[pct-l] Trail Injuries

[Robert W. Freed]

Sorry, I was feeling a little cocky the other day. Any one who has done any long distance hiking knows that repetitive stress injuries can be brutal. I myself still have no feeling in one of my big toes from a pinched nerve injury. Cause... tying my shoes too tight plus three hundred trail miles in 2004. Loss of feeling in your feet while snow hiking is no joke. I spent a long night in Washington state wondering when I would get the feeling back in my toes. Aborted hike, doctor visits, nerve tests, four years and I'm still wondering.
   
  Robert

Donna Saufley <dsaufley at sprynet.com> wrote:
  We talked about this in the thru-hiker panel at Trail Fest -- how the
psychology of social attachments to one's group causes issues of various
types. Trying to keep up with a group is one potential hazard. Separation
from the group is another, sometimes devastating, form of mental anguish
that sometimes leads to people quitting.

Social bonding is a really powerful thing, and we see "cliques" all the
time, whether the members of the clique realize they are in one or not.
Separated from their clique, they are like fish out of water, and don't
assimilate easily into a new group (perhaps the new group puts out subtle,
unconscious barriers to potential new members). 

On the panel, Basmati emphasized the need to be flexible in this and other
regards. Don't let the desire to be with a group force you to hike outside
your physical limits, and be open to change should you need to alter who
you're hiking with -- or if you have to hike alone. 

L-Rod