Yeah, I know. It’s been awhile! But all is not forgotten, and I do plan to return to a blogging routine.

Lots happening of course, since Arctic1000, not the least of which has been a failed rehab of my ankle. A followup MRI in December suggested ligament damage quite a bit worse than what we originally thought, so May 9, I’ll be undergoing reconstructive surgery to rebuild my ATFL et al., remove scar tissue, etc., and start at ground zero en route to … uhhh … Phase 2 (!) of my trekking career! All is not lost, and I’m leaving no shortage of time for trip planning and map gazing, in the meantime. We’ll get to all that this year, don’t worry.

I have been skiing all winter. Something about ski boots that allows me to cover distances over winter snow that shadow the distances I’ve been able to cover in trail shoes – by a long shot. Seems that the ski boots hold everything together nicely.

That’s not to say that I haven’t been hiking – in fact, I’ve taken my first real (hey, it’s relative, work with me) walks of 2007 this month – a hike in the Rincon mountains of AZ for a NOLS IC a few weeks ago and another one at Coe Park in the Bay area last week for a BSA YLT course. How’d my right ankle fare? It hurt like a mother, that’s how. Hence the surgery. But not before one more trip in WY’s Red Desert with NOLS RM in a few weeks…

It does feel good to be back in trail shoes, pain aside.

I think I’ll spend about a month in a walking boot after my surgery. That should give me plenty of time to catch up on my writing for BPL!

Photo: Crossing a stream at Henry Coe State Park, March 2007.