Interlude with back manipulations – part quatre

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July 3rd through the 18th

July 18th: Well, here we are. The night before the day I get back on the trail. I’ve done what I can to get my back in shape, with a lot of help from those around me. From my chiropractor, to the acupuncturist, to the massage therapist, to Debbie’s home cooking and overall emotional support, and visits with friends and family, I think I’m ready to take on the mud, and the heat, and the mountains of Vermud. As I outlined in the previous post, I am planning on a couple of days of slack-packing to ease back in. I’m also adding my hammock back into the mix, accepting the couple of extra pounds it adds to my pack in exchange for the night time back support and the superior sleep affordance it provides.  

The past couple days have been busy with practice hikes, chiropractic and acupuncture appointments, and the trail magic of a massage from my friend Eileen. I’ve put a few pounds back on, and recolonized my biome with probiotics. I’ve been able to sleep most mornings until almost 9am. And I’ve been able to do a few things around the house, like mow the lawn, and help water seal the outdoor furniture. 

Yesterday I got a chance to reaquaint myself with the Rocky Woods Reservation here in Medfield, which I haven’t visited in a long time. It is a property of the Trustees of Reservations, and has gone through a transformation over the past couple of years. It’s clear that there is a tremendous amount of history there, and deserves some undivided attention. They have a visitor’s center now and programs and events. It’s totally worth checking out! I know I’ll be back, when I’m back…

And I’ve tried to get Ernie to walk the tracks across the street from where we live with me, something we did a lot of before I left, but which he is reluctant to do now because it’s all overgrown with the amount of rain we’ve had. Still, there’s been modest progress on that front.

Now I’m all packed up. 

We’ll be on the road in the morning. It’s a long drive up to Manchester, so I won’t get on trail until after noon. But it’ll be a short day: 6.5 miles; 3 miles to the top of Bromley (which I’ve already done twice now), and 3.5 which will be added into my AT total. 

If all goes according to plan, we’ll be returning you to your regularly scheduled programming tomorrow…

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