Week 12 Mileage: N/A
Game Over
My shoulder started bothering me a week ago. I thought it was something that would work itself out. I felt a pop while I was reaching for my phone. I dropped my pack and sat for 5 minutes. It was over at that point, and I knew it. Now the problem was getting out. I was 13 miles past the last road and on my way to nowhere. There was a ranger station 3.6 miles away. I couldn’t carry my pack. Every step was unbearable. I was hunched over like Igor from Frankenstein. The longest two miles of my life, just walking right through the river crossing, unable to rock-hop. I made it to a trail junction and saw that I had service, which I couldn’t believe. I called a friend, up ahead on the trail, and asked her if anyone was at that ranger station. She said no and that it was a remote outpost without any roads in or out. I’m a big advocate of getting yourself out if you can walk, but with my pack, there was no way. I called 911. The only way to get to me was by helicopter. They would be there in 1 hour.
I heard the chopper coming. There wasn’t any place to land, so they sent a dude down on a wire. He unhooked, came over, checked my shoulder, wrapped a quick sling around me, threw my pack on, hooked me up and gave the thumbs up. I was 200 feet in the air, dangling from a helicopter, as I just stared at the spot they had pulled me from. Too pissed off to care about the current situation, a second rescuer grabbed me and yanked me in, landing me on my shoulder. I laid there for a minute in excruciating pain as they slammed the door and took off toward the airport. An X-ray showed a clavicle separation, right where my pack strap sits. My shoulder hasn’t been 100% for years. I was just hoping it would hold out for one more record. Well, it didn’t, and that’s how it goes sometimes. You win some, you lose some. I had it. The PCT was as perfect as I could’ve hoped. The transition to the CDT was flawless. To lose it while doing so well hurts more than the shoulder. Now I’ll be in doctor’s appointments, surgery, and P.T. Not how I pictured it, but that’s the way it goes. Thank you for all the support. Sorry I couldn’t get it done.