Today we tested the knee. It has been 2 days short of 3 weeks since we got off the trail and except for a short walk or two on level ground I have rested the knee. I have had some treatments designed to reduce the swelling and some stretches trying to overcome the pain. So today we headed to the canyon to give it a test.
We chose the Bowman trail and hiked steady for 1 1/4 hours and arrived at White Fir pass. After a short rest we headed back down, the real test. While the knee felt very uncomfortable there was no pain. We walked back down without stopping to rest either.
Of course there are two problems here. 1) I had juiced up with vitamin I. (800 mg of Ibuprofen) and 2) I was carrying only a liter of water and a few snacks. On the trail I was carrying 40+ pounds and was beginning to be a little concerned about the amount of Ibuprofen I was taking.
On the Appalachian Trail we saw very little wildlife. In two months we saw two deer and a herd of wild horses. Nothing else larger than a cottontail rabbit. There was a little excitement the day we saw the rattlesnake. Today, 30 minutes up the trail from the parkinglot we ran into this big fellow. I walked around a bend and thought, "someone is riding a horse on the trail." Then I realized I was looking at a bull moose.
It took a little while to convince him to move off of the trail far enough that we felt somewhat secure in slipping by him and continuing up the trail. He was much more interested in his breakfast than he was in us.
So it was a good day. I am somewhat pleased with the progress in my knee. I have another Dr. appointment in the morning. While we are way past the chance to continue on the AT, we are still holding out the hope that next spring we can hike either the section from where we stopped to Shennandoah National Park, or perhaps just do the park.
3 comments:
Rodger:
I am glad to hear that your knee is doing reasonably well. Y'all will continue to be in my prayers.
-- Bill R.
Who cares about the trail - when are you coming back to basketball? There aren't any hills on the court. :-)
Sorry to hear about your knee. I'm sure there is plenty of dissapointment for you and your wife.
I took my family to Yellowstone a couple of years ago. The only wildlife we saw the entire time was a moose, and it was in our campsite near Jackson - go figure!
Tom Porter
vitamin I does the trick for me too Rodger, and you're right to be concerned if it's for a long period of time. I'm glad your day trip went well. I'm planning a trip to the top of Borah Peak in late July or early August if you really want to test that knee?
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