View Full Version : Advice On Restarting My '16 Thru
Hess86NJ
06-28-2016, 17:00
Hey everyone, so I wanted some advice on what I should do pertaining my A.T. Thru.
I was going NOBO this year but my my foot started to hurt out of no where. I decided to take it easy by doing a slow pace and low miles. After hiking a week in pain I made it to the Partnership Shelter on 5/30. On that day I decided to go into town (Marion, VA) to the hospital and see what it was. After taking an x-ray they told me one of my metatarsal bones has a stress fracture. At that moment after 500 miles, I knew my chances of finishing this year was unknown. The next day my parents drove down to pick me up, which I live in NJ. After getting home I went to an orthopedic which put me in one of those medical boots. I had another appointment two weeks later (6/17) which he said it is healing well. My next appointment is on 7/8 which he said I can wear both real shoes again. If I remember correctly, the orthopedic said it was mild break.
I am not sure if my foot will be 100% but I would like to at least try to get restart my thru. I am planning on switching to a Flip-Flop due to the Katadin time restrictions. I would probably get back on the trail on 7/18, I was thinking somewhere in New Jersey and go north. Do you think this would be a good spot to get back on? I would restart slow by doing low miles and an easy pace to ease my foot and body back into it. I bought a new pair of shoes (Oboz) a week before I got off the trail, so I have fresh shoes. Hopefully making all the way to Katadin, I would then return to the NJ trail head and go south. Upon easing back in I would be in my home area which I can see how my feet feel... if they feel good I will continue, if not then I don't know.
Being home and not out on the trail has been really hard on me mentally and getting me depressed. I can't get out of my head that I should be out there... missing the sights, the people, the adventure, and so much more. I know if I don't at least try to restart then it will heavily weigh on me in life and that I have failed. Being out injured this long and possibly for the rest of this A.T. thru year I already feel like a failure... even though family and friends told me they are proud of me. Although doing the AT wasn't something for them.... it was for myself and a way to grow, think about life, become a better man, and so much more!!!
I am coming to you for your thoughts and advice on getting back on the trail. Is giving myself only 7 weeks to recover from injury to short? If my body stays healthy do I have enough of time to finish the whole trail? When I flip will there be any thru SOBO hikers around or would everyone already be past and I’ll be alone? I’ll appreciate what you have to say for this tough time as a hiker.
Thank You, Michael
This is also xposted on reddit/ AppalachianTrail
The Sobos who started in Maine are just now entering NH. Sobo hikers seem to start all through June and July, but there are not many of them. Not sure how you want to flip flop. Starting in NJ and headed up to Maine? Flipping back to NJ and heading South, you will be in the tail end of Sobo bubble, probably.
I am coming to you for your thoughts and advice on getting back on the trail. Is giving myself only 7 weeks to recover from injury to short? If my body stays healthy do I have enough of time to finish the whole trail? When I flip will there be any thru SOBO hikers around or would everyone already be past and I’ll be alone? I’ll appreciate what you have to say for this tough time as a hiker.
Thank You, Michael
This is also xposted on reddit/ AppalachianTrail
listen to your doctor in regards to the "is 7 weeks enough time" ? you have plenty of time to finish a thru this year...providing you have medical clearance.NJ is a good place to start to ease back into things. FWIW, I wouldn't describe getting off the trail due to injury as "failure". i would place having a complete healing of the foot well above finishing a thru hike on my priority list. as they say, that trail ain't going anywhere. I don't think you will be alone...should be several NOBO's in NJ in mid-July I would think. Although you won't be able to keep up with any of them just getting back into it. but you should see thru hikers every day.
My wife and I have both had stress fractures in our metatarsals, so I'm pretty experienced with this (as experienced as I want to be anyway). My doc was a sports medicine doctor, and he told me 6 weeks from the start of recovery to resuming full activity. He also told me that I could ditch the boot and wear normal shoes again after three weeks, as soon as I stopped having pain when I walked. Once I ditched the boot, I was able to resume light exercise (walking, elliptical). The doctor said that if anything starts to hurt when doing light exercise, dial it back. But if it's feeling okay, you can gradually build up the exercising. Three weeks after taking the boot off, I was running again. Two months after that, I was back to doing 20+ miles a week and pretty much felt like I'd never been injured.
Your doctor is basically having you wear the boot for 6 weeks--that sounds very conservative. I've read a lot about stress fractures, and I'm not sure I've ever heard of such along time in the boot for a metatarsal fracture. What would concern me is that you're losing a lot of fitness/muscle tone/flexibility with such a long time in the boot. I would be very careful about working back into shape. If the fracture is fully healed, you don't have to worry about reinjuring it (you will have phantom pains there, and it will worry you to no end, but trust me, the bone is stronger after it heals than it was before). I'd be more worried about hurting something else by jumping back into AT hiking too quickly. So, I can't really tell you what to do. If it was me, I'd probably try to spend a few weeks gradually working into hiking shape again and then assess things come late July or August. You can always start a late SOBO and see what happens.
FWIW, I never got medical clearance to resume running. In fact, I only went to the doctor twice, once to get my unknown foot pain diagnosed, and a second time to get the boot. Everything else was up to me. Like I said, your doctor sounds very conservative.
