I’m sure everyone has a few questions so I will try to get them all answered here. I got in to see an orthopedist the morning after I arrived back in Birmingham. After some X-rays and questions he told me it sounded like I had a subluxation of my knee cap. Basically I dislocated and relocated it when I took that slip up on the mountain. That injury irritated the inner workings of my knee. He said he didn’t think an MRI was necessary. He gave me some anti-inflammatory drugs and told me to get some rest. So I gave it about a week then decided to go on walk around the neighborhood because I wanted to see how the legs were doing and I also didn’t want to lose all the conditioning I had built up. I walked about seven miles and by the end of it my knee was aching a bit. The next day Dad and I decided to go on a hike at Oak Mountain to really evaluate things. We intended on hiking about 6 miles without any packs. I ended up hiking eleven and a half miles. I really pushed it that day because the last thing I want to do is get back out on the trail and then have to come right back off because I wasn’t ready. By the end of the day at Oak Mountain I could barely walk down hill. We all agreed it was probably a good idea to go back to the doctor to get an MRI. I got the MRI and the good news is that I do not have any torn damage in my knee. The doctor said I do have arthritis and he thinks the subluxation aggravated this condition. As it sits right now I am scheduled to get a series of four gel injections in my knee over the course of four weeks or so. Once I’m through with this treatment I should be able to get back out on the trail. So that puts me back on the trail the first week in May. Until then I’ll be spending my time in the pool and on the bicycle rehabbing the knee. I’ll keep y’all updated if anything changes. If you have any questions leave them in the comments and I’ll answer them as soon as I can. 

Dad relaxing by a stream at Oak Mountain