8 days is a long time. It’s one day more than a week. It’s the number of days of channukah. It’s more than 25% of the month of February. 8 days off feels longer than all of that. 8 days spent sedentary in Damascus Virginia feels like an eternity. Nothing against Damascus, it’s a lovely little town. But after 8 days, it loses its charm a bit. Even the diner, by the time you’ve eaten your 10th meal there (today’s was my tenth meal if you include the cheeseburger I got yesterday which was technically an “appetizer for dinner” I had elsewhere. But i think it still counts) starts to lose its luster. 

So when I woke up this morning it was with much excitement. But also a lot of nerves. I knew today, while certainly not the last test, would be the first real test of how much my knee had healed. I retaped it and slid a brace over the bad knee. Then slid a brace over the good knee – for good measure. I ate my 10th meal at the diner (I’ve decided the appetizer burger counts) and knew it was time. 

The other day, some of the gear heads at the local shop had convinced me to buy a new, lighter weight pack and ship home all my non essentials to take weight off my knee. So, it was without long pants, puffy jacket, camp shoes, umbrella, stove, pot, fuel, most of my sleeping pad and anything else I couldn’t be sure was completely necessary that I left. My pack felt so light, but I wasn’t focused on it. I was just focused on my knee. 

I walked the full day with all my attention focused on my left knee. Each step was slow and methodical. Each pole plant was well thought out. Every time I lost my balance a bit or slid on a rock, I found myself wincing. Wondering if that would be the step that ended my hike. 

But even as I stressed, I noticed how great it felt to be back in the woods. Suddenly my anxieties shrunk back into the recesses of my mind and everything seemed to slow down. All I had to do was focus on slowly putting each foot in front of the other. 

I looked around and noticed how much greener the forest had gotten since I was last out. It was only 8 days but spring has been chasing us as we’ve walked north. Stopping for 8 days made a huge difference. Suddenly the majority of trees were covered in leaves and a ton of the trail was shaded. The famous Appalachian trail green tunnel was coming out. 

I stopped frequently to rest my leg and stretch it out. It didn’t feel too bad. A few ginger steps here and there reminded me that it wasn’t fully healed. But there was never any shooting pain. According the internet, if it’s not getting worse, it’s getting better. And it’s definitely not getting worse!

It was 4 when I made it to camp – only a few minutes behind rocket. We commiserated on our painfully slow days but both agreed we actually felt pretty good. Also we both agreed how great it was to be out here. Rocket told me that there was a portion at the beginning of the day where he was planning his exit. His shin had been too tight to comprehend that it could get better. But luckily he said it had loosened up a lot as he was walking. I was glad to hear the thought of going home was no longer top of mind for him. 

Since hurting my knee I’ve been religious about stretching and yoga. I pulled up a yoga stretch class I had downloaded on my phone and asked if anyone else wanted to join. And with that, rocket, second breakfast (and older British man with a high schoolers sense of humor. Think Camino Jim but built like Wayne Rooney) and I dove into a yoga with Adrienne video.

Viking (a larger, younger man from cape cod who has already lost 40 pounds on trail) didn’t bat an eye when he walked into camp and saw us all wildly contorted. He just sat down and began preparing his food. 

Since I had sent my stove home, it was time to try my first cold soak meal. I kept it simple – ramen and spam. I let the ramen soak for an hour before taking my first bite. It tasted exactly like ramen – except cold. The noodles were soft and the spice packet had dissolved. This meal, at least, wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared. Now to see what ungodly creations I can make this way! 

Knowing that we’d be spending a lot more time around camp as we start with low mileage days, I had broken the ultra light rules and packed out a deck of cards. The rest of the evening was spent playing rummy with the full group. It was a raucous game with plenty of insults dished out, side tangents traversed and even a few deep conversation topics broached. We were too into it to even let the dark stop us, turning on headlamps for the last two rounds. (Why yes I did win, thanks so much for asking!) 

I’m settling into hammock now and man does it feel good to be back sleeping in the woods. I know there is still a lot more healing to do but it feels like a huge step just to be back out here. 

Key stats:

Miles: 9

Elevation gained: 2,800 ft

Mile marker: 480

Jamies / D’arts in Damascus: 0