So much can change in just a week – or a day, or even in a minute. One minute I am backpacking on the AT and the next I am down on the ground. My first day out backpacking this last time. I drove up to Harpers Ferry last Wed. evening, stayed at the Harper’s Ferry Hostel, left before sunrise Thursday morning to drive to Gathland State Park where I parked my car and did a 7.4 mile out and back to Ed Garvey Shelter (the shelter where Charlie, Jonathan and I stayed this past winter). Then I drove my car up to PenMar Park (again) to meet my shuttle driver. While I waited for him I did a quick 2/10th mile out and back to the MD/PA state line, which was just north of the parking lot at PenMar – I figured I would at least have that much done and wouldn’t have to do it once I hiked back to PenMar 2 days later.
The shuttle driver took me back to Gathland where I continued to hike north. About a mile in a thick stick was laying across the Trail – I believe I tried flicking it off the Trail with my hiking stick as I quite often do, but it must have been too heavy and didn’t move very far. The next thing I know the left end of the stick came across the front of my left foot, and the right end of the stick came across the back of my right foot, tripped me and I went down. The motion on my right ankle was like a torqueing motion – it felt like my feet were lassoed together. Boy was it painful! I thought I had just sprained it real bad. So I proceeded to hike very sloooowly, the next 3.5 miles – one painful step at a time.
I finally came to a small road crossing (the road dead-ended at the top of the mountain at an FAA tower). The shelter was just another ½ mile down hill from there – but down hill was harder and more painful than up. I debated on whether I should just push through it and hope that it would be better in the morning or bail out and call for a ride while I had the opportunity. I didn’t have any ice or anything to treat the ankle properly and the weather was supposed to get worse over the next couple of days with a lot of rain. So I tried calling the shuttle driver but could only leave a message for him. Just as I was ready to hike on to the shelter a car came up the road. I flagged him down and he offered to give me a ride back to my car at PenMar (about 40 minutes away). Another Trail Angel no doubt.
Turns out I fractured the right fibula (the leg bone down by the ankle) and I have a severe “high ankle sprain.” Lot of damage to the soft tissue all around both ankles, the top of the foot and about 2/3 up my shin. Needless to say my hiking season has come to an abrupt halt — I had 2 more sections, about 82 miles in VA left to do and I would have met my goal for the year of completing the state of VA. I can’t tell you how disappointed I am right now, not to mention feeling quite down. Guess I will engross myself into some more AT books until Spring.
But…I WILL be back! I did manage to take a few pics before disaster struck…
