I headed out on the Appalachian Trail as planned. The first day and night went pretty well, hiked several miles and found a great spot to set up camp. There was a pretty good storm that first night but the tent held up well.
The second day was another story. I have had a bad back for quite some time now which gives me a great deal of trouble. It is the main reason I had to quit my job. Driving a truck was causing me far too much pain, to the point I could hardly walk on some days. The bad back also causes my balance to be somewhat less than it should be and that is where my trouble began.
I was hiking along a narrow ridge, doing the best I could to maintain a decent pace and balance when I tripped on a tree root. I was unable to regain my balance and fell, bounced,, rolled and slid about 500 yards down the side of the mountain. I found a lot of briars, bushes, and a couple of trees on the way down. I got scratched, cut, and banged up pretty good and my back was in terrible pain.
I lay there for about an hour trying to decide if I was going to be able to move and climb back up or start blowing my whistle for help. Finally I was able to get myself up and climb slowly back up onto the ridge. I stripped some of the heavier stuff out of my pack (some I lost during the fall) and hiked back down into town.
I am back home again, bruised and in extreme pain in my back, ribs, and both arms. It will take a while to heal up before I can leave again. My girlfriend still wants to break up (another reason I left) but for now I am back here with her until I can figure out what to do next. Obviously my back is not going to allow me to follow my original plan. And, I hate to admit, neither will my age. *sigh* . As my girlfriend said after she came and picked me up, "Your not 16 any more". Ouch.
So at this point I am battered, bruised, and injured. Unemployed. With my back condition I have no idea what I can possibly do for employment any more and I know they'll never give me disability without spending thousands I don't have on lawyers and doctors. I have no idea what to do now. I can't sit, stand, or lie down for any length of time without extreme pain in my back and right leg so what kind of job could I possibly do now? Trucking was my last option and now I am no longer able to do that. Could a person's life be more screwed up?