We were excited that very next fall when we were able to put together another section hike of the Appalachian Trail. We were now armed with hiking poles, better sleeping mats and a greater knowledge of how to lighten our backpacks. It also helped we had both lost a few pounds ourselves, meaning our knees might just be a bit more forgiving this time. We found a couple of ladies who were willing to shuttle us back and forth and allowed us to park our car at their place. Things were looking good. But things were also looking wet. From the first day on, we were faced with a fairly constant downpour of rain. Although we were prepared for rain physically, we were not prepared for what it was like mentally to hike three days straight under that constant drip, drip, dripping. The first night we slept in our tent and remained pretty dry and cozy all night long. But the next night we were absolutely soaked from head to toe and it was a pretty chilly fall rain so we decided to try to dry out in a shelter. In general, we do NOT like staying in the shelters along the trail. They are basically just a lean-to that is crowded with a lot of people along with a fair share of rodents that like to investigate you and your belongings at night. But after two days of wet socks in wet boots we thought it would be nice to try to dry some things out at night. By the way, waking up in the frosty morning, shaking mouse droppings out of your cold wet socks and putting on cold wet boots is not one of my favorite things. We also met a couple guys in the shelter who appeared even less experienced with hiking than us and apparently had never heard of a bear bag. So we slept with one eye open in case Yogi decided to visit camp for a snack during the night. Did I mention we do NOT like staying in shelters along the trail?
We continued on the next day and the sun eventually decided to come out. I was giddy with excitement about the one pair of dry socks I had in my pack. I was hoping if my shoes dried out that day, I would get to trade them out and remember what it felt like to have warm dry feet. And then it happened. The mountains were wet and slick from the rain and we had just started our ascent up Tray Mountain. I was gingerly crossing over some big slabs of rock knowing they were probably slick when my hiking pole slid out from underneath me and I fell. I landed most of my weight on my right elbow as I tried to brace my fall. The end result was a pretty good gash, and a significant amount of frustration. Finally! After three days of rain, we dry out, get great weather and then this happens. I tried to convince John to just slap a bandage on it but he mumbled something about blood and bone and we got back down to the gap where we started. There was a bit of a discussion between us about what to do at this point and being a marriage counselor, I can tell you our communication skills were somewhat challenged at this point. Then something amazing happened that I know was divine intervention. The very next group of hikers into that gap was a group of firemen doing some training. They came over and checked everything out and then took my husband’s side to get off the mountain and go get some stitches. Those amazing shuttle ladies came back and took us to the Chatuge Regional Hospital which was an adventure as well! While there, we met a very funny nurse named Winkie who took great care of us and a doctor who also sided with my husband, going on and on about all the dangers of bone infection in the wet forest. Although our trip was cut a bit short by this adventure or should I say mis-adventure, we consider it one of our best section hikes. It was perfect in preparing us for many of the common challenges of the AT. And as challenging as it was, we were still enamored with this beautiful mess of a trail and anxious to get right back to it as soon as possible.
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