PCT Day 15 to 19 – Injury time.

April 19 – 23, 2025

Total PCT miles: 0

Non PCT miles: 0

Total: 0 miles / 0 km

Total elevation gain: 0

Total elevation loss: 0

Steps: 0

I woke up around midnight feeling pain and stiffness in my right ankle. I tried to pretend it wasn’t there, to distract myself from the anxiety starting to fill my mind. Eventually I had to look and see just how bad the damage was. I grabbed my headlamp took of my sleeping socks, my heart sank and my eyes began to water.

My ankle was swollen and not just a little bit. There appeared to be some bruising but it was hard to tell in the light and it hurt. My ankle was sprained and I was again facing the possibility of leaving the trail at the exact same place I did in 2018. Well at least I had hiked 2 miles further than I had in 2018 and seen a small section I had skipped due to that injury.

I had promised myself one thing when I started the trail this time. I would not rush into decisions about staying or leaving the trail unless leaving was an obvious choice. So I layed in my tent alone save for the random car that had pulled in hours ago, the occupant probably sleeping in the back, trying not to make rushed or rash decisions.

I won’t lie I did look up how much it would cost to fly back home from Palm Springs while exploring options of places to stay in the area. Unable to quiet my mind I got no sleep the rest of the night and as the sky began to lighten I started packing up my home in preparation of the 2 mile hike south bound to the I-10.

It was a slow and painful walk. I tried not to scream at the world but at times I could not hold back the tears. I passed two hikers who I had seen the previous day. I told them that I knew I was going the wrong way but must have looked like hell because they seemed genuinely concerned. I called Mel and failed at putting on a brave face.

Once it was a reasonable time I reached out to Nitsy, a trail angle who runs a small hiker hostel nearby asking if she had space for an injured hiker. I will be forever grateful that she did. A few hours later I was picked up by Mission. She hiked the PCT last year and had stayed at Nitzy’s Reset Ranch. This year she had taken a week off work and was helping Nitzy. As I’m sure one could imagine taking care of PCT hikers by hosting them at your house every night is an exhausting affair. Nitzy had planned to take this week off to recharge herself but with Mission’s help stayed open. I’m eternally grateful for this. Had I had to stay in a hotel by myself while I recovered I’m not sure I would have ever found my way back to the trail.

Along with several other hikers we went to In and Out Burger, a popular stop for thru hikers in the area. I was then dropped off at an urgent care clinic. Now personally I didn’t think I had broken it and had I been back home I likely would have skipped this part. But considering I was in theory planning on walking another 2400 ish miles on this ankle I needed to know for sure nothing was broken. If there was a fracture I’d be going home.

I found it amusing that when I arrived at the clinic staff advised me, almost apologetically, it would take up to 2 hours to see a doctor. With the same injury back home I’m sure I’d wait much much longer. 300 USD later I’d seen the doctor, had an x-ray and was ready to go with no fracture found. I texted Mission who picked me up now with 2 other hikers in the car and off to Walmart prior to going to Nitzy’s.

Nitzy’s Reset Ranch is more than an Oasis on the trail and has everything a weary or injured hiker needs to recover. For a reasonable price you get a place to sleep, shower, laundry, loaner clothes, and 2 meals a day. More importantly your not alone with your thoughts all day and night long.

By Wednesday my ankle was significantly less swollen and I was feeling much better. I debated leaving to Big Bear and getting back on trail but decided a few more days of recovery was probably the smart choice. The bus from Banning to Big Bear only runs three days a week (Mon-Wed-Fri) so Friday would be the day.

Over the 6 days / 5 nights I spend at Nitzy’s I got to meet lots of hikers and kept myself busy helping out with chores. I even built a shelf Nitzy wanted out of a old piece of wood. It’s been nice being able to call home whenever I wanted and eat like a king. The food here has been nothing short of amazing and I’m sure I’ve gained some of the 10 lbs I lost over the previous two weeks.

I’m excited, concerned, stressed to be returning to trail tomorrow. I have a fancy new ankle brace that I’m reasonably confident will give my ankle the extra support it needs to hike all day (75/25). I’ll take lots of breaks and try to take it easy. Regardless of what happens I’m proud that I have hiked 210 miles of the PCT and I’m getting back on trail after the same injury (different leg) as 2018 took me off trail. Knowing my friends and family back home are cheering me on means a lot.

I’ll never be able to thank Nitzy and Mission enough for all their help.