Hike update #2

Hi Friends and Family,

Just a quick note to let you know that my wonderful, great adventure of hiking the Appalachian Trail has come to a screeching end.  I did less than a mile, straight uphill with a little zig and zag here and there over mostly rocks and boulders at all kinds of angles with lots of high step ups (crotch height in a lot of places).  I began feeling a pain in my left knee on the right front soft area (medial collateral ligament).  I kept going and thought to myself that is that is all then I would be o.k.  By the time I got almost to the second mile doing the same rough terrain the left side of my knee began to hurt (lateral collateral ligament).  It felt like someone was hammering a nail into my knee from the left side.  I have had this happen before on a backpacking trip and had to quit but it never happened this fast.  I have been to Doctors about this and never had a correct diagnosis.  Went to rehab to strengthen my knees but apparently my knees can't take this kind of work. 

I got on the phone to see if I had a signal and I did so I called Wayne to see if I could reach him.  He answered and I asked him how far away he was and he said about 50 miles.  I asked him to come get me and meet me where he dropped me off.  He wanted to know if I was sure and I said yes.  I knew my knees were only going to get worse and I would end up having to crawl my way off the mountain or be rescued and that would not have been smart.  He turned around and I headed down.  Well, as steep as it was going up, it was just as steep going down.  My knee felt as if it was going give way at any time.  When I had to step down, in places that I could, I would step down with my right leg then bring down my left leg.  This was not always possible and I thought I was going to roll down the hill a time or two.  Finally reaching the bottom of the hill I had to go down a long series of concrete steps, cross under the bridge I had walked across to begin with, then go back up another long series of concrete steps to get back on the bridge.  I did the singles steps all the way up.  In crossing the bridge on perfectly flat terrain I had to stop several times to give both of my knees a rest.  By this time my right knee was beginning to hurt.  My left knee hurt every time I would lift it to take a step.  I reached the meetup area across the bridge in a parking lot.  As I sat there and had time to think about things. I got in a big funk.  Totally disappointed and fighting back tears I sat and waited for Wayne.

When he showed up he was sad for me.  We got out on the road and he told me that even though he was sorry my hike had ended he was glad I was going home with him and that when I said goodbye and walked away from the van he went to squalling.  While he is telling me this he is getting very emotional and is fighting to keep control.  It nearly broke my heart and it put everything in perspective for me.  Sure, I want to hike the trail but being with this wonderful man who loves me more than the breath he breathes is really all I ever need.

On our way home I worked out in my head that I was going to sell all my gear and find another 'hobby'.  Well, by the time we got home that was no longer my plan.  I have just got to figure out a way to hike smarter and easier.  Maybe day hikes, loop hikes or assisted hikes.  Either way I am keeping all my 'stuff'!  Hahaha.  I regret that I won't see and experience all the things long distance hikers see but maybe I can see some of them.  I hate that I won't be meeting my friend, Patti who is out there now hiking north and we were to meet on the trail.  I will miss seeing all the ponies at Grayson Highlands in Va. but I can drive up to see them.  Anyway, I will address my knee issue 'again', regroup and hike on. 

Thanks for all the love and support shown as I ventured out into the wild blue yonder but now I can say "Honey, I'm Home"!

Love you all,

Glenda (aka Sheriff Cougar)

Pre-hike #1

Hi Family and Friends,

This is the first post to my backpacking journal.  I plan to backpack (alone) on the Appalachian Trail from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia to Springer Mountain in Georgia.  Harpers Ferry is considered the halfway point of the AT but not the geographic halfway point.  The distance is over 1'000 miles.  It is a huge undertaking but something I really want to do.  Thankfully I have a loving and supportive husband whose most wonderful gift to me is to let me go and not try to fill me with guilt for leaving him for 3 months.  Even though I am sure he would rather have me home with him, he loves me enough to give me the room to fulfill my desire for adventure.  Thank you, Sweetheart.  I love you dearly.

Even though I will be hiking alone, I will not be alone.  There are hundreds of people hiking the trail at any given time.  If I want to be alone, I can be.  If I want to hike with someone, there will be people I meet along the way that I can hike with.  So, do not worry about me.  I will be fine.

I have been really busy making sure I have everything taken care of before I head to Harpers Ferry on Friday.  I will be sending myself some mail drops with food and a few other needed supplies at stops along the way.  Wayne will be kissing me goodbye at the trail head on Saturday.  To say I am excited is putting it mildly.  I can't hardly wait to get going.

I have decided to post to a blog instead of using email even though my sister was kind enough to offer to take care of it for me.  She will still assist me by posting to this blog should I have a problem while I am on the trail.  Thanks, Cindy.

Also, I hope this blog will be pretty much 'real time' as much as possible.  However, for safety reasons, please do not post my exact whereabouts in a public forum, i.e. Facebook, etc.  I am only giving this web address to family and close friends.  If you have someone that would like to read this blog and you trust them then feel free to give them this link.  I just don't need people trying to 'meet up' with me on the trail (and this does happen).

I plan to share as much about my hike as possible.  I will share the highs and lows, the good and bad.  I will use this blog to vent and gripe and laugh and cry.  I expect this hike to be very hard and sometimes easy.  I want to share the sunrises and sunsets, the rain and the cold but mostly I just want to share this part of my life with my family, whom I love so much and all of my friends that I love also.

Feel free to comment and ask questions.  Tell me the types of photos you would like to see and things you are curious about.

Here is a link for information about the Appalachian Trail:   http://www.appalachiantrail.org/about-the-trail  
you can also use the interactive map of the AT to see photos of the shelters and other features/views, etc. here:   http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/find-a-hike/interactive-map
and here is a map to help you see where I am when I give you my location: 
http://www.nps.gov/appa/index.htm


Hugs to all,

Glenda