A Hip, A Rib, An Ankle

In what is now tradition, a sequence of unfortunate events leading up to the much anticipated Long Distance Walk, the body has begun complaining. 

Last Fall when it was first officially decided I would attempt, with spousal approval, to trudge the hills and dales of some distant beautiful land.  Almost immediately the right hip seriously protested.  Pain.  More pain.  Could hardly sit in the car for the drive to Louisville, could hardly get out of the car or back in, could hardly walk.  Intense joint protestations.  Olivia suggested I might even have a labral tear which she is so familiar with.  Pain diminished a bit in December, but by January returned.   

Meanwhile I had already received 2 steroid injections in the spine for my back/rib pain, and neither had given much relief.  In returning to Pain Management in January when it was suggested I could get another injection I turned it down.  Suggested, half jokingly, if the shot could be given to the hip instead.  Sent off to have an x-ray, which showed no bone fractures, which was good.  Then sent to Physical Therapy with my former PT buddy - Kimara.  Many sessions later the hip pain had totally gone away.  Good job Kimara!

Now there was the old Rib/Back problem causing lots of discomfort.  Discomfort to the point where occasionally when out walking it was necessary to lay down on the ground or a sidewalk and roll around on the back to relieve the tight pressure.  Gary had much success with his Osteopathic physician Dr. Kirsch for his hip.   I made an appointment.  So began a series of treatments for that old issue from 2.5 years ago and the fall over the railing around the bed.  According to the x-rays taken a year ago the fractures had mended, but the bones were displaced.

Shortly after rib/back treatments started with Dr. K, while out walking my usual training route, Old Wausau Road to North Point, the right leg above the ankle joint began to give intense pain.  Could hardly walk the remaining mile and a half home with much limping and moaning the entire way.  Thankful to have the trekking poles with for support.  There was no swelling, no discoloration, but it was almost impossible to step.  PAIN!  OH NO!  Only 7.5 weeks until departure for the C2C.  Had to make the final payment to Briganetes in 2 weeks for the accommodations, and I could hardly walk.  Major upset, major depression, cried a couple times with frustration.  Determined to go if at all possible.  Now the osteopathic treatments focused more on calming the leg muscle/tendon down.  

Tried icing.  Tried heat.  Tried resting the leg elevated.  Tried various pain meds.  Tried various shoes and boots.  Tried sock combinations.  Tried not walking at all.  Tried walking short distances.  LEG HURT!!  Finally after about 4 weeks one day it was realized I could almost walk without limping and grimacing.  Slowly began to take longer walks in running shoes. 

Is the body protesting in advance of knowing what is going to be required of it in the way of performance?  Or is it a sign of the process of general aging?  Not happy with this instrument of mine aka bones, muscles, tendons, joints, skin and all those important parts deep inside.  Naughty body.

Discouraging also because throughout those 4 weeks of not carrying of the heavy backpack the body lost some of the fitness it had become accustomed to.  That weight will have to be gradually worked up to again, but I am sure it will happen.  I have faith and believe my body will cooperate in the end…it had better because I want to do this Long Distance walk so much.

Sent from Outlook

Why ? ? ?

Why.   A few answers to "why" questions from others.

Why a Long Distance Walk? 

Simple, I LOVE TO WALK.  I am not a runner (shakes the brain it feels like), am not a biker, as in a pedal bike, because my neck complains when it has to be bent over and doesn't like the weight of a helmet.  The idea of traveling everyday for many many days using only feet to move forward, eyes to soak up the passing landscape, to get the body to accomplish a big goal.   The goal now is to walk across northern England twice because I love to walk, and most likely will be disappointed when it ends, or even more so if it has to end early.

Why alone?

Aloneness is fine with me.  Moving at my own pace is fine.  Spending entire days with only this person's mind to think about life is fine.  Occasional companionship is sometimes fine.  But I am perfectly fine by myself.   Would I have liked to have been a hermit and live finely alone?  No.  But walking alone is perfectly fine.  Besides, Gary has said my fine idea of walking is definitely not his "cup of tea".

Why the particular country of Great Britain?  Why not explore the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Camino de Santiago, Greece, Italy, Ireland, etc?

In researching routes for this trek I seriously did read about other tempting trails in other countries, but for some reason kept coming back to the idea of England, which has a great attraction to me.  I have found Britain to have a definite pull for me and have enjoyed the previous visits to the large island. 

Also, after having done the DNA test learned that I am 100 percent northern European, with a heavy ancestral background of Welsh and English.  It is no wonder that there is no wonder about why this person wants to return again.

Why do a repeat of a route and scenery already seen?  Didn't I want new adventures?  New locations?  New accommodations?   Newness in general? 

For me the Coast to Coast was very challenging, very rewarding, very beautiful, and created many memories.  And, there were a number of places where the weather was bad (think thick mist, rain, hail) and the views were absolutely No Views.  There were sections the high level route was not taken for various reasons and now am hoping to visit what was missed the first time.   

From 2013 I have the 2 sets of Harvey strip maps west St Bees to Keld, and east Keld to Robin Hoods Bay.  2 guide books, Alfred Wainwright's "A Coast to Coast" and Henry Stedman's "Coast to Coast Path", and feel that I can almost find my way across the country without their usage.  But, expect that they will be needed because the mind is a fickle thing and on the previous double crossing almost daily I wandered astray.   I will carry the maps but not the books.  From the books I have photocopied all the necessary pages with needed info and will discard them once their use has been completed.

Since last Fall I have re-read all the journal entries available on the internet, studied published the photos and video clips.  Was delighted when I could visually see in my mind exactly where the hikers were in their walk.  Looking at photos I could point towards where they should turn left, right, straight ahead, or which mountain pass they were aiming for.  I want to return to attempt it again.

Why?

Route Across Northern England

 Great Britain aka United Kingdom.  This is made up of the individual countries of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.  A far cry from the glory days when the British Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries was known for their vast possessions around the globe as "the empire where the sun never sets".

The Coast to Coast Route crosses northern England

The path begins in St Bees on the west coast of England and crosses to Robin Hood's Bay on the east coast.  I will be attempting to do the route both ways passing through the Lake District National Park, the Yorkshire Dales National Park, and the North York Moors National Park.  3 of the United Kingdom's 15 National Parks.  

However, the Coast to Coast Path is not a designated National Trail so without that classification the signage and trail markings are few and far between with almost daily confusion (past experience)...but my legs have "muscle memory", a ballet term, and I feel with my previous double crossing of this country in 2013 that generally there will be less difficulties, however, my brain might have another idea.  We shall see.

This is the elevation chart of the walk.  Lots up high mountains to climb 😅.  That big dip just to the right of "center stage" is the long drawn out walk from Richmond to Ingleby Cross a long 22 mile day of mostly flat walking.