Mexico to Pie Town: injuries and all.

The last 415 miles have been a real whirlwind of events. From hot dry first days in the desert to below freezing nights in the Gila, crossing the Gila over 200 times, and three different injuries; I’ve finally made it to Pie Town. Not since the early days of the Appalachian Trail in 2016 have I thought about quitting or the ramifications of injuries on trail. After a zero and nero day at Doc Campbell’s store near the Gila, my hiking friends and I decided to leave for the five and a half day, 128 mile stretch to Pie Town. The day before I had spent almost two hours planning for injury contingencies and bail out points for worst case scenario’s. However, come day three of the stretch, my ankle seemed to be holding up to out higher mileage days. As I was much slower going, I would wake around 6 and start walking early and slow, stopping around 8:00 each evening to make the miles.

Earlier on in the desert, I seemed to fly down trail without the feeling of the weight in my pack nor the swelling in my ankles. However that too played a role in my injuries. By the time I made it back to Lordsburg I had been suffering from some minor adductor tendonitis in my left hip. After a few rest days and some continuous stretching and icing I was able to move on. Now it seems the same strategy applied to my current Achilles tendonitis.

No trail has even hit so hard, so early on as the CDT has for me this season. It feels almost as if the CDT knows I’m coming for it and wants to punch back, doing it’s best to slow my efforts to complete my dream of the triple crown. However, injured or not I’m taking each day as it comes and eating the proverbial elephant one bite at a time. It seems the secret to this trail is the same for all others, and honestly not much of a secret; just to take it one step, one meal and one day at a time until eventually you’ve crushed your goals!