles to Yellow Creek Mountain Road, was able to phone a very nice B&B called Creekside Paradise 2 miles from the AT. Jeff, an owner, picked me up, I stayed in one of their rooms that night, Jeff drove me to the Urgent Care Clinic in Bryson City and was told that yes, I have floating cartilage in my right knee that has been pressing very painfully into my MCL - the ligament below the knee cap. She said to leave the trail, rest, take Ibuprofen, ice it, and gave me a better knee brace. I stayed one more night at Creekside, then Cynthia, the other owner, gave me a ride to a nearby shuttle, which took me to the Enterprise Car Rental in Waynesville, NC and I drove 12 hours yesterday to Florida where I will spend the next week helping my sister pack and get ready to come to Florida (she's putting her house in the rental market). I will also return to Montana on 4/29 - will probably have to go to an orthopedist and do rehab and then I will decide when to go back to work.

During the drive, I spent a lot of time thinking about this decision - how a mind is so willing but a body can't keep up - these distances don't sound like much but those steep, rocky, bouldering downhills, with a 30 lb pack, are so different from Glacier National Park. So final thoughts - sometimes a journey is not the amount of miles or days, but it is the journey inside of one - this was really the first time in my life that I truly lived in each day - it was so nice waking up at 7:00 a.m., packing up, leaving camp at 9:00 a.m. and walking to the next lunch spot, campspot, etc. So this Great Adventure ended too soon but I will have to figure out how to work with my body's limitations - I know there will be section hikes on the AT in the prettier areas - up in the White Mts., Maine, etc. in the future and my sister will come share the easier areas. And there are other backpacking adventures in the world.

Thanks to all of my supporters, blog readers and especially my family - Mom did a great job at base camp, mailing services were wonderful and cat care was superb. My sister was so timely with her bounce boxes in the mail, and her support - welcoming me back at 11:00 p.m. last night in Florida. Thanks, too, to my brother and his family for their support and his IT services, as well as guest blogging. And Katy, your Mom tried her best - but the right knee would not move anymore! Finally, Kristin - thank you for this gift of time - I really appreciated it. I will email you later with a right knee prognosis.

Happy Trails - "Hopalong" Annie

Pictures

106.1 miles in - I am alive and well in Franklin, NC

Hello - this Great Adventure is becoming more real each day. It's hard to believe I have already hiked through one state - GA and I am now in North Carolina. Briefly, the first days were hectic - I was in a group of guys - Frank, about 10 years younger, then several - Ben, Garrett, etc. were younger and the pace was getting pretty fast. We left Amicalola State Park on April 2, Sat. - walked 11.6 miles and camped at the Stover Creek Shelter. We were up the next day by 7:00 a.m. and onto the trail, walking another 11+ miles and finally understanding why the "mountains" in Georgia are called PUDS -pointless ups and downs - you walk up a steep, rocky 1000' foot hill, go down the other side and do it all over again!  But we had wonderful weather - in the 50s and 60s. Until Tuesday, April 5 - the group, also known as a trail family, decided to get close enough to take a "zero" day at Hiawassee, GA the following day. So we walked 14.8 miles that day - I was panting - my group was about an hour ahead and I decided I was going into Hiawassee for my first "zero" day - trail talk for going into a trail town, do errands, get a room, do laundry, get resupplies, etc. Tuesday night, a big thunderstorm blew in - and the Shelters are usually sitting on top of these mountains. The Blue Mountain Shelter sits at 3880 feet, lightening flashing all around, etc. Wed., it was a pretty wet packing up camp, and most of us walked down the 2.4 miles to Unicoi Gap to hitchhike a ride into town. I was lucky - 2 husbands were dropping off their wives to section hike at the Gap and one told her husband to take me into town. I got a room at the Budget Inn ($40 thruhiker special) and then the errands began - my sister sent an 8 lb box of food to the PO - so I sent one half of that box up the road to Fontana Dam area - the start of the Smokies National Park. My pack weight has been a problem - but I had to pack for the next five nights on the trail to my next zero in Franklin. So it was trips to the store, to Radio Shack to purchase a refurbished Samsung Galaxy 3 phone, since my camera was acting up on Blue Mt., to Verizon to connect it, etc. Whew.

On April 8, I was back on the trail - hiking solo during the day - meeting a variety of hikers - meeting my variety of friends at various points on the trail - at lunch, at night at camp, etc. Weather remained good until Mon., April 11 - we had just entered NC at Bly Gap the previous day, and, of course, there was another 1000 ft mountain going straight up in .2 of mile - yes, I was crawling up the steps. And we were all wondering when the rains were going to straight - the smartphones were all out, checking the various weather channels. I decided to keep going on April 11 down to Betty Creek Gap at 4300 feet after spending the previous evening at Standing Indian Shelter at 4742 feet. And there were about 15 tents parked under the mountain laurel branches - sure enough the rain came at 7:30 p.m. and did not stop until 7:00 a.m. My gear and myself stayed dry - the tent was wet, but I was able to pack up and get started up the Albert Mountain Fire Tower Trail at 9:30 - the day cleared and became very humid! The trail again gained over 1300 feet up to 5440 ft in .3 miles - straight up the rocks! I walked down and camped at Rock Gap last night - the wet tent dried out at camp that evening before bed.

