Bullfrog: 6th Leg Round-Up

We finished the 6th leg by 11:30 am the second day. 20 miles in less than a day and half is pretty good ... for us. We saw a guy we had seen on the 5th leg three weeks earlier. He had been waiting for a ride at the end of his hike, and we chatted for a while with him while I was filling out our backcountry camping permit. This time, we were walking past a campground, and we passed him and a little girl. It took a second to recognize him (and he us) since we were so far from where we had seen him last. The timing and location made it unexpected. Then, on Sunday, after we were done, had had lunch, and I had dropped Rhino off at his auto, we made a pitstop on our way out of the SNP at Skyland, and saw the guy again.

Other than Rhino's balls, the only thing wrong with him was major poison ivy. He said it was everywhere, and, although I didn't see it, he sounded miserable on the phone.

I was fine, other than being extremely tired. I got a shower after I got back, and then after a short nap, we went to our church's picnic. I was feeling dehydrated and tired, but after guzzling some water and chowing down on some hotdogs, I was feeling pretty good. Thought about playing soccer with some church folks, but I figured I wouldn't have any stamina (which was probably right). Finally, someone suggested softball, and it's been too long since I played last ... there was no stopping me.

I played first base and we got trounced in the first inning. When I finally got up to bat, I got to big of a bat, and couldn't get it anywhere near the ball in time. I got a different bat, and I was able to begin to make some contact. When I finally got on base, I was at first, and someone popped up. I had started to run, but once it was caught, I scrambled to get back to first, and sorta slided. It was more of a squat-slide ... which, simply, doesn't work. My ankle rolled inside, and then I sat on it. I knew immediately something was hurt, and tried to walk it off a little, but it was seriously sprained. I ended up playing the rest of the game. I still was able to get my swing back pretty good, and chugged a couple of solid base hits.

By Monday, my ankle was the size of a softball. I could walk ... barely. I didn't do much for it other than to elevate it and ... uh ... self-medicate. Two weeks later, it's doing better, but it still let's me know not to jump or run.

Four weeks until the 7th Leg. I understand that Rhino's going to be doing a solo for several days. Rhino, please fill us in.