A Tale of Two Knees

As you all know by now, I've been having a few issues with my physical condition on the trail (reference http://appalachiantrials.com/trail-update-1-lets-talk-tramily/ if you missed that whole spiel).  On Day 7, Saturday the 21st, my mom met us in Hiawassee, GA in order to bring me new knee braces that I hoped would do the trick.  Long story short: they didn't.  I got back out on the trail the next day with high hopes, but alas, it wasn't enough.  Every step was still agony, which is a real blast, lemme tell ya.

On the plus side, braces make great placeholders

The great part of Day 8 is that we crossed the border into North Carolina (mile 78.6)!  This was our first real milestone, so it was a really exciting moment for us.  James (Uphill) was of course the first to make it to the line, but he patiently waited on the Georgia side for us to catch up so we could all cross over together.  It had been a long, rainy day, so this was the perfect morale boost that we needed.  It also helped that we had each packed in a can of beer from town that morning to drink at the state line.  That Heineken was so worth the extra weight.

See ya never, Georgia!

In camp that night, we made new friends with a group of guys who had also all met after coming to the AT.  Despite the rain, we managed to get a campfire going (thanks to one man who actually packed in dry firewood...Crackers, you da real MVP).  The rain stopped, or at least decreased to a drizzle for awhile, so we all hung out around the fire for a good long while laughing and complaining and getting to know each other in that super-fast way that backpackers tend to do.  Despite the soggy conditions and the long, painful day, it was a great night, and I went to sleep in a great mood knowing that I was where I was supposed to be.

The most magical campfire of my life

And then, after such a great night, I woke up in THE WORST MOOD EVER.  Turns out that being off of my feet doesn't actually make the knee pain go away, and no matter what position I slept in, I was hurting them in some way.  Like most normal human beings, the quality of my sleep is very important to me, and when it is interrupted constantly by stabbing pain down my legs, I am not going to be a happy camper (haha, get it?) when I get up in the morning.  So it was a rough start to the day.  After a bit of walking, my knees loosened up a little bit and the pain diminished to more dull and constant rather than sharp and stabbing.  I felt like I could make the distance for that night, so I took it easy on my own and worked my way toward the intended campsite.  And then, about three miles away from Beech Gap, where we were stopping for the night (mile 90.7), I fell completely apart.  Each step got worse than the one before it, and I felt like I could physically not make it any further.  But, because I was bestowed with the stubbornness of a mule from my father, I put on my best grumpy face and trudged the last miserable miles down the mountain.  Finally making it to the campsite was a huge relief, and everyone who was such a blast to be around from the night before was at this site, too, so I quickly perked up mentally.  Everyone kept commenting on how pitiful I looked when I was walking, which is a great boost for self-esteem, BUT they were also considerate and went and refilled my waters for me so I didn't have to walk down to the stream that night.  We attempted to make a campfire again, but everything was way too soggy, so we all just went to sleep instead.

The famous twisted tree at Bly Gap, just over the NC border

Tuesday the 23rd, Day 10, we ended up going far over our intended mileage and made it to mile 106.7.  Our biggest mileage day was also one of the most strenuous, because we had to summit Albert Mountain.  Now, most mountains that we go up and over involve a lot of gradual ascensions and switchbacks, but the FUN thing about Albert is that you jump straight up about 500 feet of elevation over a distance of .2 miles.  Seriously...WHY?!

Who needs trail when you can just rock climb straight up the mountain?

There was a way to bypass the mountain on an old fire road, and everyone was expecting me to do this because this was one of my worst knee days yet, but like hell I was gonna back down from this challenge.  So up I went!  Every single step SUCKED, but there was something about the challenging nature of this climb that allowed me to push through the pain better than I ever have before.  I actually had fun with it!  When I made it to the top, everyone who had gotten there before me was waiting at the top of the fire tower, and they were all surprised and proud of me for taking the hard way and making it!  This also marked mile 100, so it was a particularly awesome moment.

The fire tower at the top of Albert Mountain

Probably the most proud I've ever been of myself. Suck it, knees!