Next blog, I will figure out how to post pictures from my phone. Shortly my brother will post pictures from the first part of the Great Adventure. Have a good night.

Guest post from Ann's Brother

Well if you're like me you've been waiting for Ann's next post.  Evidently Ann is having problems finding an internet connection right now so I'm doing a guest post for her based on information she relayed through our mother! 

I'm Ann's brother Andy.  

Ann is well underway!  She made a short phone call from the top of Springer Mtn the other day and was planning to post an update from Neels Gap but couldn't find a connected computer!

The weather has been fantastic and the flowers have been beautiful!   There have been lots of wonderful people on the trail.  Ann is the 1197th through hiker on the AT this year since March 1st (that's incredible).

Ann ran into a fun group of folks that shared some lentil soup.  While Ann is not typically a lentil soup fan, she tried this soup and thought it was great!  They also had chocolate chip cookies which they shared.  Seems like Ann is getting along just fine with the other people on the trail!

Ann is planning to be in Dicks Creek Gap by the end of the week.  She'll resupply there and spend the night so we can look forward to an update (hopefully!) at that time.  She's been taking lots of pictures and maybe she'll treat us to a bunch of those as well!

What else, what else, oh .... our sister Sara is sending Ann some Salmon Packets.  Thanks Sara!  I'll bet Ann is going to enjoy the salmon.

It sounds like there's been a different amount of moisture this spring so allergies are bad and Ann is suffering with those.  She has some medication to help with allergies.  Good planning Ann!

Ann is expecting some rain tomorrow but after the fantastic weather she's reported, maybe the rain won't be too bad.

Finally, it seems that Ann is just snacking when she gets up and moving in the morning and walks for about 2 hours and then takes a break for breakfast.  That sounds like a great pattern.  

Ann, we're looking forward to hearing from you when you can post but please feed info through Mom when you can and I'll be glad to help spread the info around..... pictures too!

Ready or Not the Great Adventure Has Begun

The Great Adventure has begun - had a nice long flight to Atlanta on Wed., met my sister who had driven up from FL to meet me and help with the food lists.  Thursday we toured the Georgia Aquarium located in Atlanta's Olympic Park - had to get my PEOPLE fix - nice attractions. Then after seeing all those fish, I told Sara I needed a seafood dinner that evening. We drove a couple miles from our motel to a delicious seafood restaurant, Spondivits, and shared a pound of King Crab Legs, Snow Crab Legs, Lobster tails and shrimp! Then it was a long evening/early morning discussing food, calories, proteins and olive oil and a few nervous hours trying to pack the backpack. We left the motel at 10:00 - Sara was driving back to FL and I was riding on MARTA (light rail) to my Hiker Hostel pick up spot North of Atlanta. Very nice hostel, linen on the bunk bed, trip to Walmart in Dahlongea for supplies and Subway for supper. The Hostel will feed us breakfast in the a.m. and drive us to Amicalola State Park. The weather on Wed. was sunny, 70s, Thursday - overcast and warm, big thunderstorm Thursday night, and today was warm -70s, humid and overcast. They say spring is a month early - the dogwoods are already in blossom. It is supposed to be in the 50s for the next week. I will post pictures at my first resupply in Neels Gap, where the computer might be a bit faster!

ONE WEEK TO GO - AM I READY?

Happy Easter!  One week from this early morning hour, I will be sleeping in my tent on the AT! As many of you know by now, my last day of work will be Tuesday, March 29. Then I fly on Wednesday morning to Seattle, have a 3 hour layover, and then fly directly to Atlanta, GA. My sister, Sara, is driving up from her Florida home to meet me there.  We will spend Wednesday night and Thursday looking at Atlanta sites and discussing my food packing. Since I am flying, I thought it best not to pack white powdery objects, orange powder, white capsules, gooey peanut butter, etc. On Friday, I will meet my shuttle to the Hiker Hostel at Dahlongea, GA at the North End MARTA station and my sister will drive back home. After Friday night at the Hostel, the shuttle will take me and many new friends to Amicalola State Park to start Ann's Great Adventure. And to see what a thru-hiker takes on the AT:

Once I get my pack loaded, I will post another picture and the weight of my pack.  Well, I better get some sleep, tomorrow is another day of hiking, paying bills, and trying to remember all of the other odds and ends that need to be completed before I leave. Thanks to everyone who has called, posted and given me encouragement in setting out on this journey - I appreciate all of the support.

My First Blog - 2/20/2016

Hello - Here is my first Blog entry. It is a Saturday in the middle of February; the day is grey, snowy, rainy, in the 30s. And I am about finished with the taxes, my mind really only on the Trail (not Trial, Andy - I had enough of that!), thinking about the other Thru-Hikers out on the AT already.  Back to cleaning, I will post more in March. Thanks, Andy, for the Blog set-up.