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  1. #1
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    First hike after car accident - Pine Barrens 4/27

    I finally got out to the Pine Barrens for my first hike after tearing my right MCL and getting a severe bone bruise in my left knee in December. I hiked with Silent Orpheus - hiking with him always makes me feel like I'm in better shape than I actually am. My 21-year-old son came home from college and surprised me by agreeing to come and push the wheelchair - for SilentOrpheus. You've seen those wheelchairs on the beach with the big balloon tires? Thanks to one of them, SilentOrpheus was able to keep up with me the entire way.

    We left Atsion a little before six pm and hiked the 5.7 miles to Lower Forge. We got there just before sundown around 7:45 pm. The place was packed with scouts and canoers, so apparently the people using this new reservation system actually do show up when they reserve a site. Our site, site seven, was right next to a couple of 23-year olds, one of whom had a Hennessy Expedition. When he saw we were hammockers, and the trees weren't too great on our site, he said we could use their trees if we wanted - pretty nice.

    They had a fire going so we shared it with them and had some healthy chuckles before turning in somewhere around midnight (my phone died so I don't really know). The temps got down to 33 or 31, depending on whose Accurite thermostat you believe, SilentOrpheus' or mine. My son complained that he was cold all night, which I found hard to believe since he was borrowing SilentOrpheus' 0* Phoenix and also had a 20* sleeping bag. He is trying to convince himself that hammock camping sucks. Later, he came clean and admitted he was warm all night, but his face was cold. Big difference!

    The young man with the Hennessy slept with only a military wool blanket - apparently he hasn't heard about this insulation thing. I woke up about 5 am and he was warming his butt by the fire. After talking a bit, I went back to bed and slept till 9 am. The scouts and the canoers were gone and the only people left were the two young men and us. We lolligagged making breakfast and packing up, then started hiking out around 11:15 am.

    The knees felt great, considering it's the first time I've hiked in six months. Glad to be back out on the trail, and as usual, SilentOrpheus' company was a real pleasure. This was my son's first hike in the Pine Barrens and really, his first hike since he did Philmont back in the Boy Scouts. It was nice to have his company. My son thought we sounded like a couple of real nerds whenever the conversation turned to "hammock talk." He thinks we're a bit obsessed.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Otter1's Avatar
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    Glad the knees feel good!

    After 2 ACL reconstructions on my right knee, I appreciate good knees.

  3. #3
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Funny Money View Post
    Glad the knees feel good!

    After 2 ACL reconstructions on my right knee, I appreciate good knees.
    I had an ACL reconstruction on my left knee, so the MCL tear was relatively minor compared to that (though it actually hurt twice as much as tearing my ACL, and swelled twice as much).

    I forgot my knee brace for the MCL, but SilentOrpheus brought a spare. Who the heck brings a spare knee brace? I decided to hike without it. Good so far, but we'll see if I get sore tomorrow.
    Last edited by SilvrSurfr; 04-28-2013 at 21:37.

  4. #4
    Great to hear you are back out.
    Take care of the knee and happy hanging..

  5. #5
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    Always the gear junkie, here's SilentOrpheus' latest bit of ultralight gear:



    He complains about his knees more than I do! So now he has a Pine Barrens chariot.
    Last edited by SilvrSurfr; 04-28-2013 at 21:49.

  6. #6
    Senior Member Mountnman's Avatar
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    Glad to hear you are back in action
    "I love not man the less, but Nature more."
    Byron

  7. #7
    STinGa's Avatar
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    Welcome back to the hiking scene. I bet cabin fever had really set in. Can't wait for more videos.

    STinGa
    Sarcasm is a dying art.

    Eagle Scout September '85 Troop 339 Smyrna, TN

  8. #8
    SilvrSurfr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by STinGa View Post
    Welcome back to the hiking scene. I bet cabin fever had really set in. Can't wait for more videos.

    STinGa
    You're right about cabin fever. I brought my camera this trip, as did SilentOrpheus, but they were never used. I think we were just too darn happy to be out in the woods to think about video or photos. Too busy soaking in the glories of the piney woods!

  9. #9
    Senior Member mbiraman's Avatar
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    Glad your back at it. I blew my MCL in 04. Its pretty good now. The only thing now is dealing with getting older,,,,,,62

    bill
    " The mind creates the abyss, the heart crosses it."

    “The measure of your life will not be in what you accumulate, but in what you give away.” ~Wayne Dyer

    www.birchsidecustomwoodwork.com

  10. #10
    silentorpheus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr View Post
    I had an ACL reconstruction on my left knee, so the MCL tear was relatively minor compared to that (though it actually hurt twice as much as tearing my ACL, and swelled twice as much).

    I forgot my knee brace for the MCL, but SilentOrpheus brought a spare. Who the heck brings a spare knee brace? I decided to hike without it. Good so far, but we'll see if I get sore tomorrow.
    I brought an extra because I knew you'd forget one, old man.

    Quote Originally Posted by SilvrSurfr View Post
    Always the gear junkie, here's SilentOrpheus' latest bit of ultralight gear:



    He complains about his knees more than I do! So now he has a Pine Barrens chariot.
    My knees were actually fine pretty much the whole trip, thank you very much. My achilles tendons, on the other hand, are sore. But I hurt no where near as much as I did after our last hike ... so I'll take that as a positive sign of improvement.

    And if you want to get me one of those and push me around the pine barrens, I'm all for it.

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