[at-l] Ready's Journal July 25 TD 43 PT2

[kahley7@ptd.net (kahley)]

I had hiked strong all day, with only occasional bouts of pain,
all relieved by short rests. This felt like progress!
We're hopeful that 2 days of rest for me will bring significant
  improvement. Our moods were definitely elevated by the day's experience.
Spur headed off for the trail; I headed for the beach. When
I got there, I found that the grill had closed only 5 minutes
earlier. Instead of fries, I bought some ice cream and a cliff
  bar. I sat at a picnic table with Tommy and Barry and
chatted. They're a young couple from Tennessee who are purely delightful.
I took a shower and headed for the beach. I never made it,
  however. I met two section hikers and struck up conversations
with them. One had had sciatica and had lots of info to share with me.
I found Rambunny and Seattle there, as well as most of the rest
of the hikers we'd been hiking amongst. Before I knew it, it was
6:00 PM. My dentist would be here between 6:30 and 7:00.
  The beach was closed and everyone was heading back to
their campsites, a few at the campground right in the park
and some on the AT, right above the lake.
I headed to the beach entrance to wait. It started to rain around
6:30 so I put on my rain jacket and covered my pack. I journaled
  a bit and before I had gotten very far my dentist arrived in his SUV.
We drove back to Poughkeepsie via the Taconic Parkway and
caught each other up on news. When he heard about my
back troubles he offered to put me in touch
with a friend of his, a chiropractor. He made the call right
from his cell phone as we drove!
We got to his office and he finished the dental work, replacing a
bridge that had chipped - great work! He dropped me off at a
motel just across the street and made me promisto check in
with him the next day.
It was late by the time I got settled in, so I just went straight
to bed. It was sad to be apart from Spur. We were going to
be apart for our two-month anniversary. [sigh]
On a brighter note, I'd completed 500+ miles of the thruhike so
far, and have at this point covered 1/3 of the trail as a section
hiker. I'm counting on this break to get me healthy and rested
so that I can continue strong on Saturday.
Till then, "Recuperating Ready," over and out.



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