My Hiking Plans in 2023

c) Andrew Carter, 2023

It’s the beginning of May, and I’m still at home and not on the trail. What gives?

What gives is that I had arthroscopic knee surgery at the beginning of February and I’ve been on the mend since. But I’m about to head out on the trail in a week.

In May and June, I’ll be hiking two different trails in Arkansas. The first is the 241-mile Ozark Highlands Trail. The second is the 223-mile Ouachita Trail.

Then in August, I’ll finish up my PCT hike. I only have the northernmost 81 miles to go, but I plan to hike 258 miles for the fun of it. I fell in love with the northern Cascades last year. I want to hike the best portion of those mountains again.

You may recall that I injured my left knee at the start of my 2022 hike of the Benton MacKaye Trail (BMT). I was just 37 miles into that hike when I heard my knee pop as I was walking downhill. That’s not good, I thought. I wasn’t in pain, so I continued hiking — 228 miles on the BMT, 253 miles on the Tuscarora Trail, and then 733 miles on the PCT.

I got home towards the end of October and set up an appointment with my orthopedic surgeon. After X-rays and MRI’s, it was determined I’d torn the meniscus in my left knee and needed to have it repaired. I had torn the meniscus in that knee before and had had arthroscopic surgery to repair it in early 2017. That time, the tear was on the outside of my knee. This time, it was on the inside.

I went under the knife in early February and went through a course of physical therapy afterwards. My final follow-up appointment is next week. Assuming I get the go-ahead, I’ll immediately head to Arkansas.

I’m sure the second knee injury was related to the first. Realistically, your knee doesn’t get stronger after surgery. It just gets put back together. Now, I’ve had it put back together a second time. I hate to say it, but I’m sure I’ll injure it again in the future. The only way not to would be to give up hiking and other strenuous activity. Perish the thought. I’ll wear my knee braces and “keep on trucking” as long as I can.

Except for my knee, I start this year’s hike in excellent shape. I joined a gym in early November and except for February and early March — knee surgery, recovery, and physical therapy — I’ve been going three or four times a week ever since. I’ve focused on aerobic activity, of course — rowing machine and elliptical trainer. But I’ve also focused on building upper body and core strength. A particular focus has been my back and my groin which I injured last year.

Clearly, my body is an old jalopy, but I want to use it and enjoy it as long as I can.

As in 2021 and 2022, I’ll be posting photographs, videos, and commentary of this year’s hikes as they take place. Thanks for your interest.