A Week Off the Trail

I am pondering the fact that it has now been a week since I last hiked on Monday, May 5th. I've had time to do a lot of reflecting... and I have several thoughts to share. First, as Anne and I were driving back to Greenville, my mood had shifted from discouragement to gratitude. I was grateful for Anne having come to rescue me, for the care that I knew I would receive back in Greenville, and for the time I would have with family. I insisted on driving back, since Anne had driven seven hours to get to Front Royal, Virginia. She arrived there at about 9:00 PM and grabbed a bite to eat (to go). I grabbed a cup of coffee and we headed right back to Greenville. By all rights I should have been exhausted, but something kicked in and kept me alert enough to drive straight through to Greenville. We arrived about 4:00 AM.

Do not try this thread trick.  It was still clear at the time



 

 

By the end of that first day in Greenville, my doctor (who happens to rock, by the way - Dr. Terrell Leeke) had examined my foot and determined that I had developed a staph infection and had me on an antibiotic treatment. I guess that confirmed for me that my intuition had not failed me when I felt strongly that I needed to get off the trail. The bad news was that he was certain that it was going to take at least a couple of weeks to heal. Here's what had happened: I developed the large blister on my heel. I popped the blister that first evening, but it sealed back off and refilled. The next morning, one of my fellow hikers asked if I knew about the thread trick to keep a blister from refilling. It basically involved passing a needle with some thread on it through the blister and then leaving the thread in place in order to keep the blister fluid flowing out of two holes. The problem is that the thread was not sterile. In effect, I broke "nature's perfect wound cover" and introduced the grime that lead to infection. (Dr. Leeke: "Don't do that again.")

Gnarly infection

I have to also give a shout out to Nikki Wilke, who knows a lot about wound treatment and provided some great advice, and to her mom, Ann Schoffield, who has provided me with some essential oils with antibiotic properties to keep me healthy when I resume the hike. Thanks for caring!

Thursday morning of last week, Anne and I started the drive down to Austin, Texas where we are visiting our son Kevin. We arrived Friday evening after two leisurely days of driving. We have enjoyed some great meals and conversation since. We are having the opportunity to catch up with good friends. Yesterday, I played the role of Sous Chef to Kevin's Main Chef position and we prepared a birthday dinner for Anne that was to die for. (Not bragging... just the facts.) All in all, I know our time here is just what I need.





Anne's birthday feast

The Two Chefs

 We will start the drive back to Greenville sometime Friday afternoon and be back by late Saturday. The frustrating part for me is that with a "bad wheel" I can't do too much more than sit, with my foot elevated. We do a little getting out and walking around, but I still don't put weight on the heel of my right foot. I have opted several times to stay at Kevin's home while Anne and Kevin have gone out for errands. It was a quick transition for me from 20+ mile hiking days to couch potato. On the one hand, I am worried about losing my conditioning. On the other, I know that my whole body is doing some healing that will be helpful when I get back on the trail.

A shout out to Joey Fuseler with the Mast General Store. He is a specialist in all things outdoors, and he is assessing my boot/trail shoe/foot/blister situation and providing some great advice. I look forward to getting back to Greenville and using next week to figure out any "tweaks" in my hiking approach for the second half.

One of the outcomes of this unscheduled time off is that I know now that I will not be able to complete the hike by the "end of July/start of August" that I had initially hoped for. I have two important family events happening in that timeframe, the birth of our first granddaughter and the marriage of a niece. I have decided that instead of trying to "go fast and finish" in the second half I am going to hike as far as I am able from the time my foot has healed through the end of July, get off the trail for those family events, and then finish the hike in late September.

It won't be too long after I resume the hike that I will hit the official half way point. One of the things I am looking forward to is the 1/2 gallon challenge that hikers take on after crossing the 1/2 way mark. The challenge is to eat 1/2 gallon of ice cream in a single setting. I think I can do that... I've been training by eating Blue Bell and Ben and Jerry's pints during my recovery.