Days 40-45, May 27-June 1: Injured Zeros in Tehachapi
Start: Tehachapi - Mile 566.5
End: Tehachapi - Mile 566.5
Miles: 0
Ascent: 0 | Descent: 0
Well, I had to take some unexpected time off trail. I spent 6 full zeros in Tehachapi, due to a combination of injury recovery and dealing with post office nonsense.
On Friday May 28th, I had an PT appointment with the fantastic Morgan of Blaze Physio. She is a traveling physiotherapist who hiked the trail herself in 2019 and is traveling up the trail in her van to give medical treatment to hikers. She said the swelling in my foot is the main issue, gave me a regimen to address it, and instructed me to take an extra day off. I learned a lot in our short time together and I’m really grateful for her services! Plus she had the cutest golden retriever named Honey who came with her to my hotel room
I was hopeful that one or two more days of rest would give me the all clear to keep hiking. So I did my PT routine and RICE’d the injury. Meanwhile, I kept checking the tracking information for my shoes that were guaranteed to be delivered the day before, and they still not there.
The six days in Tehachapi were a lot of the same- do PT, eat, laze about, chat with hikers that were around. Some of my favorite highlights include:
My sister, Christy, coming to visit one of the days on her way back from a camping trip in Sequoia National Park! We went wine tasting, got sushi, checked out the Tehachapi museum, and had fun at the VFW again.
Getting to watch the Bob’s Burgers Movie at a movie theater in town (with popcorn! And a slurpee!)
Wearing cozy air compression boots on loan from Morgan to help with recovery
Getting to know new friends a bit better, including Chip Trick, Cathole, Sensei, Gus, Boop, Liz and Tikka
Receiving the generosity of a trail angel who offered up his unfurnished but unused apartment to myself and other hikers for free/donations. I stayed there for 5 nights or so.
Getting incredible barbecued pork ribs that (almost) compared to my dad’s
Going to a lovely, sunny park yoga session led by a sweet hiker named Pretzel
Having homemade family dinner of roasted veggies, salad and pasta with homemade Alfredo sauce at the empty apartment with Pretzel, Stumbleweed, Father, Swift, Red Dragon, Noelia, and Jupiter, who has a popular YouTube channel about ultralight backpacking
Spent many hours at the local coffee shop, chatting and catching up on blogging
Though there were many fun highlights, overall the week was very tough, mentally. It was hard to see new friends come and go without me, and again with different friends. I was starting to feel less and less hopeful about my foot and starting to readjust my expectations of what my thru hike would look like, or if I could even complete it at all. Each day I became more and more frustrated about my shoes not arriving at the post office. There were no shoes I could find to buy within a reasonable distance, so I felt very stuck.
I called my mom in frustrated tears one of the days, and she, being the best momma ever, offered to find shoes in LA and drive them up to me. Gratefully, I accepted her help, and this is how my journey would restart.