PCT Take 2

Welcome to my new PCT page to document my second attempt at completing a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail.  Many of you recall my first attempt at thru-hiking the PCT in 2018. For those who didn’t follow that trek, here’s the Cliff Notes version: I did a faceplant on Day 3. At the ER, they did a CT scan of my face, head and neck, and X-rayed my right hand. The ER doctor said he was amazed to find that nothing was broken (he said he was sure I had an orbital fracture and possibly a broken nose and skull fracture) and I just had bruising and  a whiplash, oh, and a mild concussion. I took a day off and returned to the trail. A fellow hiker with a medical background later commented on my concussion, based on my behavior and my brain being foggy. The pain in my hand made every step with my trekking poles very painful and kept me awake at night; a couple of nurse friends along the trail said it seemed broken. (Six months later it was X-rayed again and found to be broken.) The whiplash lasted for at least a month until I went to a Chiropractor, who’s treatment helped a lot.  (Several months later a physical therapist told me I still had signs of it.) The pain caused by a protruding disc in my upper back was likely aggravated by the whiplash. Needless to say, the injuries plagued me throughout my hike (both physically and psychologically) and slowed me down. I left the trail at Tuolumne Meadows and later returned to hike about half of Washington. In between, I did some trail angel stuff in Washington. Altogether, I completed about 1,200 miles.

I have dreamed about the trail nearly every night since leaving it, and I have thought about it every single day. So, of course, I wanted to try again in 2019. But that was a very heavy snow year. I thought I might be able to complete the sections I skipped but would need to wait for the snow to melt. Meanwhile, I sold my house in Prescott and moved to Chino Valley. Then learned I had a tumor on my left kidney that was “suspicious of cancer” and I needed a partial nephrectomy. I am very thankful that it turned out to be benign, but the recovery was much slower than I anticipated, so returning to the trail was not possible that year.

So here I go again in 2020.