Leaving my hiking partner at the trail and driving away was the hardest thing I have done so far on this trail. I know I had to do it: I can't ask Brian to sacrifice his hike for my bad knees, and I know it is more like me having to give up my hike to give him a chance to continue and complete his hike, but we've been through so much together already, as a team, that I felt like I was abandoning him.
He hiked away out of sight and I drove off, tearing up!
The silver lining to this cloud is Mary. By the time I reached NY she was waiting on the curb outside her house for me. Five minutes and several hugs later we were sitting on the porch catching up, Mike's hard lemonade in hand, and watching the rain fall. I know I'm welcome here for as long as it takes for my aching knees to make my decision for me.
Mary is a great friend from FL, but she is up in NY right now, and has been for several months, staying with her Mom who is recovering from a bout of illness. Like me, Mary is an outdoors person, so she's been taking Mom, and now me, to state parks for outings. We've visited Chittenango Falls and been on drives around this area with Mary as the tour guide.
Mary even loaned me some real clothes so I could get out of my stinky hiker gear. I have been trying hard to keep my weight up during the hike, but maybe I haven't done so well if the skinniest person I know loaned me a skort and shirt! I'll never be able to repay her for her hospitality this past week or so.
Today I'm returning to Florida. I have accepted that my knees are not going to let me hike any more this season. It's been a real hard decision, but necessary if I hope to recover these knees to hikeable performance in the future.
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