Returning To The Trail

Right now I am sitting in a motel room on the coast in Lincoln City (LC). I left Eugene at 11:30 this morning on the bus and after one transfer in Salem, I arrived here in the late afternoon. However, I made some minor miscalculations.

I thought the bus stop in LC was right by my motel. Unfortunately, I discovered while enroute, the stop was 3 miles north of my motel. Ok, not too bad, I’m a walker after all. But I had chosen my motel partly because it was just 3 blocks from the post office where my food for this section was waiting to be picked up. Now, instead of being a few minutes from the PO, I would be about an hours walk. The PO closed at 5 and I would arrive in LC at 3:20. An hours walk would make it 4:20. No problem!

But we got slowed down by construction and ended up arriving at 4PM. As we were turning into the parking lot at the end I was preparing to run/walk 3 miles, when I thought maybe there was a city bus in Lincoln City. YES! There was! And it would be leaving from our parking lot at …3:55! Next bus at 4:55. I wanted to scream.

As I was about to put my phone away and exit the bus I saw a small read flag on the screen. Closer examination showed that this meant that the bus was running late. It wouldn’t arrive until …4:12! I was saved.

A short bus ride later, I walked into the PO at 4:35, got my box, and went to my motel and checked in. It had been a suspenseful afternoon.

Great Mark, we’re glad it all worked out, but how is the knee you ask. Well, yesterday I loaded up my pack and hiked 7 miles to see how my knee would behave. Basically it didn’t complain. It was still a little sore, but no swelling or deep pain. And it continued to behave post hike. So I decided to get back to the OCT and see what it, and I, can do. I will head out early tomorrow morning.

I chose to restart at LC, and skip the 68.4 miles between Manzanita, where I got off, and here, because that will get me back on my original itinerary. I have a couple of hard to get motel reservations for further down the trail and getting back on schedule will avoid the hassle of trying to rebook. So, I will come back to Manzanita and walk that missing section to LC at the end.

I know for some people this out of sequence hiking can seem wrong. But it turns out that there is really no right or wrong way to hike a trail. Like life, there are easier ways and harder ways, but no one way that works for everyone. (Side thought: Wouldn’t it be interesting if you could live your life out of sequence!)

I will be hiking from here to Florence, about 90 miles over the next week. When I get to Florence, Nancy will come pick me up and take me home for a couple of Zero days which I had scheduled originally. Then it will be back to the coast and the OCT.

Thanks to everyone for your good wishes and kind words. I am hoping that I really am ready to resume. It was absolutely the right call to get off trail and rest. And I think I’m ready to get back to it. Tomorrow will likely tell.

Happy Trails