They are curtains for the SHT

On day 7 of my attempt to hike the Superior Hiking Trail, I injured my knee. I had high hopes of getting back on the trail after what I thought would be a quick rehab, but the universe had other ideas.

I suppose I have gone through one of the five stages of grief, specifically anger, but I would like to add another, personal stage: evaluating everything until death.

Immediately upon returning home from my injury, I scheduled an appointment with a knee orthopedist. X-rays were taken which showed normal knees (also described by the Dr. as “non-crunchy knees” 🤷‍♀️). He quickly dismissed my injury as IT Band Syndrome, as if I shouldn’t have been dumb enough to make that appointment in the first place.

Here comes the overvaluation. To quickly get back on track, should I start using templates? Should I put a lot of effort into rehab? Take it easy? Get another pair of shoes? What about the magic of KT Tape or the addition of a knee pad?

Here I am, three weeks later, still limping. Was it the slip on the wet board that caused the injury? The last minute change of shoes? Some kind of lack of training? Is my 40 year old body telling me to cool it down? Do you see where I’m going with this? I have been driving myself crazy, and probably so has my husband, with all this questioning and doubting. In the meantime, I’m losing my weather window and, frankly, my motivation. I also have a trip commitment to Denver at the end of the month that further squeezes my schedule.

The anger stage was easy to understand. I have been looking forward to and preparing for this hike literally all year. I put this trip at the top of the 2025 pedestal and now it’s gone in the blink of an eye. I’ve told myself to stop being so dramatic. Many people suffer injuries during their respective sporting events, so to speak. Think of the poor Olympic athletes who train for four YEARS, only to have their hopes dashed in an instant. It happens all the time.

It’s hard for me to ignore it and say, «Well, there’s always next year.» I have worked with cancer patients for sixteen years and know very well that next year is never a guarantee.

So after a lot of sulking, I tried to look on the bright side. I HAVE much in my life to be grateful for and much to look forward to. This knee will get better and I will be back on the track, but it won’t be at the SHT, at least not this year. I’m not one to leave something unfinished and you better believe I’ll be back there to tackle the remaining miles.

If I can’t go backpacking, I can hobble around a campground and practice a new cooking method.

Absolutely nailing a new recipe in my cast iron dutch oven: chicken pot pie and biscuits. Okay, this puts me in a better mood!

In the meantime, once my knee allows, I’ll be training on some trails in Arizona. We just bought a house there and AZT has been appealing to me for quite some time. I won’t attempt a genuine hike, but will simply tackle it in sections. The wonderful thing about section hikes is that I can choose which sections to do during warmer weather windows.

I also have my sights set on the Centennial Trail. I grew up in western Nebraska and my family traveled to the Black Hills of South Dakota all the time. Walking that path would be like a return home.

Thank you to those who stumbled across my blogs and read them! I had a lot of fun writing them and I hope to continue that process.

Happy trails! I hope to see you there!

Thanks friends! I had a great time with you!

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