BTW, did you change shoes right before you got injured? If so, there's your cause. Almost everyone I've known who had a stress fracture had it happen right after changing shoes.
Hess86NJ
06-28-2016, 19:06
listen to your doctor in regards to the "is 7 weeks enough time" ? you have plenty of time to finish a thru this year...providing you have medical clearance.NJ is a good place to start to ease back into things. FWIW, I wouldn't describe getting off the trail due to injury as "failure". i would place having a complete healing of the foot well above finishing a thru hike on my priority list. as they say, that trail ain't going anywhere. I don't think you will be alone...should be several NOBO's in NJ in mid-July I would think. Although you won't be able to keep up with any of them just getting back into it. but you should see thru hikers every day.
Yea, not sure what the doctor will say. Although it isn't a "failure" it is hard for me not hiking to complete it. I am not too worried about going NOBO as I'm sure I'll be seeing people within my bubble. Although when I flip south, I feel I might be alone at the point. Yes, when I get back on it'll be nice to see people but I know I can't keep up with everyone else for a while.
If you did start at Amicalola Falls on April 8, like you mentioned in a couple of your earlier posts, that means you covered 540 miles in 53 days. If things go as you hope physically and with the next doctor consultation, and you get back on seven weeks after getting off, that means a July 18 restart. Unless you want to feel rushed I would start, say, around Salisbury CT, rather than New Jersey. That would leave you with around 690 miles to get to Katahdin before flipping, rather than around 840. A ten mile a day pace would get you to Katahdin before September was over, rather than going well into mid-October. Starting in CT still ought to let you get your trail legs before entering New Hampshire. And Salisbury is not that long a drive from North Bergen NJ.
I picked up a fracture of a tarsal bone somewhere in NY, hiked in pain to Hanover, NH where I went to the hospital. Xray showed nothing so I went back to hiking but it got worse so I went home to visit my orthopedic who found a stress fracture with an MRI. He gave me a cortisone shot and off I went to finish my thru.
Hess86NJ
06-28-2016, 19:28
My wife and I have both had stress fractures in our metatarsals, so I'm pretty experienced with this (as experienced as I want to be anyway). My doc was a sports medicine doctor, and he told me 6 weeks from the start of recovery to resuming full activity. He also told me that I could ditch the boot and wear normal shoes again after three weeks, as soon as I stopped having pain when I walked. Once I ditched the boot, I was able to resume light exercise (walking, elliptical). The doctor said that if anything starts to hurt when doing light exercise, dial it back. But if it's feeling okay, you can gradually build up the exercising. Three weeks after taking the boot off, I was running again. Two months after that, I was back to doing 20+ miles a week and pretty much felt like I'd never been injured.
Your doctor is basically having you wear the boot for 6 weeks--that sounds very conservative. I've read a lot about stress fractures, and I'm not sure I've ever heard of such along time in the boot for a metatarsal fracture. What would concern me is that you're losing a lot of fitness/muscle tone/flexibility with such a long time in the boot. I would be very careful about working back into shape. If the fracture is fully healed, you don't have to worry about reinjuring it (you will have phantom pains there, and it will worry you to no end, but trust me, the bone is stronger after it heals than it was before). I'd be more worried about hurting something else by jumping back into AT hiking too quickly. So, I can't really tell you what to do. If it was me, I'd probably try to spend a few weeks gradually working into hiking shape again and then assess things come late July or August. You can always start a late SOBO and see what happens.
FWIW, I never got medical clearance to resume running. In fact, I only went to the doctor twice, once to get my unknown foot pain diagnosed, and a second time to get the boot. Everything else was up to me. Like I said, your doctor sounds very conservative.
BTW, did you change shoes right before you got injured? If so, there's your cause. Almost everyone I've known who had a stress fracture had it happen right after changing shoes.
Glad to hear from someone who has dealt with it before. I went to a regular orthopedic and non sports doctor. O wow, I am not sure why he is having me in the boot this long. For me the pain is gone and when I am in my house I am not wearing it. O yea, loosing muscle/flexibility isn't good, maybe I can work on using it again. Yea, I want to get back on, restart and slowly work myself back up again.
Yea, I doubt the doctor is going to officially release me back on... but I'll probably go on without it.
I made it from Amicalola Fall to Damascus with my one pair of shoes and they beat to hell. I feel that my feet got messed up from my old shoes because they were very worn out. I got a new pair of shoes and went out the next day. I am not sure if it was that I wore the old shoes to long, I should have done a zero to let my feet rest from the old shoes, or the new ones messed 'em up.
Hess86NJ
06-29-2016, 09:28
If you did start at Amicalola Falls on April 8, like you mentioned in a couple of your earlier posts, that means you covered 540 miles in 53 days. If things go as you hope physically and with the next doctor consultation, and you get back on seven weeks after getting off, that means a July 18 restart. Unless you want to feel rushed I would start, say, around Salisbury CT, rather than New Jersey. That would leave you with around 690 miles to get to Katahdin before flipping, rather than around 840. A ten mile a day pace would get you to Katahdin before September was over, rather than going well into mid-October. Starting in CT still ought to let you get your trail legs before entering New Hampshire. And Salisbury is not that long a drive from North Bergen NJ.
Thanks for the tip, I take your post into planning my restart and figure out my plans