After a long day at work and overwhelming fatigue, I needed to get out and do something to avoid what otherwise would be guaranteed laziness. I met Lisa at the dining room and she convinced me to hike a mountain called Healy. It was a perfect idea considering that it's around the corner from the village and that I've been dying to climb it. We picked up friends Jon and Pat on the way to make four. The weather was looking beautiful and we were ecstatic.

The hike begins in a forested section with something rare in Alaska, a trail. My entire life I've loved the idea of venturing off into the woods without a trail and nothing but limitless possibilities in front of you. It's an adventurous idea and in Alaska it is commonplace. However, once you experience this it's quite obvious how beneficial a trail really is. It provides a path connecting two points along the most practical route, with another rarity in Alaska, even ground. It is impossible to explain the difficulty of hiking across tundra, one must try it for themselves. In an attempt to enlighten, imagine walking on endless piles of pillows thrown indiscriminately and fastened to the ground, then add plants of various kind trying their best to snag your feet. These are some of the many reasons I was thrilled to finally hike on an actual trail.

After meandering through the woods it began to make its ascent. We were teased from glimpses through the forest of the beautiful views to the south. There was a good deal of humidity in the air which made the panorama stunning with mountains further away fading into the distance. When we made it to the first overlook we were thrilled with what we saw. I was able to pick out a few of the hikes I've done recently. The landscape was very green. We returned to our ascent. Nearing the end of the trail we found a great spot with shelter from the wind. Here we sat watching Pika and a lone Dall Sheep.

After a little more climbing we made it to the end of the trail and began climbing around the ridge line. As we made our way off of a large rock we turned around to see a beautiful rainbow reaching out of the clouds and behind the cliffs. It was stunning. We made the final push to the top of the mountain with our reward being an impressive panorama of the park into Savage River and across to the Alaska Range.

However, on one of my final steps to the top of the mountain my knee popped. I didn't really think much of it initially. I soon came to realize this may be a serious injury when it began to pop with consistency on the descent. On the way down it went from popping every few minutes to every other step. It made the hike home difficult to put it lightly. Once I made it back to bed and rested for a bit and decided to not try walking again for the night and ice.

I woke the next morning and at times wasn't able to bend my knee at all. Stress was beginning to set in. I clearly wasn't making it to work. I headed to a clinic bearing the same name of the the mountain I was injured on, Healy Clinic. The P.A. didn't have any concrete diagnosis, just a referral to see an orthopedic P.A. in Fairbanks 10 days later. It would be a long 10 days.

In the meantime there was a lot to think about. Injuries always seem to come at inopportune times. I suppose there is never really a good time to have an injury, but with my bike trip two months away and my brother coming to visit in only a week it's hard not to think this could be the worst timing possible. Thinking this way can't be productive and I decided this mindset should be avoided if at all possible. After all I have no idea of the severity of the injury. I suppose it is human nature to have a pessimistic reaction. At this point in time I decided it was necessary to take things one day at a time.

The first few days were hard to get through. I was more or less trapped in my room with no way to get around. The first morning I hobbled to the dining room. I was in no shape to be moving and it created a bit of a scene walking by all of my friends in such a condition. It wasn't sympathy that I was looking for, to be honest I can't give any logical reason for leaving my room. The feeling of helplessness was a bit stifling and I think that I was trying to overcome it. It was foolish. My friends talked some sense into me and helped me back to my room where I spent the next two days. Here I did all that I could do, I read and slept. I tried my best not to think about the trip, not to think about my brother catching a flight to visit me in 10 days. I tried not to think of the fact that I just published my website about a 1900 mile bicycle trip I would be embarking on in only two months.

It is in times of hardship that you realize the value of a true friend. In the state of dependence that I found myself in, I discovered the true quality of the people up here. During my stay in my room I was amazed at the compassion that people were showing for me. My meals were being specially prepared by our cooks in the employee dining room. Leah was bringing the food to my door. My HR Manager had driven me to the clinic the day after the injury and had already told me he would take a day off of work to drive me to Fairbanks to see the orthopedic P.A. Visitors were rolling by constantly to see how I was doing. Tim dropped off a knee brace he had from a previous injury. Magazines and books were getting dropped off to keep me busy. When I finally left the room cart drivers were whipping around at my sight to see if I needed a ride. Brian bought crutches for me on a trip to Fairbanks. After all of the care that people were extending my way it was difficult to feel sorry for myself.

With my attitude turned around I started to enjoy myself again. With all of the extra down time I was reading constantly. I often sat icing my leg in the river thinking. I thought about nature, about my next step, about life, about Pedaling for Empowerment. I realized that this trip was never about me, it was about what I can do for others. I can't say that a huge part of my motivation isn't adventure but I believe this injury is giving me the mindset I need. The feeling of helplessness in Alaska makes me want to do something for others so badly. I had time to ponder what it is that I can do. I would love to use the trip as a way to raise money and awareness about Baan Dada, the orphanage in northern Thailand where Gaelen filmed her documentary. On the trip through Latin America I would love to do projects with local farmers to try to discover workable permaculture systems in different ecosystems. Clean up programs on beaches along the way would be a great way to spread awareness of littering. There are so many ideas and so much to do for the world we need to filter them down to what is the most practical for our trip.