Betrayed by Toes

It is with the greatest regret that I will have to abandon the AT. A week ago I was headed to Damascus VA for Trail Days. After hiking to within thirty miles of VA , I retired for the night. Almost as soon as I was settled my right pinkie toe began to throb. At 4 a.m. The pain was excruciating. Swelling had caused the toe nail to separate from the toe. Bottom line... I could not walk. At first light I managed to break camp, get my boots on and hike five miles to a road and hitched in to Hampton TN. Connie drove out to pick me up two days later.

It seems that the hot moist hiking boots caused a fungus to develop. So far I have lost two toe nails and three more are on the way to falling off. This is not the way I wanted this to end. 

Overall this was a great adventure. Over four hundred trail miles through snow, ice, rain, cold, fog, wind and mud. Many wonderful days hiking in shorts and t-shirt as well. I really miss the trail and most of the other hikers. Would I do it again???  You bet cha!  The last few days on the trail passed through some beautiful country with water falls and lush meadows. Spring was transforming the stark woodland to an amazing greenscape. I saw so much but I will miss even more. It was an epic adventure!

I'm Back. Roan Mountain TN

After almost three weeks of much needed rest and relaxation, I am resuming "The Hike".  My next destination is the Trail Days event in Damascus VA.  It is seventy miles down the trail and runs May 17-19. 

Stayed at a B&B with Connie at Roan Mountain. Had a great time celebrating Velma's 90th Birthday in FLAwith most of the family. Even gained four pounds due to lots of good eatin',  Will probably lose all that next week   Next stop...Trail Days. 

Confusion???

My last blog post my have given people the wrong idea. I HAVE NOT quit the trail. I have just taken week or two off to do some physical mending. My plan is to return to trail and attend the Trail Days celebration in Damascus VA on May 17-19. Connie will get me to a point on the trail so I can make Damascus in time for the AT's biggest PARTY event.

In the time off the trail I am revising my pack to a summer (lighter) mode. Leaving most of the cold weather gear home and breaking out the shorts and tees. I am also on a two hour feeding schedule trying to regain some of the 18-20 pounds I lost.

My first summer gear order from REI will arrive in Naples on May 1 so I can begin to repack after that. REI is also pleased about the expected jump in their sales for May.

"I shall return. "

Erwin TN. Mile 341.5. Sunday April 21

Connie is traveling to Erwin to pick me up so we can go to Naples FL to celebrate her mother's 90th birthday. The original plan was that she would get me on the 31st. The trail has a different schedule and time table.

The AT has taken a toll on my old body. In Hot Springs I stepped on a scale and am down 18 pounds. I eat but am not hungry. My energy level in the afternoon is low.

My knee is sore and somewhat swollen. It bothers me most on down hill portions of the trail. Have to take "baby steps" so knee does not feel like it will collapse.

I have lost most of my toe nails due to a shoe disaster in November. The problem occurred in November it just has taken this long to be resolved.

Bottom line - I still want to continue on the trail but I need to time to recover. I will not make it to Maine this year but 1100 miles to Harper's Ferry WVA seems possible. I hope that two weeks off will give me time to stage a comeback.

From the beginning I said I would continue as long as I was enjoying the experience. The experience is wonderful. I want to be like Arnold when he says "I'll be back".

Saturday Morning. Can it get better?

Oh yes it can! I slept to almost 7:30. An hour past my usual wake-up time. I have to get to Erwin TODAY; 11 miles out. Quickly packed my mostly wet gear knowing it would dry after I got to town.

The Boy Scouts were busy making breakfast. As I was leaving they said I could not leave without eating. Trail culture is that you do not ask someone for something to eat or a treat. However, if offered you do not say "no thanks". I chowed down. A Boy Scout version of an omelette with eggs, bacon, cheese and the taters left from last nights feast.

But wait - there's more. Just before town a fellow hiker was met by his parents. Yes, you guessed it, more trail magic. Home baked treats.

One more time. My destination is the Holiday Inn Express. It is a mile off the trail so I had to walk to it. When I arrived they were the finish line for a local 5K race. As part of the race event a BBQ dinner was provided. A runner who could not stay gave me her meal ticket.

What a day. It can't get much better.

Spivey Gap Mile 330.8

Really want to make it to town tomorrow. Made dinner and was settling in when I heard voices, lots of voices. The campsite is next to a road and parking lot. Since it was Friday night my first thought was - high school kids were going to party at MY campsite. Turned out it was a troop of Boy Scouts. Boy Scouts have a terrible reputation on the AT as being general pests and overly annoying.

Could not have been more mistaken. As soon as I slowly made my way out of the tent (slowly is the ONLY way I get out of the tent) the adult leader asked me if I wanted to eat dinner with them. Why yes I replied and it was GAME ON. Dinner was some type of trail concoction of smoked sausage, carrots, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, cabbage (source of fibre) and apples. Cooked together in propane steamer. Sounds strange but it works. Topped off the feast with s'mores and went to bed a happy camper. Survived a hurricane and to bed with a full belly. Life can be full a surprises if you just let them happen.

Hurricane (part 2)

Left Big Bald shelter with a mile to hike to Little Bald. It looked promising as the sun was trying to make an appearance. Wrong! This was a hurricane and this was the eye of the storm. Half way up to Little Bald it really hit. Like walking into a wall of wind, rain, hail and fog. The trail turned into a mud soup. No way could I do anything I had planned. Bummer!

Slogged my way to Spivey Gap and a campsite. Arrived and got the tent set up, changed into dry clothes and got into my sleeping bag to warm up. Although the rain stopped and the wind slacked it was getting colder.