After quite a bit of effort, I took off my shoes. This was particularly difficult as the repetitve motion inside my shoes during the descent had left me with a gigantic blister on the outside of each heel. I'll spare you that picture. Once I'd gotten my shoe off, I peeled off my sock and was amazed at how dirty my foot was. Keep in mind that this is what my foot looked like inside my sock, inside my shoe.
My hands weren't doing much better, but at least I'd had a chance to wash them a couple of times.
I took a shower and then a long, hot bath. One of the best baths I've ever taken.
The next day was when the true pain began. Everything hurt, some parts more than others. I had a sunburn, a problem I'd never really expected but should have given the thin air we were trekking through. My elbow hurt from using a walking stick for so long. And my legs - oh, my legs. My feet were killing me from the blisters, and every muscle in my thighs and calves hurt. Interestingly, any sort of downward incline was the worst, and stairs were pretty much unmanageable.
Over the next several days the blisters went away. I had a problem walking downhill for quite a while, but eventually got past that. Towards the end of last week my sunburn started peeling, but that's pretty much past now. I'm still finding rocks in my shoes.
In the end, the climb was worth it. One of my co-climbers figured out we'd walked 11 miles on the mountain, a half-marathon, which doesn't necessarily sound like all that much until you consider that it was all up- or down-hill. The sunrise is something I'll remember forever, and the personal challenge, while far more than I expected, was fun to overcome. My walking stick made it all the way back home with me and I plan on mounting it on the wall in my study.
No comments:
Post a Comment