Starting the PCT with an Injury

I was asked by many people in the lead up to the PCT some version of “how are you feeling?” or “how is your preparation going?” Without fail I would respond with “My one goal is to start the trail injury free.”

Well I’m injured.

While skiing, 3 weeks before my start date, I tweaked my achilles. I was very frustrated. I thought I had put my entire hike in jeopardy. After a week on trail, I no longer think this is the case.

The four changes I’ve made are largely based on recommendations from the illustrious Blaze Physio.

Dr. Morgan Brosnihan, trail name Blaze, is a thru-hiker and physical therapist that follows the PCT in her van, with her golden retriever Honey, for the hiking season. Her input is invaluable because she knows the intricacies of life on trail and how to feasibly manage an injury.

If you are injured and contemplating getting off trail I highly recommend seeking out her advice. Whether in person or virtual it is well worth the money. I don’t think I’d be 77 miles into the trail right now without her.

These 4 things have kept me moving:

Decreased Hiking Pace

I think this is the most important and easiest to forget of them all. I have decreased my pace by about .5-.75 miles an hour. While training, I was consistently hiking in the 2.75 miles an hour range. Most of the past week I have been hiking around 2.1 miles an hour.

I have to constantly remind myself to keep a slow and steady pace. Especially in the mornings, I will wake up feeling good and start fast. Within 20 minutes I will feel a twinge in my Achilles and curse myself.

Decreased Stride Length

This change is intimately connected with the first. Decreasing my stride has made the change in pace feel more natural. The decreased stride puts a lot less pressure on my joints, especially when I have ~25 lbs on my back.

Less miles

I wanted to limit myself to 12 miles a day. This didn’t last long. Water is the biggest constraint in the desert so sometimes pushing longer days is required. However, on my longer 14 and 15 mile days I have taken minimum 3 hours off in the hottest hours of the day to rest and recover.

This change has been the hardest to implement because I have really needed to embrace the phrase “hike your own hike” – for those unfamiliar, this is a common adage in the thru-hiking community used to encourage people to do what works for them.

My first day I couldn’t go as far as I wanted. A group of people I vibed with from CLEEF (the southern terminus camp) were going an extra 4 miles. I stayed behind. Night 2 I camped alone. I had to do what was right for my hike. This is when I adopted my own mantra for the trail – I’m going slow to go far.

Stretch

I would be stretching even if I wasn’t hurt. Now, it’s more important than ever. I stretch 3 times a day minimum. Morning, mid day break, and night. It’s a lot. It takes time. It’s a bit annoying. I’m still going to do it.

These are the changes that have worked for me, your results may vary. Per the most recent Halfway Anywhere survey, approximately a third of hikers don’t complete their thru-hike due to injury. I would again strongly encourage anyone who has an injury to reach out to Blaze for a PT session.

Before I started the trail, Blaze told me she thinks hikers that start with an injury successfully complete the trail at higher rates than their healthy counterparts. Her theory is that the injury tempers the urge to push big miles early and leads to a more body conscious approach to the trail.

I hope she’s right.

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