We’ve been kicking around the idea of hiking the Appalachian Trail since the fall. Megan got a job that ends in May, and and it seemed awfully convenient to leave as soon as she was done with that, so we started planning our trip starting on top of Mt. Katahdin in Maine, hiking south towards Georgia. Unfortunately, by Christmas, we had both suffered injuries that made us question whether our idea was going to work.
Megan developed some sort of back injury, possibly some bulged discs, but very painful whatever it is. She’s done a lot of physiotherapy and has slowly worked her way back to being able to jog, play a bit of frisbee, and go for walks. As of today, she still gets sore on flat walks over 5km in length.
I started developing some right foot pain, which we initially thought was tibialis posterior tendonitis, but may actually be plantar fasciitis. Either way, it’s been a painful few months for me, being mostly unable to walk at all in January and Febrauary. I biked a lot, and eventually worked up to short walks, and now to 10km with a light pack. I still get some pain from steep ups and downs, but flat walking has been fine. I’ve gotten some aids in the form of orthotics for my shoes, and this weird sleep sock thing that holds my foot in a neutral position, supposedly promoting healing.
I’ve slowly become more optimistic about the whole thing, and we recently went on an overnight trip, 10km of fairly rough terrain each way, light packs, and we both were fine. Not great like “no pain”, but not bad in the sense that neither of us had any lingering discomfort. We’ve basically said “%@$% it” and booked our one-way plane tickets to Georgia, hoping for the best. The plan is to be hiking Mt. Katahdin on June 5th.
What happens if one of us is too hurt to continue?
We’re not making plans for this possibility!
jeese this does not sound good. i guess you will figure it out as you go but it seems like 10 k with a light pack is a lot different than hundreds of km with a heavy pack.