Take Turk to the vet and Slackpacking

It was good to see that Turkenna is in a better mood after resting the day before. His vet appointment was that same afternoon. I was hoping the improvement we saw from yesterday morning to this morning was a good sign. But most of all I was happy to see my little girl looking happy and energetic.

Resting in Pearisburg

The day was very relaxed for all of us. We haven’t had many zeros along the way, but this one was necessary for all of us. Some friends from the trail also showed up to stay at the lodge. Billy Goat, Apollo, Speedy and a few more. We all made plans to have lunch at the Chinese buffet just down the street from the hostel. Some went back on the road after lunch and the rest of us stayed at the hostel enjoying the good weather. Turk lay on the patio sunbathing and relaxing.

Go to the vet

Later that day, we resupplied at Food Lion and asked the shelter owner to take us to our vet appointment.

waiting at the vet

He did very well at the vet. They drew blood, took x-rays and did a physical evaluation. The vet said he probably had a ligament problem in his back leg. He probably hurt himself in the swimming hole. My poor girl. They gave him an injection for the pain and prescribed some medications to make him feel better. But the best thing for her is to rest.

With our little girl lying in her bed, feeling better thanks to the painkillers, we began planning. Our first call was to Cody’s mom and then to our vet at home. Her mother offered to pick up Turkenna in a couple of days and take her back home. Maybe just for a few weeks, maybe more.

In the meantime we wanted to cover a few kilometers along the way. Apollo agreed to keep an eye on Turk the next day at the lodge while we hiked 32 miles of the trail. We organize a shuttle service around the hostel. With everything coordinated we went to bed with a mix of emotions.

The Mega Slackpack

Our shuttle driver, Broccoli Rob, stopped at 6:00 that morning to take us to the Peter’s Mountain trail access. We had a small backpack containing just our waterproof jackets, 2 water bottles, lunch and snacks, a paddle, and a water filter. I grabbed my trekking poles and Cody grabbed his pole as we headed out the door. This was our first experience with loose packaging. And we had many miles to walk that day! Fortunately, the trail was slightly uneven and we didn’t have much gear to carry. No tent. No sleeping mat. Not even a first aid kit or a toiletry bag.

The beginning of the day

The first half of the day, we walked 20 SOBO miles back to Pearisburg. It was foggy and rained lightly all morning. Walking in the rain isn’t usually fun, but knowing we had a warm shower and dry clothes waiting for us that night made it pretty bearable. We stopped for lunch at the Rice Field shelter. It wasn’t a long break though. We still had many kilometers to go. Broccoli Rob picked us up at a crossroads in town and took us to Sugar Run Road, which is where we had gone off road a couple of days earlier. We made a quick stop at a gas station to fill up with water. I took the opportunity to run next door to get Cody and I a treat at Dairy Queen.

The second half of the Slackpack

Once back on the road, our tired legs took us 11 more NOBO miles back to town. We stopped at Angel’s Rest Lookout to take in the beautiful views from the top of the mountain. The rain had let up and the sun was peeking out from behind the clouds. But that sun didn’t last long. It poured rain on us during the mile long walk back to the lodge.

Resting that night

Everyone who was with Turkenna that day praised how well she had behaved. And they said that in the afternoon he let out some energy playing with the other Turk who lives there. It was good to see her feeling better, but we were still very cautious and believed that this sudden improvement meant a lot. That night he received more hugs from mom and dad.

After the hot showers and hot food, I didn’t have much energy to do anything but lie on the couch with Turk. Somehow, Cody still had energy to learn how to play spades with a group of other hikers. I talked to Cody’s mom on the phone about her plans to come pick up Turkenna and take her home for a few weeks. We decided he needed to follow the vet’s advice and rest his legs. We are immensely grateful for the family that shows up and supports us. I honestly have no idea what we would have done without Cody’s parents. We both went to bed unsure of what the future of Turk’s hike would look like. But I knew that at least for the next few weeks our little girl would be well cared for at her grandparents’ house.

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