Betsy commented on my obviously swollen thighs, calves, and ankles. I didn’t do much for several days, mostly resting. Walking was more like hobbling. But in a few days, the swelling subsided and I could walk more or less normally. I made appointments with two body workers to get their opinions as to the possibility of me getting back on the trail. Were my knee and ankle pains symptoms of underling structural problems or were they less serious and potentially reversible? My leg complained mightily as Josh Shadle massaged my right thigh to loosen the muscle fibers from one another. But after he finished, my leg felt better. Josh recommended using my massage stick to keep my thigh and calf muscles loose. I’ve been doing that daily (see photo). A week later, Cary Gold inspected my knee and ankle joints and found no structural damage. He thought that my knee problems arose from tightness in my thighs, which created excessive stress on my patellar tendon below my knee cap as I descended steep sections of trail. Cary recommended several stretches for my thigh and calf muscles to prevent further knee pain. The good news from Josh and Cary gave me confidence that I would hold up back on the trail. Thus, I decided to leave Boulder on July 19 and return to the trail. My return will be circuitous because I’ll first fly to St. Louis, MO then take a shuttle to Springfield, IL to retrieve Mom’s car then drive it to Bay View, MI. Her car will be waiting for her when she flies to Michigan next Saturday. On July 21, I’ll fly to Newark via Chicago then reverse route I took on July 5 when I left the trail. I’ll resume hiking the Appalachian Trail on July 22.
