Riding the Rocks, One Pole Man

Post date: Jul 10, 2016 2:21:52 AM

The last two days with Ann here I've been slack packing. It's been wonderful! I thought I might put in big miles without the weight, but so far it's been 11 miles yesterday and 19 today. The theme continues to be rocky terrain, and with it sore feet, though way less than if I was still carrying a fully loaded pack. Hiking on rocks is tricky and varies depending on the day. Sometimes it seems best to be a rock hopper, mostly staying on top of the rocks stepping or hopping from one to the next. This can be very efficient, but a bit risky, especially when it's wet and the rocks are slick. At those times, stepping between the rocks as much as possible is best, but that can be painful if the foot gets squeezed into a tight spot or the ankle or knee gets tweeked. And snakes are more likely to be down there between the rocks as well. So usually it's a combination of riding the troughs and peaks in the rock fields. A few lessons to keep in mind- first priority is to look for snakes which love the rocks as much as hikers hate them. Next, rocks can move, even big ones that look solid, which can throw you off kilter. When it's wet, assume every rock is slick and take small steps onto mostly flat rocks or ones that have edges. Even sharp edges. When dry, avoid the edges because at the end of the day your feet will be less sore. Don't use trekking poles in rock fields- they can be more of a risk than help. Be especially careful hiking down a rocky trail. Forward falls onto rocks when going downhill can cause nasty injuries- in the rock vs flesh game, rock always wins. Today I hiked along a rocky ridge called "the knife edge". As the name implies, it was along a ridge with potential to fall a great distance right or left. Here the lesson was to creep along like an inch worm!

Which brings me to this- on 6/23, I divorced one of my poles. What was a dance with two poles (the quadrupedal waltz) has now turned into a devoted pirouette with only one. One exclusively in the right hand with the left arm hanging uselessly to my side. This came about when I noticed the area over the left elbow (the olecranon bursa) was swollen and red. My theory is that I was poling vigorously when I returned to try to help the leg, and this brought on the bursitis. With rest and some Aleve, the elbow is finally getting better. But even so, I kind of like being monogamous and may stick with the one pole to the end.

Two more days in Pennsylvania, then hopefully no more talk about rocks!!

At mile 1262