News?

So I just saw the doctor... AKA the special bone and muscle doctor... AKA the orthopedic surgeon. And the wealth of information I expected, for some reason, came to be the same stuff I've known all along: It's either a muscle sprain or a small stress fracture. He did, however, tell me that either one will heal given enough down-time...which is all I really needed to hear. But it just seems like the more doctors I see (for any problem), the more confident I feel in my own diagnoses.

So now, my plan is to get a ride back to Watauga Lake where I left off a couple weeks ago. It'll be about a 2-day hike from there back (read: forward) to Damascus, but I figure that will be a good stretch of trail to test out the shin. If there are any problems, I'll be in a town I know all too well before long.

Trail days have continued to go well. There seems to be a lot more going on now that the vendors have set up shop. I plan on getting my poles cleaned and tuned up at the Leki tent today. For free. But I'll have to make an effort not to walk around too much...if possible.

Hopefully next time I write, it will be miles away from here.