[pct-l] Advice needed - Injury

[Eric Lee]

Laura wrote:
>
So... do I risk it and leave my job (and my good health insurance) and
continue as planned? Or do I wait and maybe try again another year?
Thoughts?
>

A thru-hike will probably be the most physically punishing thing you'll ever
do in your life.  Speaking from a strictly objective viewpoint, you probably
shouldn't quit your job or make other major life changes if you know the
odds are good that you'll be off the trail with an injury in a couple of
weeks anyway.  That's especially true if you'll be dumping the health
insurance that you'll probably end up needing.  It would be a lot smarter to
wait until you know for that your body is really in good shape for a
thru-hike.

That's the objective viewpoint.  But thru-hikes aren't really about being
objective, are they?  Ultimately only you can decide what's best and that
will probably involve a lot of not-so-objective factors.

Remember that it's not an all-or-nothing proposition.  You could delay your
start by a month or two, get confident about your body, and just get on the
trail wherever the herd happens to be at that time.  Sure, you won't get a
border-to-border one-season thruhike but it'll still be an epic adventure,
and you'll still have some trail to look forward to in the future.  That's
not a bad way to go.

It's a very tough choice and I don't envy you the decision.  Good luck,
whatever you decide.

Eric