Revisiting Beautiful Spectacle Lake, Day 9

It has always been my practice on the 'grunt' section of hikes to count switchbacks. It gives me a sense of progress and a tool with which to reward myself – you know, ‘After five more switchbacks, I'll rest for ten minutes.’  After shuffling up to the 22nd switchback, I found myself once again desperately dropping my pack, then myself to the trail. Mica whined softly; even she knew something was wrong.

My right gastrock was as tight as a board and I had no feeling in the small toe or the outside of my right foot. This worried me, to say the least. I decided the lack of sensation, coupled with the stiff, painful hip meant one thing – I had inflamed the sciatic nerve.

Bad weather blowing in

To make things worse, the weather was changing. A cold wind had blown in and clouds were crowding the darkening skies above me. All that was missing was the dramatic organ music heralding the onset of doom and gloom.

I started to feel a genuine sense of urgency right about then; I had to quickly find a site near water and pitch the tent so I not only could rest, but have shelter from the impending storm.

Gritting my teeth, I strapped my pack back on and started up the trail. My world narrowed to the repetitive act of placing one foot in front of the other. Transfer the weight, pendulum the other leg forward, repeat the process. Step-by-step, I advanced.

– Keep reading.