Lots of Gear, and Minor Hiccup

T-minus 212 days

Thanks to the huge 50% off sale that Patagonia was having, my Fall Break consisted of procrastinating my mountains of homework with online gear shopping. There could be worst things though, right?

Due to hesitation, my size sold out in a few of the bigger items I was planning to buy during the sale. Nonetheless, I purchased two basic ; hiking shirts (one long sleeve, one short), a Zip-Neck Capilene 3 Midweight. As well as some biodegradable backpacking toilet paper, and all natural bug repellant.

Nothing too major, but I was still very happy to have these things crossed off my list. The really exciting news is that the break gave me a chance to finalize my pack decision. After a little bit of money comes through within the next week or so, I will be purchasing an Osprey Aura 65 ag and I am beyond excited. It fits me perfectly and is more comfortable than I ever imagined a pack could be.

Bonus exciting news: My dad decided to hike the first 50 miles or so of the trail with me. We went to REI this week and he officially bought his pack! He ended up with the men’s version of my pack, the Opsrey Atmos 65.

The Hiccup

I have been experiencing minor knee pain all summer. What really scared me about the pain was that it was in both knees and was particularly worse when I was hiking…..

The pain was honestly nothing awful, and if I wasn’t planning a huge hike then I probably wouldn’t even have gone to the doctor for it. I decided that, if this was a problem that could be fixed, it would be better to start working on a solution way in advance instead of a few weeks before I leave for Georgia.

After a few x-rays and questions from my orthopedic, it became clear that I have a weird crooked thing going on in my knee that is extremely hard to explain. What I can tell you is that since I caught the problem early I will be able to fix it relatively easily. I purchased special insoles for my shoes, I have at home physical therapy exercises to do, I need to stop sitting with my legs folded up (example: indian style), and I need to work on strengthening certain muscles in my thigh to take the pressure off my knees.

All in all, nothing awful. I even went on a very minor hike yesterday in the insoles and already felt a major difference. According to the doctor, if I stick to the treatments he suggested, I should be good to go in a matter of weeks and my knees shouldn’t be a problem on the trail.

This little scare really made me remember that it is important to keep my body is tip top shape for the next few months. Not only will it insure that I will actually be able to make it to Georgia, but being healthy will go a long way on the trail.

Happy hiking!

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