Animal therapy – The walk

Another day in the city. I woke up feeling in a much better mood. The back of my leg was improving and our trail angel made an amazing spread of pancakes for breakfast.

Since I completed all my tasks, I didn’t have much to do today but rest and snuggle my kitty. I was anxious to find things to do, but I know the rest was probably good for me.

Today Scratch & Sniff showed up at the trail angel’s house! I haven’t seen him since Big Bear, but we’ve kept in touch. I was hoping we would cross paths again. I met the group he’s been hiking with lately and they’re all so much fun. I think it might be helpful for all of us to join together here soon.

My friend from home was working in the area again and was able to pick me up for a nice lunch and catch up before having to drive home. Seeing my friends a little lately has helped me a lot to combat homesickness. She brought me a care package from The Trek that she had sent to a friend’s address, which was full of nice things like a perk, snacks, LMNT packs, and more.

I said my goodbyes and headed back to the trail angel’s house for a big communal pasta dinner with all the hikers who stayed tonight. We exchanged laughs and stories about separate but collective experiences in hiking towns, and got nervous talking about gear.

I also had my date with Blaze this afternoon. She is an incredible resource for hikers, I am very lucky that she can fit me into her busy schedule. He had nothing but good news. My calf injury turned out to be a grade 1 strain, so it was just a minor pull in an unfortunate place. It was likely that walking so much would build up a lot of tension and a small misstep would cause cramps and tension. She worked out the knot in my calf with cupping and showed me some good stretches to work it out on the trail. We talked about nutrition, backpacks and shoes, plus I had some great puppy time with his dog, Honey. I love kittens, but I needed some puppy love to fill the space of missing Mica so much.

I am very happy to have met her and to feel better about my injury and my strength to move forward. He said if I feel strong in the morning I’ll probably be ready to get back on the trail tomorrow! All good news. I can’t wait to go hiking again.

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