Crash

I guess every day can't be a success.  Saturday was a little worse than most, but considering my propensity towards having good days I really can't complain.

Flexeril is a new word in my vocabulary ... at least spelled like that.  As an EMT I am somewhat familiar with a broad range of pharmaceuticals (along with a surprising list of recreational drugs that have also taken root in the suburban districts where I ran as a medic).  I wonder how often I scribed Flexoral on a Patient Care Report.  Whatever the proper spelling, I am becoming quite familiar with this medication and though I appreciate the pain relief I am not so keen on the side effects.  No doubt I will review this post some day and discover that it is unintelligible.  So be it, I have a story to tell and there are no guarantees of coherence here.

It started Saturday morning with a fairly lofty goal -- hike 12 miles with full pack in a local park.  To that end four people showed up to this posted Meetup and shortly after 9 am we headed out.  Despite days of heavy rain, this day was shaping up to be quite nice.  The clouds were lifting, temperature was nice, and though a bit humid, it was actually a good day for hiking.  Even the trails were in great shape.  I remember thinking how nice it was to not be slipping and sliding around like I was a few weeks ago in Wildcat Hollow. 

Descending a steep but manageable downhill, suddenly my feet shot out from under me and I fell backwards landing on my rear and backpack.  I sat there a second surprised but worried more about my bruised ego.  As I evaluated myself for injury, I noted that I had come down hard on the backpack and could feel it was still holding me up.  Still no pain, so I started to move.  That was when the pain started ... every move shot through my lower back like flames.  Not completely unbearable, but I rated these pains 8 out of 10 later on that day.  I slowly lifted myself up and began to figure out what I had done and more importantly, what I could continue to do.

Kenny and Kelly caught up and to be quite honest I don't recall the entire conversation.  They offered me Ibuprofen, which I temporarily declined so I could observe my symptoms without masking them.  The pain was bad enough that I thought I had possibly cracked or torn something in my lower back.  Slowly I shuffled off, testing my body and trying to determine what I should do next.  We were only three miles in, and had 9 to go ... and 9 is my longest hike this season,  and that was without an injury and it was difficult. 

We stopped where the trail comes out on a road.  The park maintains a rental shelter/cabin and there are benches and a porch.  I pulled off my pack and began sipping on a Gatorade.  The other hikers offered to redistribute some of my gear, and I also began eying places to stash gear so I could drive back to the shelter and collect my goods without putting additional burdens on the team. Finally after I started feeling even worse I decided to pull the plug on this hike and asked the team to help me evacuate back to my car.

The group made sure I was comfortable, and that I had food and water.  I had a full pack so I had dry clothing, my shell, and plenty of nutrition and hydration.  They hiked on to the next landmark which is the Caesars Creek visitor center.  While they were gone I ate lunch and tried to stay comfortable.  Not moving much was (and still is) a good option.

Some time later I was rewarded with Kelly arriving in Kenn's truck.  Seems she was able to secure a ride from the visitors center to where our cars were parked.  Soon after I was safely in my own car heading towards home.

En route the pain continued to escalate so I diverted to a hospital for evaluation.  The  docs gave me a clean bill of health and wrote me my prescriptions.  Then I headed home for a weekend of R&R.

No real drama here ... and as am emergency responder I can attest that this is how most rescues and medical evacs are.  Go find a car and send everybody home. But for me it was a unique experience to be the patient.  Made me glad to have a team I could trust!

The team deserves recognition --  when I needed help the only question asked was "How?"  No complaints or encouragement to get the hike back on track.  Just quiet efficiency to figure out the best way to get me to safety.  Kenny kind of ran the show, Kelly had the charm to secure a ride, Judy offered up advice and my first round of Vitamin I, and John was invaluable for logistics.   From injury to car was about 2 1/2 hours.  Not bad for what amounts to a wilderness rescue, and a lot of that was me hiking out to the road.

One of the nurses suggested I stop hiking.  She thinks this kind of activity can be dangerous.  And it can be.  All you can do is mitigate the danger with proper training, good tools and supplies, and by using your brain.  This is a park in a populated area with easy access to 911.  I made an urban decision because I could -- stop hiking and get checked out.  I could have to make a very different decision on the AT.  But I will have more gear, and all of the essentials. Along with a different mindset. 

Looking at it now there is really only one mistake I can make regarding hiking and that would be to stop.

You do enough activities outdoors and sooner or later you are going to get hurt.  That is inevitable.  The key is to know how you are going to react and what you are going to do when the bad thing happens.  Stopping hiking could prevent injuries, but it is dooming me to a life of inactivity that could kill me quicker with obesity, heart attacks and boredom.

I'll get better in a week or two and once again I will train for the AT and head out to my AT trip a little more careful and lot wiser.  Once you Select Adventure for your life you need to ride it out!



ps I did not bring a knife which would have been critical for a real injury.  Even a backyard park can take hours to get help.  I found the knife in the kitchen today and made sure it got back in with my gear.  It was dirty from cutting food and I had washed it and put it on the counter.  Perhaps my trusty knife is normally used to carve cheese or trim loose threads, but Saturday it could have saved my life.  I'll remember that lesson well ... you never head out planning on getting injured so it's easy to cut corners on a local hike.  Even in a park like this one nature can lash out and I pledge to always be ready!