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Due to an accident happening the day before I was to leave to
gowith fellow hikers on our annual club trip to the Green
Mountainsin VT, I was concerned whether the injury was serious
enough toprevent my accompanying them. The doctor at First Med
said
there were actually three problems, an abrasion, a skin tear and
apuncture wound. There was not enough skin left for him to sewthe
tear and the puncture let blood flow into the surroundingmuscle
tissue thereby forming a hemotoma, nearly the size of asoftball, on
the axial side of my right shin. I informed him of myupcoming hike
and he said so long as I felt like doing somethingto go ahead and
do it.
This year's section of the Long Trail involved the steepest
climband steepest decent required for the entire 270 miles of the
trail,an average of nineteen percent. Because of my inability to
stayon the trail last year I was bent on being prepared this year.
Thatis why I exercised for 30 minutes of aerobic training on
theStairmaster three times each week since March. Due to
havingPeripheral Neuropathy I have very little feeling below my
kneesand am dependent on the use of hiking poles. Therefore, I
also
attended classes in yoga and Palates in order to improve mysense
of balance. A fellow hiker who recently retired as an ERMD had
recommended that I ask my family doctor to prescribe anarcotic
based anti-diarrheal. This was my malady the previousyear as it
caused me to become dehydrated, the bane of hikers.Also, I met my
goal of reducing my backpack weight to 24 lbs., sixpounds lighter
than before.
There were only two other men hiking this year, ages 65 and
61,and not the usual six to eight club members. Several made
thetrip but wound up sitting out due to their own injuries. The
fourthand fifth day on the trail included the summit of Camels
Hump.The trailhead was at approximately 350 sea level and the top
ofthe second hump was 4,083 ft. The trail bed found in the
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meadows soon gave way to nothing but white blazes painted onrock
surfaces along with an occasional cairn to mark the wayforward. The
injury did not affect my hiking other than having tobe very careful
to keep the wound clean and to try not bump the
area while scrambling over boulders the size of a VW bug. And,my
hiking poles were more of a hinderance than a help becauseof the
amount of hand holds that were required.
Now that I am satisfied I have overcome last year's
inadequaciesI seriously doubt I will knowingly try another hike of
this nature.Give me a good trail bed and not too much elevation
gain or lossand I will be there, but boulder scrambling is out.
Camels Hump
