East Fork Hike 8/17/2019

Though this hike had loads of beauty of God's creation, it came at a huge cost.  It was around 14 miles round trip.  Due to the "epic winter" there were multiple places where the trail was obliterated by avalanches.  Downed timber was everywhere.  So, it was lots of log hopping.  At times I was walking on 20 feet of avalanche debris and packed snow.  All went well until 3 miles from the end.  I still have no idea what happened to my right knee.  It suddenly cramped severely on the back of my leg.  It would not let up.  I suspect that it was due to getting dehydrated.  I intentionally went light on water due to the distance and weight, knowing I could use my filter at any point on the trail and replenish.  However, my filter would not work no matter how hard I tried.  Thus, the last 3 miles were horrible, but I had no choice.  I could have hit the SOS on my Garmin mini, but I did not feel this was an SOS situation.  I could still hobble.  I made it but the drive home was very painful.  Everytime I'd have to switch from throttle to brake or vice versa, it would be a major pain.  When I got home I could not get out of the truck.  I'm glad Joann was home to help me.  Recovery was over a month.  To this day it occasionally fires up a little.  I did not seek medical treatment - probably should have.  Anyway, the scenery was fabulous - thank you Lord.

Uncompahgre Peak - king of the San Juans