Sorry folks, no pictures here...
Of all the things I thought we'd encounter on the trail that would make us have to call it quits, like a broken bone, horrendous weather, lightning strike, lost or broken gear, or chance encounter with a Sasquatch, I never expected knee pain to be in that category.
We made it 230 miles in 11 days, over 40,000 feet of elevation gained and even more lost, arriving at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs on Sat. 8/9/14. We started from Waterton Canyon in the pouring rain, pitched our tent that night in the rain, and at least woke up the next morning to no rain, but heavy clouds. For the next 4 days we were inundated with daily rain showers, keeping us constantly clammy and damp. Not to mention the trench foot...!
One of the coolest animal encounters I've ever had happened on the third day, when Hal stopped mid-trail to avoid kicking a small baby owl! It was sitting in the middle of the trail, and we were worried that someone would step on it, so I put my gloved hands down by it and it hopped into my hands! It was amazing. I was able to gently deposit the owl a few feet off the trail, hopefully not too far for its mom to miss it. It didn't even want to leave my hands, putting its head back and closing its eyes for a little nap! Sad to leave it, we had to continue so Hal built it a small ground shelter, just in case...We think now that it was a young burrowing owl...
We posted earlier about arriving in Breck and at Mt. Princeton, and have now healed for 4 days and feel ready to tackle another 6 sections of the trail. We are hoping to complete the trail up to Segment 20 on this trip.
During that time, I did get my knee worked on by the best massage therapist ever, Matthew Gibble (Raining Faith Massage). I highly highly recommend him for any sports massage or injury and recovery issues. Turns out my knee is an over-use injury (big surprise!) combined with soft tissue damage. Basically doing our typical thing of going too hard, too fast, too soon.
When we return to the trail, we will be shooting for 20-22 miles a day, instead of 30.
Okay, thanks to everyone for following and for all the support! We didn't make it for our thru-hiking goal, but have learned a ton in the process and are still going to finish the whole Colorado Trail, hopefully by September!
Happy trails,
~Kasey~
Regardless of whatever setbacks you & Hal encounter, Judi & I will always stand with you as two of your biggest supporters. You're never far from our thoughts. Good luck making it to Durango!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your limitless support, Marc and Judi! We love you guys :)
DeleteGive that new kitten a squeeze for us!