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Journal
| About Downunda | Trail
Facts | Hiking the Trail |
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2nd July 2002 From:
Rutherford Shelter I was hiking along quite happily, but not too fast; when my left foot caught a rock and down I went, face first. I hit my chest on the right side and it felt like I may have cracked a rib. I sat down for ten minutes to catch my breath and got on my way again. After about 15 minutes, my left foot started to hurt, just below the ankle. It slowly got worse, however, it felt like the boot was rubbing against it. In the end, I stopped and adjusted my boot. Off I went again and the pain started again. This time I stopped and took off my boot and socks and checked everything out - nothing seemed out of order. I started hiking again, this time the pain was unbearable and I had to stop walking. I was starting to wonder if I had broken a bone in my foot when I tripped over the rock. The next shelter was 1 1/2 miles away and I needed to get there. With my boot off, I could not induce any abnormal pain in my foot, which was strange. I thought I might try hiking in sandals. This worked okay - no pain at all, so it's a problem where the boot presses against the leg below the ankle. It wasn't a lot of fun hiking in sandals as I could feel every stone, plus I could easily slip. However, I managed to reach the Secret Shelter without any more drama. The Secret Shelter is 200 yards off the AT on private property. Apparently the owner is a former thru-hiker who set the property up for AT thru-hikers. He has built a couple of bunkrooms with showers and laundry facilities, sited on a lovely grassy field. Here with me are: 'Heavy D', 'Doc', 'Wounded Knee', and 'Smudge'. It's 7:00 P.M. and only now is it starting to cool a little. The temperature today was in the high 90's. That's one reason why I stopped here at lunchtime. This place is like a little oasis and it was hard to leave in this heat. I wonder if I will be able to wear my boots tomorrow? With that, I'll say goodnight all.
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