The weather picked up this morning right where it left off yesterday and last night: rain, rain and more rain. Thankfully, along with all our gear, we woke up high and dry in the Vandeventer Shelter, after a good night’s sleep. However, we were not excited about the prospect of leaving that coziness to hike in the rain, and we modified our plans for a super early start. Finally, about 8:00 a.m. we forced ourselves to push off down the trail.

The temperature felt chilly at the start but eventually warmed into the 50s; the trail was wet and we were in full rain gear. Although we stayed at around 4,000′ elevation for the first eight miles, we were constantly ascending & descending little ups and downs along the spine of Iron Mountain, and it seemed like we were not able to get into a good rhythm. This section should have been a beautiful hike with amazing views, but not today in the rain, with a misty, fogged-in landscape.

We were sweating as expected in full rain gear, enough to get chilled if we stopped, so we kept moving and taking on Gatorade at 30-minute intervals. About noon, the sun burned through the clouds & mist, the rain stopped and immediately our spirits soared! We pulled into the next shelter, peeled off the rain gear, deeply re-hydrated and snacked and were satisfied to realize we’d polished off nearly eight miles. With the improved weather, we were feeling pretty good as we returned to hiking.

Our modified goal for the day was the next shelter (Double Springs), with about seven miles to go. At about ten miles N pulled up along X and said the pain in his still sore back was at a point where he needed some medical attention. Now N is not a whiner or complainer when it comes to his health. He takes no medication except eye drops to fend off glaucoma. So to hear this serious a pronouncement caught X by surprise. Fortunately, we had good cell service and were able to make some calls to Damascus, Virginia.

At the TN 91 road crossing, we arranged a ride with Sundog Outfitters (out of Damascus), to take us to the ER at Abington’s Johnston Memorial Hospital. [We certainly hadn’t expected to enter Virginia for the first time on this hike BY CAR!] After a complete work-up (which N had also had right before we left for the Trail): urinalysis, EKG, chest X-ray, blood work, and thoroughly massaging and examining the sore area on his back, the doctor proclaimed him absolutely healthy as a horse (coincidentally all his numbers showed improvement from the month of hiking!), with the only slightly off number being his white blood count, which we chalked up to the hiker intestinal “bug” going through the community. The end result? After consulting with another serious-hiker colleague, the doc thinks N has a deep muscle bruise and prescribed a muscle relaxer (to take at bedtime) and suggested we go easy for a while. (The prescription cost us 63 cents. The visit to the ER? Pricy, we’re sure.)

So, we settled into a Holiday Inn Express near the hospital, cleaned up (oh, yes, we were hiker-stinky at the ER, but everyone seemed so excited we were thru-hiking the AT, they didn’t seem to mind), found a Cracker Barrel across the street and came back to a bed beyond comfortable. N took one of his muscle relaxer pills and hasn’t been heard from since!

Our new plan is to get back to Damascus tomorrow, where we will check into the Victorian Inn B&B about noon. X has relegated N to bed once we arrive. On Wednesday, we will “slack pack” from the road crossing where we left the trail, north to Damascus, a distance of about 20 miles. With no pack (X will carry lunch, water & rain jackets) we’ll see how N does. At the end of the day, if N hikes with no pain, then we’ll know his pack may be the culprit in all this.

Thankfully Thursday is the beginning of “Trail Days” in Damascus, and it’s the biggest annual gathering of hikers and gear/equipment specialists in the country. A Granite Gear rep will be on hand and we’ll get him to look at N and his fully-loaded pack to see if he can figure out if there’s a cause for the soreness.

N thinks the heavy work load may be aggravating a spot where he had an abscess removed several years ago, as that’s the area of most pain. Another possible culprit may be old age arthritis from the time he fell down the steps on his back in kindergarten about a million years ago. Then again, it may all lead back to something N did during his leg cramp episode a few weeks back that the pack has been aggravating. Or the pack may not fit him correctly. Or we may be over-doing it a bit and need a rest day, followed by some lighter hiking days until N gets back to being 100%. At any rate, we are not ready to throw in the towel just yet.