Greetings from the reclusive Texas Idiot.
Sorry I have been AWOL from the blog page for a bit and I hope my hiking brethren accept my sincere apology. After submitting this post, I will be ramming my skull repeatedly into my computer monitor, until I am rendered unconscious, in a small token act of repentance.
Last Saturday, I was out walking when I started getting some minor pain in my left foot. With all the neurological issues in my feet, I could not really tell for sure if this pain was nerve, muscular, bone, tendon, etc. It just started to hurt as I was walking along minding my own business. I turned for home. About a half mile later, I realized I would not make it home and instead changed course, heading to my parents house so I could get a ride home. When I go to the parents, I took off my shoe and sock and my foot was red and swollen, though it is always red and swollen when I am up for any period of time.
The wife and family all wanted me to go see my Foot Surgeon on Monday morning but I decided to just rest the foot and see if the problem would resolve on its own. Why? Simple…. I AM TIRED OF GETTING NOTHING BUT BAD NEWS AT THE DOCTORS OFFICE. So, I hoped that I just somehow gotten a mild sprain or strain on the foot and that over time, with rest, it would heal on it’s own and I would be fine.
It’s been 6 days now and I have not walked for extended periods and have not even ridden the stationary bike so that I would not put any unnecessary strain on the foot. The foot is much better. I only get minor twinges of pain on occasion when walking, which does not really alarm me because my feet usually always hurt to some extent. My thinking and my hope is that if I had done serious damage to the foot, or if I had even tore a tendon or something, I would still be having a great deal of pain and discomfort to this day, which I am not.
So, hopefully this was just a minor hiccup in my training. Better to get the hiccups out of the way now, versus later on the actual trail.
We are leaving for a 2-week road-trip vacation to my Home State of Oregon on the 16th of this month. I have decided that I will just exercise on the stationary bike until we get back from Oregon, giving my foot a good month off from extended walking. This should allow whatever is going on in the foot plenty of time to heal. Besides, it’s summer in Texas…………… only Idiot’s are out walking in this heat furnace anyway!
On another down note………. Something I did NOT need to read this past week at a time when I was sitting here nervously worrying about my foot and my ability to do this hike.
I have been following the online journal of a hiker currently out on the trail. This guy is 14 years older than me and started this hike after retiring from work. He hikes slow and I developed a real connection with his writings because like me, he had never overnight camped and did any real long-distance hiking before hitting the trail. He started in late March, just like we plan to, and did great, overcoming all kinds of issues with his gear, the weather, sickness, etc. This past week, he was over 800 miles into his hike, and just quit.
He wrote that four consecutive days of heat and humidity had totally wiped him out. He was having to carry 8-10 lbs of water, which really weighed him down, and though he was drinking plenty of water, he could never muster any energy in the heat. Due to the heat and humidity, he was soaking wet, all his gear was wet, the bugs were out in full force and were eating him alive day and night, and he was just totally miserable. He said that four days of being completely hot and miserable just did him in. Whereas he had been chugging right along with no real major issues, he suddenly hit that terrible 4-day stretch and it just killed him.
Sadly, after he quit, the weather took another dramatic change out on the trail. Other hikers who’s journals I am reading are reporting cool temps and perfect hiking weather these past few days. Maybe if that guy had stayed out just one more day, the weather would have changed and his whole outlook would have changed. He broke one of the cardinal rules of the trail that I have read in many books.
NEVER QUIT ON A BAD DAY.
If you quit on a bad day, chances are you will totally regret it later on. Push through the bad day, or days, and when things have improved, if you still have the desire to quit, then quit.
Heeding this advice, I am not going to quit while going through this temporary bad period. I might be having a “bad day” foot-wise at the moment, but better days are just around the corner.
Flashing back a bit…
Last week, up until I tweaked my foot, I walked 23.3 miles for the week (140.6 total), rode the bike for 25 miles (402 miles total), and had a steady weight of 273 pounds. (- 16lbs total)
Happy Hiking!
I think those are wise words, don’t quit on a bad day. Also remember that you will not hike alone. You will not be alone on bad days. I hope your foot feels better and your Oregon trip is rejuvenating.
If I quit things every time I had a bad day I would end up living in my parent’s attic with no job and no driver’s license, pretending to be a writer.
Oh wait!
That is really one of the most profound life lessons anyone can learn. Never quit on a bad day. No matter how bad things may seem at any given time, they will ALWAYS get better. Even if it takes a while. The difference between the pessimist and the optimist is ultimately the simple recognition of that fact. I am already getting training in the fire man’s carry and eating lots o’ spinach so no worries!
So sorry to hear of the blip. But you have been really hitting the walking, perhaps you just need to build up a little more slowly? Sending positive vibes:)