Day 75: Keep on keepin' on.

Mile 1040.6: Dahlgren Backpack Campground. 

The miles have been easy, I just took a free shower, and I haven't had to filter any water yet today. Awesome.

I learned a couple hundred miles into this trail that it isn't about athleticism or being mentally capable of hiking fast for ten hours or more a day (it's only a little about those things), it's about being able to walk 20 miles a day up and down poorly maintained trails with a twenty pound pack and not injure yourself.

But let me be clear, I injure myself all the time. It's a constant struggle. Sometimes I'm coming down a steep incline and my knees feel like they're going to explode, or I roll my ankle and my tendons start acting up, or I put too much strain on my calves rather than my thighs and my shins begin to protest, so I switch to targeting my thighs and suddenly my quads or my hamstrings begin to develop sharp, stabbing pains. I could go on forever, but I think you get the point.

All of the injuries listed above are what I would call "overuse injuries", and those are bad, but guess what, we're out here and we're "overusing" our bodies. There's no way around it. But regardless, we have to get up every morning and put in more miles. And so we do. And that makes for a difficult convalescence.

It also makes us tough (or stupid) as shit. Because eventually we learn to deal, and the pain dulls to background noise.

So this is where I'm at today. I have a new pain, one that I can deal with, but it's slowed me down as I try to figure out how to use my trekking poles to keep most of the weight off my right ankle. Why am I doing this? Because I'm afraid of a stress (hairline) fracture, a potentially serious injury that could have me putting miles in on crutches if it gets too serious.

I'm a little stressed (pun intended) about it, but regardless of what happens. I'll find a way.

We look good, I know.