First Hike

Yesterday evening, I went out for my first hike since starting treatment for my injury.  Because I have a reevaluation of how things are progressing with my hip joint, I needed to get out there and see how things were working on the trail.  I opted to take along my pack with some weight in it too.  I was carrying about 14 pounds- roughly half of what I had on the trip we took. 
I started out and had very little problem with the first hill.  In the past, I'd normally have to stop at least twice going up this incline, but other than stopping to answer my husband's phone call, I was good.  The next two inclines were ok too- no stopping and only a slight ache in my hip.  But by the next hill, one that was a longer incline, I was in a little bit of pain.
While I was definitely hurting, the pain level was closer to the every day ache that I had been experiencing rather than the excruciating pain I was in on day 2 of our backpacking trip.  So this was definitely an improvement.  I have to keep reminding myself of that because I was hoping for a pain free miracle the first time out, and in reality that just isn't going to happen.  I do need to focus on the fact that I made it halfway through an almost 2 mile hike carrying 14 pounds without pain or needing to rest much.  And when the pain came, it wasn't on the same intense level it was in the past.  So there is progress being made.  I'll discuss it all today at the chiropractor and go from there.  
In the meantime, I'm hoping to get back in shape and start doing some short hikes without the pack.  Perhaps working on building up muscles that haven't been working properly in the last 2 years.
All in all, it was a positive experience, and I'm hoping to be able to plan a trip in the fall.

Packs Are Back!

Perhaps you remember What the Dog Did.  In short, she ripped apart the hip pocket on my husband's pack and tore the corner of the pocket on my pack.  Osprey has an "All Mighty Guarantee" where they claim to repair or replace a pack for any reason (other than normal wear and tear) and at any time.  True to their guarantee, Osprey had me ship the packs to them and claimed 2-3 weeks from the time they receive them we would have them back.  And 3 weeks nearly to the day, we had packs. My husband received a shiny new replacement pack.  The damage was too much to fix.  I, on the other hand, got my pack back with a repair on the corner.  I'm good with that, except I discovered a small hole in the pocket and a hole in the material attaching the hip belt to the mesh backing.  Since you can't repair things yourself, and the two holes are relatively tiny, I'm going with duct tape.  If they become a problem, I'll see about sending it back, but for now, I just want to get on the trail.

Tomorrow I'm heading out for my first official hike since being treated by the chiropractor (Butt Whacker).  I've already been back to kick boxing and haven't had much problem there, so I'm hoping the hike goes well.  I get reevaluated on Wednesday to see how to progress from there.  Hopefully, I'll be able to start planning a weekend overnight in the near future!