After Albert Mountain, the original intent was to make it to a shelter around mile 102, but when we got there, it was still pretty early and there were no good tenting spots anyways.  So we pushed on to the next shelter, which was also a real beast to get to.  I was in terrible shape by this point, but I decided that pushing on that night and having fewer miles the next day was the better option for me.  612, one of the guys from that group I mentioned earlier, also has joint issues and his hip fell apart around Albert.  The guys helped him out and passed his pack around for the rest of the day so he didn't have to carry it.  More awesomeness from fellow trailmates! Anyways, we finally made it to the next shelter at mile 106, and it was entirely full, and the only tenting spots were down a huge, incredibly steep hill.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to make it down, so we kept going.  There was a flat area only .1 miles ahead, but when we made it there, there was no camping allowed.  Another half mile ahead was Wallace Gap, and there are always places to camp in gaps, so we went ahead to there.  Well guess what?  We found the first gap so far with no flat spots ANYWHERE.  We went up again to the road at the top of the gap and found a flat spot just off the side of the road and decided that it was going to have to do.  It was a long, painful, frustrating day, but things worked out in the end.

In the morning, we were packing up our tents and a man drove past and asked if we were headed to town.  We told him we were, and he said he would wait on us to finish packing and take us there!  So we quickly threw our stuff together and hopped in his truck.  It turned out to be Ron Haven, a man who owns several hiker-friendly businesses in Franklin, NC, the town we were headed to.  He wouldn't let any of us pay for the ride, and he pointed us towards a diner where we could get a nice big breakfast.  It was a great choice.  We all ordered meals with plates piled high and totally gorged ourselves on pancakes and bacon and hashbrowns and sausage and.........you get the point.  When we went up to pay at the end of the meal, we were told that someone had already covered our bill.  We were all blown away by the generosity of this stranger who I'm sure has some connection to the hiker community.  We just wished that we knew who it was so we could have thanked them properly!  Trail magic truly is an amazing thing and it never fails to touch my heart.

After breakfast, Kylie went out to find the UPS facility, where her new Osprey pack that she had ordered was waiting for her.  James and I went to Outdoor 76, the main outfitter in Franklin.  They welcomed us in, showed us to a place where we could set our packs down, and told us to make ourselves at home.  The business is so supportive of hikers and lets us hang out in the store all day if we want, even inviting us to order food from other places and bring it back to the store to eat.  In my opinion, the best thing about Outdoor 76 is that they also have a taproom.  Needless to say, James and I both opted for a 10:30 am beer, and we kicked back and relaxed while waiting on Kylie to come join us.  James also ended up buying a new, lighter pack there, so now he'll be able to fly up the uphills even faster (even though we can't imagine how he could possibly go any faster than he already does).

Best. Outdoor store. Ever.

By this point, I had decided that a visit to an orthopedist needed to be in my future.  I can push through the pain pretty well (I'd been doing it for about a week at this point), but I was beginning to get concerned about doing permanent damage to my knees.  I really don't want to turn into the 23 year old who needs a knee replacement at the end of this trip.  So, my mom scheduled an appointment for me with a very highly-regarded orthopedist back in my hometown of Clemson, SC.  Unfortunately, the only time he could squeeze me into his schedule was Friday morning.  We were already in Franklin on Wednesday.  This meant that I was being forced into a few zero days.  Everyone has been telling me that taking a few days off at this point is better than being forced off the trail for good due to physical issues later, and I agree, but it still sucks taking time off this early.  I know this isn't my fault and there was really nothing I could do about it, but I still hate that I'm swaying from my thru-hiker schedule just a couple of weeks in.  Since I wouldn't have anything to do on Thursday now and could drive them back to the trail in the morning, we brought James and Kylie back to Clemson with us for their zero day on Wednesday.  We did their laundry and resupply in town, and we went out to a great barbeque dinner at one of my favorite restaurants and got a drink at one of my favorite bars.  I was really upset to be back in Clemson because it felt like a huge step backwards, but it was a blast to be able to show James and Kylie around my hometown.  Thursday morning, I drove them back to where we left off on the trail and sadly sent them on their way.  It was such a huge bummer to not be on the trail with them, but even after the zero day on Wednesday my knees were hurting worse than they ever had, so I knew it was the right thing to do.

