September 15, 2008 Pacific Crest Trail

Destination: Pear Lake, Glacier Peak Wilderness
Miles: 19

Adrian: Never count your chickens before they hatch. It ain't over till it's over. A bird in hand is better than two in a bush. It's not over till the fat lady sings.

I suffered a serious pull of my right calf muscle while tripping over a log. We were night hiking out of an overly crowded campsite and I felt the calf tweak as I used my leg to stop my fall. I've never experienced this type of pain from a pulled muscle so I'm scared and not sure what to expect. Will I be able to finish? What would it be like to have to get off the trail so close to the end? Can I still do the hardest section on the PCT in this condition?

Kirsten found an awesome campsite on a large flat rock in a boulder field. Atop this rock we slept cowboy style with the bright full moon overhead. This will be our last full moon on the trail and it couldn't be more spectacular. I'm so happy to be here.

Let's hope the leg feels better by tomorrow. We've got some serious terrain coming up in the next 2 days.

Walk good...

Kirsten: I started the day with a four-hour cluster fuck of a voyage to buy groceries. A number of other hikers gave me a list of food items for their resupply since there were only so many seats in Jerry Dinsmore's truck. I was happy to help out my friends and the task was fairly simple. I made one serious error when I didn't grab something to nibble on at the store. By the time we returned I was completely out of sorts. My body doesn't function well without food and I'm embarrassed to say that I was a bit irrational and grumpy when I got back to the Dinsmores.

Nick and Don't Panic left before us and I was bummed at the time. I really didn't expect to see them again. But we ended up hiking more miles than we thought and it looks like we'll see them on the trail for at least one more day.

What started out as a fun night hike with Jesse, Landshark and Caterpillar ended up a catastrophe. We all had a great time on way into camp, especially when Jesse sang various Disney movie songs including Aladdin's "A Whole New World." The camping area was full so Adrian and I decided to continue. This is when everything got shitty. As Adrian said, he pulled his calf. I ran ahead to find a spot and when I would occasionally look back I could see him slowly limping up the trail. I'm worried. Adrian recovers incredibly quickly from injuries, so I'm hopeful. I do not want to have the "I'm getting off the trail discussion." Tonight I'll dream of a healed leg.