Day 11 -- Overdoin' it HARD

Total distance: 27 km (should have been 30-something but…)

Pictures begin here.

I didn't take too many pictures today
as it was rather stormy out

So. Today I walked quite a long distance. At the very end of the day was temple #27, which is on top of a mountain, as it turns out. A very steep one. The tallest one in Kōchi, I’m told. It’s famous for the road leading up to it having a 45° slope for over a kilometer.

And that was at the end of the day.

See, my plan was, since some backtracking is necessary, to leave my stuff at the place I’m staying at the base of the mountain, and then walk without luggage to the top and back down. About halfway up the mountain my left foot started throwing a fit and by the time I made it to the top it was pretty clear that there was no way I was getting back down on my own.

I called a taxi (isn’t it wonderful being able to do that?) and had them bring me back down. Tomorrow morning I’ll get another one and have them bring me back up so I can continue from there. If I can walk tomorrow. I’m almost certain I’m developing shin splints.

The entrance to #27. Note the STAIRS

Though, a guy I met yesterday on the trail gave me a packet of those medicated cooling muscle-relaxer patch thingies so I’ve been using them in the evenings. They seem to help a great deal. Between that, the bath, and some careful stretching and massaging, I think my foot will be good enough to walk on tomorrow. I’m considering making tomorrow a rather short day. The road will be mostly flat, so there’s that at least.

I made it to exactly one temple today and it was a pretty spicy experience.

Temple 27 神峯寺 Kōnomineji (27 km)

View from the top. The temple, the mountains, the ocean.

This is a pretty difficult temple to get to. Certainly the first car I ever had wouldn’t have been able to make the drive up, and my foot was barely able to. Still, it was a great experience and I’m very thankful for the good and bad times. Plus, now I don’t have to climb a mountain super early in the morning tomorrow.

I keep hearing, too, as I mention my foot problem to people who inquire as to why I’m walking like I’m 80 years old, about a special kind of clinic called a seikotsuin (整骨院). I’m mostly mentioning it here for my own sake so I don’t forget it. But I guess they specialize in joints and muscles and whatnot, and apparently there’s one on the road tomorrow. I still have health insurance so I figure I’ll stop by one of them and see what sorts of advice they have for me and my wonky left foot.

That’s it for today, I suppose.