En route to Clemson!

I went to my appointment on Friday morning, and the doctor basically told me that I'm not doing the right thing by being out on the trail, but he knows that I'm going to do it anyways, so he set me up as best as he could.  I'm supposedly not doing permanent damage to my knees, and that was all I needed to hear!  I'm on some medication now to help reduce the extreme inflammation that I've built up, and I'm gonna be back out on the trail first thing tomorrow morning!  I'm going to skip ahead and catch up with Kylie, James, and Wookie, because their companionship is way more important to me than doing the entire trail in order.  I figure I'll be able to go back at the end of my hike very easily and complete this section that I missed over the past few days if I feel like I need those final 30 miles to feel like a true thru-hiker.  And if I don't end up doing that, ya know, it's my decision....I mean, hike your own hike.  I keep reminding myself that this trip is solely for me, and however I want to complete it (or not) is my choice and no one can judge me for whatever I decide.

So there's the full update.  I'll be back in the woods tomorrow, and it could not come a minute too soon.  I am so anxious and impatient to get moving again.  The pain in my knees is definitely still there, and I'm sure it always will be, but I'm ready to ignore it and get a move on--I've got the Smokies to conquer!

Trail Update #1

Well, it's day 4 on the AT and I'm still kickin'! It's been partially what I expected and partially completely different than I ever could have imagined. On one hand, it's been a backpacking trip much like any other I've been on: trekking many miles a day through beautiful southeastern territory. On the other, I've made friends more quickly than I thought would be possible and pushed my body harder than I thought I would this early on. I'll do my best to sum up these last few days, but it's been more than I could put into words so far!

Day 1: From Springer to Sassafras Mountain, mile 11.5

My mom and I stayed the night before my first day on the trail in a motel in Dahlonega, Georgia. The morning of Sunday the 15th, we headed for Springer Mountain, dogs in tow. Getting to the parking lot was quite the trek--the road turned into a Forest Service road at some point and got pretty muddy and rocky very quickly. My Subaru was handling it pretty well, but we rounded a corner and saw a small BMW pulled off to the side. "Man, they must be having a tough time," I remarked. Not 5 seconds later, the people in the BMW started waving us down. I pulled off to the side and said hello to the pair, one male, one female, both in their mid-20s. They asked if we were headed to Springer, because the girl was beginning her thru-hike that day and he was supposed to be taking her there, but his car couldn't make it any further on that rough road. So, in got Kylie, and our trail alliance was instantly formed. Two 20-something solo female thru-hikers who just happened to stumble across each other? It seemed quite fortuitous, especially since my original start date was going to be the 16th, but I was so eager to get started that I pushed it up a day. We keep saying that it was meant to be, and it truly feels that way! (P.S. It was Kylie's 25th birthday on our start date--can you think of a better way to kick off your hike??)

Kylie & Lara, before sending the dogs home with Mom.

We met a few different thru-hikers on day 1, and some trail magic was bestowed on us in the form of snacks about 8 miles in, thanks to a couple of ladies from Atlanta. Trail magic is a fairly common occurence through the southern states--a lot of the time it comes from former thru-hikers looking to give back, but sometimes it's just friendly people who want to help out!

Trail magic!

All in all, day 1 was very physically taxing and slightly so emotionally, as well. I was so thankful to have Kylie with me from the beginning, because I don't think I realized quite how isolated I could easily feel. I am very used to having my large group of friends near me at all times, so being so suddenly separated from that was a rough transition even before getting onto the trail. After getting on, I felt those effects even worse. So having a partner to hike and camp with truly is a blessing. 

