Day 17: The Tipping Point

Summary
May 12th

Peter’s Mountain Shelter to Yellow Springs Campsite 

NOBO mile # 1171.6

Tolmann’s miles today: 13.4

Tolmann’s total miles: 147.9

Interesting that I would go on about physical vs. mental yesterday, as today the physical almost knocked me back off the trail. 

I slept pretty well last night in my hammock; very warm and snug, even with a passing shower during the night. I got up around 6:30, and packed up relatively quickly. 

Since Meeko showed up yesterday, I thought I’d cook up some breakfast and coffee for a change, so we might have a couple minutes to visit, before she blasted away. 

So I was really fueled up and ready when I started back on the trail. I felt pretty strong and was pushing somewhat up the ascent, when “zing” my left shin and calf lit up, much as they did yesterday. I hobbled on a few hundred feet, but the leg would not consistently hold underneath me, so I sat down on a rock, stretching and massaging, desperately trying to get the pain to go away. Walter (the gentleman who hung his hammock next to mine last night) and his friend (I never got his name, he slept in the shelter) came hiking passed. I told them I had a cramp I was trying to work out, and they wished me luck. 

Running all the options, it was clear I could not continue if the leg wouldn’t bear weight. There was a parking lot at the road crossing at Peter’s Mountain Road back a little over three miles south. Hiking back there seemed like perhaps the most logical option, so I started to hobble back to the shelter where I could plan out getting off the trail. 

Meeko and another thru-hiker were still there, so I told them what was happening and my plans. The young guy looked through his kit for an ace bandage, but didn’t have one and offered to go with me to the road to make sure I made it ok. I thanked him, but told him I thought I’d make it ok without help. 

Meeko and the young guy headed out north. I found a couple of phone numbers in AWOL’s guide, then started south after visiting a short while with a young girl and her dad. 

So what to think? I had already pulled a double zero in Waynesboro after 3 days on the trail when both legs gave out on me, and a zero in Fayetteville to wait out the rain. Would I need another couple of days? Is this an indication of a weakness in my legs that I will have accommodate, slowing my considerably, and perhaps jeopardizing the thru-hike?

Deb had sent a check-in email this morning, so I responded with a quick “coming off the trail” message with a promise to let her know what was happening. 

So as I hobbled down the trail, it hit me: this is what quitting feels like!  

When I told Meeko my plans, she said, “I hope I’ll see you again!” And there was something about this that felt like “no, probably not…”

I stopped. 

I was furious at my body, at my self. I yelled, “I want to be on the trail, not in some hotel!” 

Then I found myself turning around, heading back north. 

Earlier, I had researched the trail ahead, and saw that there was another road crossing around 8 miles further along. Now I was thinking that could be an escape route, should this decision turn bad. As I walked, I focused on my leg and ankle and walked smoothly with as little strain as possible. After a while, I seemed to walk the tension in the leg off (probably with the help of ibuprofen). 

The day was overcast but dry, and I began to feel pretty good, all things considered. It was a slow pace, but it was in the right direction. I stopped for lunch at a tent site about 5 miles in, at which point another hiker passed me. 

Then I started to feel the twinge again; I took more ibuprofen. Hit the down hill to the road, picking up my pace. I passed one of the folks who stayed in the shelter last night, and then just before the road, I met up with Walter and his friend again, as they filtered water and ate a snack by a stream. 

They had heard from Meeko that I was getting off trail, so they were very happy to see me. We made tentative plans to look out for each other at a tent site up the trail. 

Then I crossed the road, commiting to keep on hiking, rather than going into town tonight. The woman who passed me while I was eating lunch was taking a break by the creek across the road. 

The trail at this point was a fire road, smooth, flat and wide, so I actually kicked into high gear and pushed on. 

Of course, there was no possible way to get to Rausch Shelter (my original goal for the day) tonight. I’ve set up camp at Yellow Spring. It’s raining now, and I think the tarp is doing it’s job. 

The bizarre thing about this campsite is that we’re hearing what sounds like war games; machine gun fire and even occasional artillery. It’s 9:11pm and they have fired off something like 5 fusillades. It’s a little like the Hunger Games; I’m waiting for the projection in the sky… 

Here’s hoping I can sleep tonight.