Albequerque and Other Spelling Errors

Hi all, writing to you today from Dave Jordan's laptop in Albequerque, NM, a pitifully long distance from the trail.  I've been down here a few days now, recuperating from my stubbornly persistent knee injury (patellar tendonitis, pez anserine bursitis, a minor ACL strain, and a crazy tight hamstring, btw), and am finally approaching a point where I am ready to try and hit the trail again.  After two visits to the ER up in Grants, a trip to the orthopedist, and several physical therapy sessions down here, my body damn well better be able to handle some hiking, albeit at reduced mileage.  Already, everyone I was hiking with is probably hopelessly out of reach, barring a ridiculously fast return to form or some catastrophe on their end, and who knows who else has passed by while I have been away.  The only course is to take it slow and hope for a full recovery in time, as a reinjury will probably result in aborting the whole shebang for this year.

I suppose there isn't alot to report in the way of action.  I was driven down here by the sister of Carole Mumm (the trail angel in Grants), who was bringing her mom to the doctor in Albequerue already.  In that sense at least, my luck has been pretty good; between the Mumms and the Jordans, I haven't been for lack of someplace to stay, thankfully.  Given that continued medical attention in the U.S. is certainly not free, and always more than a little complicated, not having to pay for a motel has probably saved this trip from utter disaster.  Tomorrow, I plan on taking the Greyhound back up to Grants and hitting the trail the following morning, making this my longest and most expensive digression from hiking a dozen times over.      

For what its worth, at least this detour hasn't been without its merits.  I'll never turn down the opportunity to see someplace new, so, despite my crippled situation, I am glad I got to see a little bit of Albaquerque and some more of New Mexico than I would have otherwise.  Being in a car when crossing the giant valleys, and having access to air conditioning while seeing the weather systems come barreling through, is always a nice treat, particularly out here where the sky is so phenomenally different than back East.  Getting to see The Avengers was a nice touch, though a summer blockbuster is about as far from the silence of the trail as one can imagine.  It'll definitely give me something entertaining to think about on the hike out of here, as will the massive amount of reading I've managed to get done in the last few weeks.  Some Lovecraft, some Vonnegut, some comic books, and some history of science books will make for a strange mix of thoughts on the trail.

And, as always, this experience has reinforced the importance of humility out here (as much as I may try to resist it).  When a 28 year old, in relatively good shape, can get hobbled for no discernable reason, while multiple sextugenarians (see, spelling errors.  People in their 60s, whatever they are) can go casually strolling by, it makes me wonder how there can be such a thing as hubris.  My prolonged mooching off people's goodwill definitely drives the point home (thanks again Dave!) that we hikers exists at the mercy of others.  That being said, hopefully I'll be able to put all this behind me relatively soon and make tracks for Colorado.  At least I won't have to worry about and excess of snow in the Rockies at this rate.  Talk to you later.