Medical Report June 29

I saw the orthopedic surgeon this morning after getting an MRI earlier in the week.  The fall on the trail caused a hairline fracture of the tibia and and a bucket-handle tear of the lateral meniscus and some minor things like a Baker's cyst.  If I don't jump up and down, the fracture will heal itself.  I'm going to try physical therapy for a month to see how the meniscus responds and hopefully I can avoid surgery on my knee.  I'm sad that this ends my hiking for the year but I can look out the window and see I have plenty that needs to be done in the garden.  Being a wimp, I'll wait until these 100 degree temperature days are gone.

Day 24

I blame the bears. Because of their aggressive behavior the Cosby Shelter was closed. That meant on day 23 I had to hike 15.6 miles up and down real mountains to get to the Tricorner Knob Shelter.

I started the day from Gatlinburg with my thumb held out. I had never hitch-hiked. I told myself I would only get in a car with a woman in the car too but after 45 min of feeling quite rejected by the passing vehicles I didn't hesitate to accept a ride from a single man. I did notice Ohio license plates and a New Testament lying on the back seat. Turns out he was from Cincinnati area and had hiked the entire AT in 2005.

I walked strong all day. I seldom had to stop to catch my breath or rest my leg muscles. I don't take breaks longer than 5 or 10 minutes. I saw few hikers. Coming up to eleven hours of continuously walking I knew I was tired but also I was happy with how well my body was doing. But it's usually at the end of the day when you're tired that things happen. About 30 min from the shelter I stumbled and fell hard. I lay there for a few minutes assessing what was hurt. It was my right knee. I struggled up with my pack and limped slowly to the shelter which was filled with about 12 men. The Ridge Runner for the Smoky Mts was there too. He's the guy who's job it is to walk back and forth on his section of the AT making sure all is OK. I told them about my fall but I didn't think I was hurt too bad.
I left before any of them in the morning at about 7:15. I knew I would be walking slowly and I had 16 miles to go to get out of the Smoky Mts. My booklet said this was the most remote section of the AT in the Smoky Mts Park. The trail leaves the park at Davenport Gap near I-40 right where Nina, Terry and I crossed the AT on the way home from their mountain home. Cool I thought.

One of the gifts of the day were the large, pink, rhododendron blooms. The flowers fall to the ground while they are still pretty so the trail was often covered in pink flowers. It was enchanting; like a princess walking down an aisle covered in flower petals.

I walked carefully because I felt another fall would be destructive to my injured knee. The trail was filled with uneven rocks big and small. After 6 miles I met up with four forest service workers and ate lunch with them. I was hurting. One of them had military medical training and when he saw how swollen my knee was he scared me by telling me it looked bad to him and I could do permanent damage if I continued to walk on it. They wrapped my knee in an ace bandage and suggested I take a side trail of 3 miles to a forest service road where their truck was parked. The side trail was about another mile north. They also took most of the weight out of my pack and promised to bring the stuff to me when they finished their work in a couple of hours. I decided to follow their advice and left the white blazes of the AT. I called my daughter, Alicia, and told her what was happening. She was coming to get me. I made it to their truck just minutes before they arrived and they drove me to a nearby campground where I rested on the ground with my knee held up on a picnic table seat. Alicia drove 12 hours straight to get me and take me home. What a wonderful daughter. She has sacrificed so much to help me on this quest.

Judy McGarvey called her friend an orthopedic surgeon who kindly looked at my knee 8 a.m. this morning. I may have an ACL tear or something else but nothing requiring immediate surgery. I'm getting an MRI next week and we'll go from there. In the meantime he has me in a brace as a precaution. I doubt this will end up being anything too bad.

So this is the end of my thru-hiking the AT. I have mixed feelings. I came within 6 miles of walking past all the white blazes from the beginning of the AT through the Smoky Mts National Park and those are the hardest miles on the trail until New Hampshire and Maine. I was feeling strong and I hate to give that up because it's a lot of hard work to get so each step isn't a struggle in your lungs and your legs.

I find I like the hiking but I don't like the camping. What I really want to do is take serious pictures of the beauty not just take snapshots as I walk past.

Still there is something that calls to me from the AT and I find myself plotting how to get back to the trail next week. (Could I take a bus to Gatlinburg and a shuttle to the campground? Hmmm) Sounds like an addict not common sense.

I never saw a bear but I still blame them for the end of my quest.
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Day 22

Today was awesome. I left the shelter at 6:15 and made it to Clingman's Dome by 8. I'm so glad I waited until today to go to the highest point on the AT (elevation 6,643) because the sky was clear and I could see miles across the Smoky Mts. If my hardest day walking was a 10 then today was a 5 and the best day for feeling strong. Around every bend in the trail there was a new scenic treasure. Many of the hemlocks here are still alive and I love the mysterious quality of the light that filters through their needles. There were also Frazier Firs. (Both trees are doomed.) The ferns grew thickly everywhere and moss covered everything. Perfectly magical.

