Where am I going?

Highlight Hiker Blog

The Road to Recovery and New Gear

“Did you ice it?”

“Are you elevating it?”

“Did you see a doctor?”

“Are you resting?”

Injuries suck. Not just because it grounds me like a fat airplane filled with grumpy, impatient passengers on the tarmac during a nasty thunderstorm, but also because it means having to baby step my way back to full strength. Which I did. But if I went ahead with the blog and told you about the 6.5 miler I hiked just one month after my injury, you’d be like, “Don’t push yourself, Highlight!”. So this blog entry is dedicated to eradicating from your mind the notion that I went from 0 to 100 in .1 miles., plus the measures I took by way of NEW GEAR to keep my injury from reoccurring. Who doesn’t love talking about NEW GEAR????

I started out by elevating my foot, icing the muscle injury, figuring out specifically what muscle I tore and using either KT tape, or a compression sock to assist in pain management immediately following the offending hike on 9/11/20. Oh, and Advil. Keeping the swelling down was my biggest priority. Once I figured out that my injury was related to the big toe, I was able to talk to my doctor about it. Chiropractor, actually. It just so happened I had an appointment with him the next day and his office also offers PT services. He didn’t think I needed PT, but he did offer to use Graston Technique if the pain persisted after one week. I might still try it if the stiffness doesn’t abate soon. If I do, I’ll let you know what I think in a future blog.

It took a little under one week of this rest/advil/compression/ice treatment for me to stop favoring the injury, and once I felt comfortable using the muscle completely, I began to stretch it using simple plantar fasciitis stretches. It felt really good. I mean, like… REALLY. GOOD. After a few days of stretching, I strapped on my sneakers and hopped on the treadmill. Walking at first. Walking with incline next. Then running. All good. Still stretching. Keeping an eye on inflammation every day. Then it was time to take it outdoors. Still in my regular sneakers I headed over to the James A. McFaul Wildlife Center in Wyckoff (hit the explore it button for more info). One of my favored places to walk because it has a combination of paved roads with hills, as well as an easy terrain hiking trail. I started on pavement with sneakers. Then moved to Topos and did a combination of roads and woods. My foot was sore, yeah, but it wasn’t debilitating. Stretch. Stretch. Stretch. Strengthening exercises for my ankle and calf to support the muscle.

After 19 days, I took the Olden Golden to Campgaw Mountain where we hiked just a fraction under 4 miles in various terrain. But mostly I was looking for hills, as this injury is specific to the usage of the big toe. The silver trail has the best incline, plus you’re rewarded with the beautiful stretch of trail at the top of the mountain. Both the dog and I did just fine. A little stiffness, but nothing that an hour of rest and a solid post-hike stretch couldn’t handle.

Once I was confident with the comfort of movement, it was time to hunt for new boots.

I saw it from across the socially distant crowded floor. The Oboz Bridger Mid. We locked eyes. I approached carefully and smiled. The Bridger was timid, but smiled back. Was that a wink? It was then that I knew. We both knew. It was a match made in Heaven.

No, but seriously. They fit like a glove and look like a dream. And while normally I would have purchased the Oboz Sawtooth, with winter approaching and the sloshy, soggy wet spring waiting to saturate every boot, sock and foot… I wanted a boot with serious waterproofing.

I also bought myself a new pair of Darn Tough socks, because you can never have too many pair of Darn Tough socks. Darn Tough socks make me feel like a kid falling asleep on Christmas Eve: knowing you’re going to get something good under the tree the next day and you can hardly wait, even though secretly you know the anticipation is the best part.

Lastly, a big surprise to everyone (except me), I bought a new backpack. After almost a year with my Gregory Sula, I decided to switch things up a bit. I have no problem with the Sula. I think it’s a great pack, but I wanted a new pack for two reasons:

1. Winter is coming. The Sula is perfect for hot summer and fall day hikes. It’s small, comfortable, cooling, and has just enough space for the little things you need: snacks, emergency rain poncho, water, dog dish. But it’s not large enough for rain gear, cold weather jacket, water, and other odds and ends for cold weather.

2. Functionality. I need stuff. I need my camera, my paper map and my posable tripod within arms reach. The Sula has plenty of room for that stuff, but it’s on my back. And because most women’s athletic clothing doesn’t come with pockets, I added a fanny pack (it’s a Smokey the Bear fanny pack: it’s freakin’ fantastic) to my gear this summer. But I don’t think that’s going to work as well wearing nylon snow pants… it’ll just slip all over the fabric as I walk. That simply won’t do. What I wanted was a small day pack with hip belt pockets for larger capacity for my stuff, and easy access to the things I use frequently throughout my hikes…. with a ventilated back (best invention in hiking ever).

After looking at a million packs, and trying on a few, I found one that fit the bill. I settled on the Osprey Sirrus 24, which had everything that I loved with my Gregory, with what I needed from a larger day pack. My phone doesn’t quite fit in the hip belt pocket, though, so that’s a bummer. I’ll have to modify that somehow, but it’ll be an easy fix with all of the bells and whistles Osprey offers on the straps. And did I mention that it’s black with my favorite color (melon) as an accent? Everyone say: “Ooooh!”. Everyone say: “Ahhhh!”.

So I’m prepped and ready for a walk in the woods: to see how all this new stuff works and feels and to test the strength of my abductor hallucis. With any luck, it’ll be sore but not swollen. Still, I’m choosing a challenging hike that has plenty of short cuts back to the parking lot in case of reinjury. No need to make things worse than they already are. But it’s just a pre-caution. If I’ve done my job, my footsie tootsie should be ready to rock and roll. Heaven knows I am!!

I’ve added just a few pictures of my short walks and new gear for you. Enjoy!