“It’s always hard to deal with injuries mentally, but I like to think about it as a new beginning. I can’t change what happened, so the focus needs to go toward healing and coming back stronger than before.”
-Carli Lloyd
Ever since I’ve been laid up with this fractured ankle, all I have been thinking about is hiking. My favorite hikes, not so favorite ones, ones that I’ve done many times and ones that I’ve done once. I’ve dreamed about hiking and have already started planning my “Return to Hiking” hike that will hopefully usher in a new era of hiking for me.
Will that first hike be a difficult one? You bet. But I need to get back on the trail. I need to be out there. I already miss the warm air moving through the trees, the sound of rushing water in the streams that run parallel to many of the rock strewn paths. I miss making my way around a corner and being mesmerized by an awesome view, captivated by the colors of the season and just sitting and breathing in the awesomeness that is just being there. If you have hiked, you know what I’m talking about!
Obviously, however, I am getting way ahead of myself. As I was laying in the hospital, all I could think about was getting the surgery to repair my ankle so I did everything that the doctors and nurses asked me to do. My goal was to go home.
Now that I have been home for ten days, I have the same anticipation as I sit and wait for my followup appointment with the surgeon. The hope next Tuesday is that I will get a positive report on my progress and soon after PT will follow. For me, PT is the next step, the next chapter in not only in my physical recovery, but in my mental salvation as well.
Thanks for reading and your positive comments!
Happy Hiking!!!
The Zen Hiker 
That must be a bummer for you, but the first hike you go on when you’re well again will feel so fabulous!
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That is what I am hoping for!!!! Thanks very much for the reply.
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I can totally relate! I had surgery on my knee a few years ago and was counting the hours / days / minutes until I could get out there and start hiking again. Hang in there and ‘eyes on the price! 🙂
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Thanks so much for the kind words! Just have to remain positive!
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Somehow the long comment I just wrote was either erased or will pop up under another post of yours. At any rate, I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count the times I’ve thought “i want to start hiking again.” The truth is I’m scared. I walk all the time, but I differentiate walking and hiking. Like there is a huge gap. I don’t know if you understand what I mean, but since my mild heart attack, even walking up the long hill in our condo complex makes me nervous.
I feel like you’re on Mt. Everest and I’m walking on tracks. That might be because I’m walking on tracks. Here are my reasons for wanting to hike. 1) tracks are boring 2) hiking is exhilarating 3) I know it’s healthy 4) endorphins 5) I’m probably leaving some out
Reasons I don’t want to hike. 1) I’m scared to hike alone 2) I have balance issues 3) people say to start easy, like Bear Mountain 4) other people’s ideas of “easy” and mine are wildly different.5) Bear Mountain isn’t easy but the walk around the lake is.
Any suggestions?
ps. Sorry this comment is almost as long as a post.
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Don’t apologize! I love getting comments. In my opinion the only difference between walking and hiking is where you do it. All hiking is not climbing to a top of a mountain and as long as you watch where you are going, balance shouldn’t be to much of an issue! In terms of you cardiac issues, talk to your cardiologist to see what can be done and what you shouldn’t do. That’s what I did and my cardio guy cleared me to hike anywhere. Now, in terms of “easy” hiking, you are near Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, correct? I can put you on some trails there that are no where near as strenuous as the ones in Bear Mt. And if I am saying they are easy, they are! This would certainly be a good place to start. You would be able to get outside, you would still be walking/hiking and it would be much less boring than walking the track! Thanks again for your comments!
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What about walking alone (I don’t mean on a track but like at Ward)?
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I hike alone most of the time at Ward Pound Ridge. The single most important thing to do if you go hiking is to leave an itinerary of where you will be going. I do this now no matter if I’m hiking one mile or ten! They have a trail map and you can leave a detailed note for your loved ones as to where you will be parking and the trail(s) you will be traversing. This way, if something were to happen, your loved ones would know exactly where to look for you. Oh yeah, always carry your cell phone and tons of water!
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