On Tues (the day it rained) it took me 10 hours to go 11.7 miles. Today it took 7.5 hours to go 10.8 miles.
And now I'm in a $29 hotel room in Gatlinburg. I've picked up my next food package, had a pizza, a shower and my clothes are washed. Yeah.

For the first time in my life I hitchhiked. At Newfound Gap there's a large parking lot with lots of tourists. I approached several people who looked O.K. And found a nice couple who agreed to give me a ride. Turns out he's a minister so I think I chose well. Getting back to the trail tomorrow is turning out to be problematic. There is a shuttle but it leaves late in the morning and it takes an hour to get back to the trail. Still working on options. The park has closed one of the four shelters on the trail northbound out of the park because of aggressive bears. So now I'm going to have to do two 16 mile days which is probably pushing my limit.
There have been interesting people on the trail but all have been only doing small sections. For three nights I shared a shelter with a Florida father hiking with his 12-year-old daughter and 14-year-old son. I admired their positive attitudes even when they melted parts of 2 boots and the father's hiking shorts (not on him) caught on fire while they were trying to dry them in front of a campfire. He just said to his kids: "Well we're learning how to dry clothes in front of a fire. And it is kinda funny."

Virtually everyone has been very friendly. Almost all have seen bears and rattlesnakes on the trail but I've only seen turkeys and deer. Twice I've heard what I think were wild pigs and I've followed tracks so fresh they were still warm. Well truthfully I'm not sure I can tell the difference between pig and deer tracks. The floor of the woods sometimes look like someone dug it all up with a shovel. Pigs are very destructive. Some hikers are more afraid of them than bears because they are unpredictable.

I've reached two milestones: I've now walked 206.8 miles which puts me just under the 2000 mark. (1977.4 miles to trail's end), and Gatlinburg is where Bill Bryson gave up walking the whole trail. (He wrote the most famous book about the AT. Later he did a few section hikes on the trail.). So I feel more than a little pride that I walk tomorrow.
 
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Days 20 and 21

First about today. I've reached my shelter by 2 p.m. after a fairly easy 7.2 miles. I'm staying here because 1) there is a good chance of thunderstorms this evening 2) this is a great shelter with the first privy on the trail in the Smoky Mt. National Park 3) there's a good water source that you don't have to walk a couple football fields steeply downhill to get to 4) And I've had two very hard days. 5) I want to cross Clingman's Dome (the highest point on the AT) in good weather tomorrow. The privy part is important because as unpleasant as they are they beat a shovel in the woods.

Now about yesterday: the good news is there were no bugs and the temperature was in the 60's. Nice temp for strenuous hiking. The bad news is it rained all day. The most miserable day yet on the trail. In addition the 12 miles were harder than they looked on the map. The trail is lower than the surrounding ground so the water runs down the trail in a steady stream. You could have collected drinking water if you were so inclined. It was very slick from the mud and wet rocks. I fell twice and was saved by my sticks many many times. Falling with a backpack is unpleasant. To make matters worse, that section of the AT is one of the few that allow horses on it. There were 6 ahead of me and not only did they forget their parade pooper scooper, but their hooves just destroy a trail. I was covered in mud. Water was swishing between my toes as I walked. It was hard to see the trail because my glasses were wet and fogged up.

The shelter last night was overflowing with hikers trying to get out of the rain and our gear was spread everywhere trying to get it dry (impossible). I had to change out of my wet clothes into dry clothes. You can't have modesty in this environment. I'm confident all eyes looked away honoring my privacy.
My hair was still wet when I got up this morning. I had to put back on all my wet clothes this morning. I'm trying to get them dry now. I'm very happy to be at this wonderful shelter with all the amenities. I felt good today. Strong.

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Long hard day. If 10 is the hardest day I've had on the trail, then today was an 8. It drizzled but no hard rain for which I'm grateful. I walked in the clouds today. Very thick clouds. The woods were dark and a little spooky even in the middle of the afternoon. By 8 when I arrived at the shelter, it was nearly dark. I met about 10 hikers coming towards me during the day, but no one going my direction so I was happy to find about 5 teenagers and 3 adults at the shelter. It's quite cool and very windy. I'm tired but doing well.

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Day 19

Today I will walk in the rain and probably for the next 3 days. Sigh.

John and Judy are bringing me back to Fontana Dam where they picked me up a week ago. We are about 30 min. away. Again I say, you don't do something like this without a lot of help. They are going hours out of their way to help me get back on the trail. They would be happier to take me home but they are doing all they can to support me.

I have to say, looking out the car windows at the rain, I feel both stoic and apprehensive. The walk today will be tough. John says the grade I'm walking up for the first 5 miles is at 14 to 15%. Then it will be steeply up and down for 6 more miles before I reach the first shelter. This is the only section of the AT that they require you to stay at a shelter.

I don't know if I will have cell phone coverage as I walk through the Smoky Mountain National Park for the next 7 days. There is only one road that cuts through the park. Once I reach the ridge line, (which is the border of North Carolina and Tennessee) I will be walking along the Eastern Continental Divide. Cool.

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Well thunder chased me into the shelter. Rather listen to snoring men than deal with wet tent etc.

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