-------
Well, here it is. Sally's Saga...
Hello and HELP! Just kidding. I have not yet had a chance to write being
excessively busy trying to quell the rebellion led by the insidious Captain
Feet and his various minions. But I'm starting in the middle, let me go
back to the beginning....It was a dark and stormy night, (Snoopy's start for
all stories) and Russ mentioned that his then sane brother had an "idea"
(nefarious plot, really) to hike from one abode to the other, with only the
Alps in the way, and would we be interested. I was, if I recall (my memory
storage limited due to recent deprivations), sitting, warm and cozy, and
thought, hmmm, sounds like fun. "How long" I asked Russ. "Oh, about 4
months". I thought, hmmm, cool. Looking back I must blame the book I was
reading, some heroic tale with rangers and wizards, for deluding me with
such absurd thoughts as "cool" or " fun". I have since stricken those
deceptive words from my vocabulary which has become quite small in the past
3 centuries, oops, weeks. The bolus of words in my current word bank are:
How long until we stop, when is the next rest day, do they have a foot
surgeon, and when is October. Seems small. Ah, I see I'm rambling. Get
it? Rambling???? (for you Walleye). Where was I? Ah, yes, Captain Feet.
You see, I've always been a size 8 in shoe. Dainty, really. Who knew that
feet expand with savage time? Who knew that feet swell with abuse? Who knew
they have a brain? So, to make a short story long, I continued in my vanity
and bought a size 8 Italian hiking boot and yes, I did go hiking with them.
But not for days in a row. Not for 9 hours in a row. Not with 33 pounds in
tow. No. So, I was in for a bit of a surprise when out of the blue on Day,
say, um, Day 2, a longer than Forecasted day, my feet led by, at that time
Lieutenant Feet, rose in rebellion against what they blamelessly perceived
as Torture. OUCH. What is going on? After about 4 or 5 hours, I felt what
is was like to walk over hot coals without any mental training. Every step
a step onto pebbles the size of Everest. Every step a step further into the
Inferno. About this time, Lt. Feet began his covert campaign (he must have
someone at HQ on his side). I began to have thoughts of October. Yes, I
know October (the end of the H2H) is a long way away. Yes, I remember Guy
(AKA-the Dark Lord) saying "it's about the Way, not the destination" or
something of that kind. Yes, yes, and yes. BUT. BUT. BUT. One is never
to old to learn new things, especially about one's self. I find I AM goal
oriented. October, here I come! Whoa, rambling again, sorry, must be
oxygen deprived. So, from Day 2 until Day 5 when we, Russ and me, (Guy was
unfortunatley, still hopping right along) crawled into the lovely town of
Oberammegau, my feet were in a world of hurt. I would wake up in the middle
of the night to relieve myself of my poor attempt to drown the pain in a
pint of good German beer, dreading the necessary act of putting my not
insignificant weight on those poor, small and dainty feet. Then, I would
hobble, hobble is a good word, to the bathroom and having found that quite
the ordeal, would crawl, crawl is a good word, back to bed. Same thing with
waking. But, there, in Oberammegau, I found the Miracle Worker. In a shoe
store not 100 feet (but still painful feet), there was respite, in the form
of a foot artisan whose family had been in the shoe and feet biz for over
150 years! First, he removes my shoes and examines my feet. "hmmm, yes I
see. Hmmmm...." Then he has me walk. More of the same..."hmmm." Then,
like the sun coming out after a prolonged storm, he says " I have just the
thing for you. We see this all the time. Come back in 5 hours and you will
see what I make for you". Joy. A small word full of big meaning. I also
had the shoe salesgirl show me new boots. I had a niggling idea my boots
were too small. I told her I did not know my size and could she figure it
out. She did and yes, I am NOT an 8, but an 8.5. Who knew? So I bought
new boots, came back later and got custom-made orthodic inserts for my new
boots. Ahhhhh. Ohhhhhh. So this is what it is supposed to feel like.
Would that those sentiments had lasted longer! Having demolished my feet
during those first 5 days, they are slow to recover completely. But, they
are gettimg better everyday. Everyday, Captain Feet (promoted after the
Battle of Day 5) has less ground to work on (walk on). Of course, there are
other minions to watch out for like Sergeant Torestdaze and Lt. Cudbehoam,
for example (work them out). And how is the actual hiking? Oh. The H2H.
Other than the above whine, it has been very....interesting. I've learned
that my slothlike reflexes do not stand a chance against my new enemy, wet
wood. Yep, there seems to be a suspicious (goes back to the "nefarious
plot") amount of wet wood, tree limbs etc, on the trails. There is not a
tree for miles but there is a sneaky little tree root on the trail and here
comes me, doodoroo, and WHAM! The foot slides left, the body flys right and
there you have it....a hiker down! Guy, on the other hand, has curiously
(suspicious, really) quick reflexes and has been seen to fly throught the
air with the greatest of ease, turning around mid-air in order to land
catlike on the side of the trail, albeit 12 feet down the side of the
trail. But still, he saved himself and the H2H from certain catastrophe.
Curious,no? What else have I learned? Hmmm. After 3 weeks of gorgeous
mountain meadows, spectacular views, beautiful landscapes and ridiculously
adorable villages, I understand more that aphorism about too much of a good
thing. After awhile (the first 4-5 hours of each day), the brain stops
seeing it and concetrates more on getting there alive. After ´4 hours of
death incurring trails,sweat and views, my amazingly slothful, greedy, and
decadent self only sees the bed, showers, and dining table. Am I really
that small? That awful? Alas. Yes. And it's early days yet! We have come
through some treacherous weather and terrain. The snow storm in July was
fun. I do mean that. It was really cool to feel the wind almost blow me
off the ridge. I am light! What more have I learned? Well, it's
interesting but I find that I get just as much peace and happiness from just
sitting in our garden watching the antics of the my rats and birds, from
looking at my lovely flowers as I do from experiencing these high mountain
beauties. So I got that going for me. Which is nice. So, today is one of
those rare entities, the REST DAY and really, I need to put my feet up and
eat Nutella and read and imagine Provence. Ah, October. A lovely month
that will no longer be known as the bad month, the month when Frodo was
stabbed by the Dark King (no, not Guy) on Weathertop, but as the month when
the we celebrate the end to the NOT vacation. What Was I Thinking??? Okay,
that's all folks, will write more later. If I live or am not
murdered. (Pssss. whoever is reading....if I mysteriously disappear...leave
no rock unturned....)
