Hard To Believe

After months of anticipation and training, careful thought on gear and packing strategies, and long car rides to and from Shenandoah National Park, my backpacking career has come to an end (at least for this summer).

Though the hike was scheduled to be 105 miles, around mile 4 my right knee gave out. We pressed on and made it 16 total miles with 45-50 pound packs on our backs on the first day, but after sleeping on it, it was clear that there would be no more hiking on it during this trip. The frustrating part is that I've been through physical therapy for two months on the OTHER knee. Although my right has been giving me trouble for about two years, it hadn't been an issue recently. All the steep ups and downs with the extra weight certainly took its toll though.

It had been a lofty goal, I understand that, but I had become attached to it. The two encouraging thoughts that keep springing to my mind are: (1) There's always next time and (2) We still accomplished more than if we had never tried at all.