This morning I awoke early and was restless and anxious about leaving the trail town for a city 40 miles away and lots of unknowns about how the day would play out and whether or not I could find a way back to Warner Springs. I left the room at 7:45am to walk up to the lodge to make some phone calls. On the way, I spotted Troy and John loading up their truck and asked if they wanted to leave for Temeculah earlier than 9am. They responded that they would like to leave in 10 minutes, so I rushed back to the room to grab my pack and say goodbye to Phantom and Good To Go.
Moments later we were tooling down Highway 79 and I was calling podiatrists on the cell phone in hopes that one would be wiling to see me immediately. The first two calls resulted in getting voice mails, but the third to the office of Dr. John Santoro was successful and the young lady who took the call told me to come in as soon as possible. We arrived at the office at 9am and John/Troy dropped me off while they went to find breakfast.
Dr. Santoro saw me around 9:30, checked out the foot, decided that there was not the likelihood of stress fracture, but ordered some x-rays to be taken to see if any fractures would show up. After a half hour passed, we reviewed the x-rays together and no fractures were found. Dr. Santoro asked me what I would like to do and I responded that I would like to continue hiking north as long as I wasn’t putting myself at risk of permanent damage to my body. He responded that his primary concern was the possibility of a rupture or tear of the ligaments and/or tendons in the foot, and the only way to be sure would be to perform an MRI. I asked if I could make that happy today and the good doctor responded affirmatively. His assistant called and was able to find an opening at 2:30pm. Since Dr. Santoro was going to leave for the day after a 1:30pm appointment then visit the hospital and then possibly drive me back to the outskirts of town so I would be positioned for a hitch to Warner Springs, I asked him to pull some strings which he did…and a couple of minutes later I was told that they would take me right away.
The MRI place was 5 miles away, so I called John/Troy on the cell and they picked me right up and whisked me to the MRI facility. They said goodbye as they had a long drive back home to Arizona, so I hauled my backpack into the MRI facility, filled out paperwork, and sat in the lobby with the cell pone getting charged and my journal handy to catch up on some writing.
At noon they called me in and brought me to the MRI chamber. Hector set me up and asked if I would like to listen to some harp music or country music while in the chamber. Diane, another technician, suggested country as it might remind me of home in North Carolina, so I opted for the country. The MRI took 30 minutes. I was starving when I finished, knew I would be waiting there for results and for Dr. Santoro to pick me up for a ride back to the highway, so I inquired about places nearby to get some lunch. Diane the technician offered, unsolicited, to give me the keys to her car so I could take her car to find lunch. Since it was raining (again) in Southern California, I accepted her incredible act of kindness (what an awesome trail angel!). I was overcome with emotion at her act of kindness to a stranger and profoundly struck by the generosity that she and John and Troy and Dr. Santoro so willingly gave to me. So I drove away from the clinic in a foreign car in a foreign city in a foreign state 3000 miles from home to find lunch. After lunch I found a grocery store and purchased a rose and a thank you card for Diane, which I wanted to leave in her car as a surprise but couldn’t find a pen to write her note in the card. So I gave both to her along with the keys and got a picture with her and Hector.
Meanwhile, while at lunch, Dr. Santoro had called with the MRI results—tendonitis in the foot but with no rupture or tears. He gave me the green light to continue the hike with a recommendation to hike lower mileage and to purchase some boots with a shank for additional support while walking. The amazingly kind doctor said he would pick me up after his hospital visits in about an hour and a half! So I sat in the inner sanctum of the MRI facility and caught up on some journaling until Dr. Santoro arrived. Not only did he drive me to the outskirts of Temeculah, he drove me ALL THE WAY to Warner Springs!!! I was by now completely overwhelmed by the generosity and outpouring of TRAIL MAGIC by these incredible TRAIL ANGELS today. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all who made my day go do well.
I was on cloud nine when I got back to Warner Springs, except that my buddies Phantom, Good To Go, and Mikey Mouse had left town. Good To Go called to say they would be 10 miles out, and I didn’t know whether or not to hike out late. I went to the lodge to use the phone when Debi saw me again and invited me to stay the night with her group of six thru-hiker buddies. So I decided that the foot could definitely use the evening off since it was still swollen and was aching every step.
I had a great evening with Debi, John, Roger, B.S., Jessica, Teapot, and new friends Brian and Joe who are preparing a multimedia project on the PCT for future sales to the public. Dinner, drinks, more soaking in the hot springs, then a nice fire in the fireplace at the thru-hiker’s suite capped off the evening. I found an empty closet in their suite, and since beds and backpacking gear were everywhere, I opted to set up my sleeping quarters for the night in the closet with the sliding doors. I fit just perfectly in the 6 ½ b X 2 foot closet. I turned off my headlamp at 11:30, listened to some tunes on the radio, then went to peaceful sleep.
What an amazing day of being cared for by strangers and new friends! Today I was richly blessed. Tomorrow I head out on the trail to see how the foot responds to the alteration Dr. Santoro made with my Superfeet insole that I altered for my show back at mile 40.