Day 2: From Sassafrass Mountain to Big Cedar Mountain, mile 21.8

Having gone to sleep before sundown the night before, Kylie and I slept for about 13 hours until 8:30 am on Monday. We began our hike down into a gap where there was MORE trail magic: fresh water and trash bags! We dumped our trash and filled up our waters before heading on our way. Day 2 was a great day for meeting people. We met Tom & James, two brothers who are hiking together for now until Tom goes back to work at the end of the week and James continues on with his thru-hike. Wookie, an Army vet (trail names are a common occurence on the AT--if you don't have one coming in, you'll have one before too long) came into the picture as well. We ran into even more trail magic along the way. Captain Kip and his crew had fresh water, snacks, and hotdogs for anyone coming through. Seriously, the people around here are angels and they are so supportive of all of our thru-hiking endeavors! It is such a nice feeling to be helped along by these strangers who have no reason to help us but for the goodness of their hearts.

Hotdogs, comin' right up. 

We actually ran into Captain not too much later, as we got to the parking lot at Woody Gap, where our guidebooks had told us there would be a place to fill our waters. There wasn't. Tom and James were nearly out, and it was going to be a while before we came across any more. We were sitting in the parking lot, pondering what to do next, when Captain pulled in and offered us a ride to the Wal-Mart down the road (don't worry, Mom, he wasn't a stranger, we met him in the woods a few hours earlier). Kylie and I hopped in and rode to, funnily enough, Dahlonega. It was a bit of a buzzkill to think that this place that had taken me two days to walk from was only a 20 minute drive away. But we got our waters filled and had some snacks on the drive back, too. After returning to the parking lot where Tom and James were patiently waiting, we walked for about another mile with them before happening upon Wookie setting up camp for the night. We decided to join him, and we made a campfire and ate dinner and had a lovely (albeit very windy) night atop Big Cedar Mountain!

Kylie, James, & Tom

Our campsite

Stayed awake for the sunset!

Day 3: To Neels Gap, mile 31.7

We were all dreading this day because we had heard many times over how tough Blood Mountain was going to be. We were all pretty concerned about how daunting this massive climb seemed to be. The first part of the day was easier: mostly ups and downs, but no straight ascensions yet. About 2 miles out from the summit, the straight uphill did start, but it wasn't nearly as bad as any of us were expecting. Don't get me wrong, it was still a tough climb, but I didn't feel like dying at the top like I had assumed I would. We decided it was better to have overestimated the climb and psyched ourselves up too much than the other way around, though. We ate lunch at the top of the summit with the most beautiful view...and the most disgusting food. Tom and James borrowed some of my Nutella in order to make peanut butter/jelly/Nutella/Snickers bar tortillas. They said it tasted delicious, but to quote James, they looked like "poop burritos."

Poop burrito, indeed.

But how about that view?!

After the summit of Blood Mountain, Neels Gap was just a 2 mile walk downhill. Now, downhill sounds nice at first, but it has been absolute hell on my knees. Every step downhill is agony at this point. I'm popping Aleve like candy and hoping that my leg muscles fill in enough to start supporting my knees better, otherwise I'm going to be in a boatload of trouble before too much longer. Kylie and I are planning on taking it a bit easier over these next couple of days in order to hopefully keep our bodies from hating us too much. But anyways, we made it to Neels Gap by 3:30 and weren't planning on going any further that day, so we had a whole afternoon/evening to kill. We decided that we should ease ourselves into our new lifestyle, so we went ahead and rented a couple of cabins for the night (at the thru-hiker rate, it was just $15 per person, so we figured it was worth it). Some other trail angel drove Wookie down the road to a gas station for a beer run, we got some frozen pizzas from the store at the cabins we were staying at, and we settled in for the night. These cabins were especially amazing because laundry was included with our stay. But this didn't mean that we had a washer and dryer in our units; no, the caretakers/owners DID THE LAUNDRY FOR US. Seriously, this was the best $15 I've ever spent. 

This is the life. 

Wookie & Kylie

PIZZA. 

So we ate our pizzas and drank our beer and had a grand old evening of relaxation before hitting the trail again for day 4! We'll see how far our legs carry us today!