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[pct-l] sharing my pain . . . .



I thought I'd share my pain with all my PCT-L buddies.  About 500 
miles into my 2004 CDT hike, I had pain in my right foot which I 
eventually nick-named "my bulge".  Being the stubborn soul that I 
am, I of course kept walking.  I was NOT leaving the trail.  After 
finishing the CDT, I had a few appointments with a foot doctor here 
at home, and he said three scary words:
 
Premature Degenerative Osteoarthritis
 
Big words for:  "your joints are old and overworked."  Ugh.  They're 
working on a second pair of orthotics for me.  Hopefully, these 
orthotics will fix my old joints.  If not, my doctor said "I may have 
to put you in a cast for 6 weeks".  Double ugh.  
 
yogi
 
www.pcthandbook.com  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yogi,
When I was 38, I felt extreme pain in my left foot and it reached the point where I couldn't walk 50ft w/o
extreme pain. Backpacking and wilderness was my life, and I was faced with a tough decision. 7 weeks
later when the pain wouldn't ease, I went to a podiatrist. I was fortunate, no surgery, just orthotics, but my
orthotics are Olympic athlete quality made out of carbon fiber.. My arches had finally begun to collapse
thru too much fun in the woods with "Monte Dodge" level retro-pack weights and my genetics.  Now 12 years later,
I am hiking at a higher level than ever in the past, and planning new adventures and finishing trails I'd started
so long ago. The ultralite gear today, and a trusted podiatrist will keep you hiking...I too feel your pain. 
My miles per day are less than in the past, but I'm still hiking. The choice of giving up backpacking was unacceptable,
for it would be a premature spiritual death for me....Completing the CDT under pain shows your great stubbornness and 
drive. Now, you will begin the next challenge of your hiking life, and for me it has been the most rewarding, for I had 
at one time truly believed I might never hike again..

Hikon.