Spent the weekend in the mountains and the clouds, again. Reinjured an ankle on a boulder field, and had another 16 miles on it which naturally felt great. Actually, it didn't feel that bad and I'm rehabbing it hard. But it was interesting for two reasons - one in which I backed out of a summit because it was way out of my comfort level with the ankle issue. Without that, I probably would have said yes. But the increased risk was too much, and I'm struggling with that. Hoping after this season and upcoming winter I'll have put in the time on snow to not end up in this situation again soon, and will just go for it. The other is having spent a weekend outdoors with a handful of "Instafamous" people, or people with accounts in the 25k to 125k follower range, all of whom are photographers in some capacity or the other. All of whom are really nice and funny people who I would like to spend more time in camps with, and all of whom have differing physical capabilities. But oh my god did they take a lot of pictures. Made me rethink the whole "getting a camera" thing.
As they say, "there are old pilots and there are bold pilots but there are no old, bold pilots." Risk assessment is probably the most valuable skill in adventure sports of all kinds and being willing to go "nope, I can see this ending badly therefore I will not start" is a mark of maturity. You can't be a photographer without taking a lot of pictures, but you won't be considered a photographer until you refuse to show all but a handful. I'll say this: you're not a photographer if you use a device primarily intended to do things other than take pictures. It makes perfect sense to be "instafamous" and take shit mostly with your phone but if your goal is lasting images, you need better control of focal length than any phone will give you. Without that, I probably would have said yes. But the increased risk was too much, and I'm struggling with that.
But oh my god did they take a lot of pictures. Made me rethink the whole "getting a camera" thing.
Two weeks ago, you said "see a PT" or something. I'm seeing one Friday. I haven't run a single step in sixteen days. Reading your post here, I think I've been assessing the risk without thinking about it that way. The risk is I think I feel better but don't know what the cause was. At best, I cycle between injuries and rest. At worst, I have a more serious injury. Taking the smart steps is smart, no matter how frustrating. I've turned back on hikes, and it's tough. But I've also pushed through difficult hikes when I was capable but at my limits, and it's all the more rewarding knowing I did it and wasn't reckless.
Yeah right now I've got a seriously aggravated psoas. It has absolutely no problems pedaling 32 miles a day but try a sit-up? Oh fuck you. The worst is when you bump into someone or stub your toe or whatever and your core tenses up? Yeah when my core tenses up I feel it for several hours. I'd totally see my PT about it but (1) what's she gonna do (2) that's not going to happen for quite a while.
Is this the first time you've turned back from a summit?
Nope, it's the 2nd time. The first was back in January but that's because we were breaking trail on snow the entire way and were running out of daylight. It's the 1st time I've turned back because of being sketched out / injured.