Fortunately I have never been injured while out backpacking or hiking. I have also never been with anyone who injured themselves in any serious way.
But just last evening I was reading a trail review at Trails.com about one of the AT sections in NC, and the reviewer said that his buddy fractured his foot while they were on that trail. It must not have been too severe a fracture, because they hiked out another 10 miles according to the reviewer, but his buddy was having a time of it, and was moaning.
My fear would be to have a major fracture or sprain and be 40 miles from civilization and not be able to put an ounce of weight on my leg or foot, so that I would have to lean on someone else to hike out. I wouldnt want to burden anyone like that. I have broken several bones over the years, but I was never far from help.
Have you ever been on a hike where someone was injured? How did you deal with it?
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
-------------- Of all the ridiculous things to micromanage. Even for a lunatic megalomaniac.
Recently when I was backpacking I was approached by a guy on a horse who asked me and my friend to dial 911 but neither of us could get a signal. He was riding with a friend and his friend's horse reared up and fell over on him breaking his back. We had just arrived at a place where there was a gravel road that came went to a paved road about four miles away and some Boy Scouts were camped there. Their leader hopped in his truck and flew down the mountain and got a call out. A few minutes later a helicopter arrived and landed in front of us and they medevaced him out.
My camping buddies have suffered from unexpected cold and excessive heat.
-------------- "Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again...They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave."
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
Sorry to hear that. That goes beyond injury obviously. Where did that happen and do you know the hows and whys?
I had numerous muscle pulls ect, cuts and bruises while hiking the AT. I had a friend who twisted her knee (she had surgery) while on the AT. We had to help her out to the nearest road. Lucky there were hikers finishing a hike who took her to the hospital. A friend got bit by a copperhead. Lucky for him, he was near the trailhead. Another friend (who was a nurse BTW) got an intestinal virus, we had to call an ambulance for him.
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
Sorry to hear that. That goes beyond injury obviously. Where did that happen and do you know the hows and whys?
Me and dad were on a father son hike we do every year. Each January we threw a dart at the world calendar that is on the stable wall in the stall we kept my first horse, Bethany. Bethany is dead too. Killed by a rattlesnake. This particular January dad threw the dart and hit the dart dead on central china. So off we went. Not knowing that it would be our last backpacking trip. If I were allowed to bring a firearm I feel certain he would still be here today.
-------------- Of all the ridiculous things to micromanage. Even for a lunatic megalomaniac.
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
Sorry to hear that. That goes beyond injury obviously. Where did that happen and do you know the hows and whys?
Me and dad were on a father son hike we do every year. Each January we threw a dart at the world calendar that is on the stable wall in the stall we kept my first horse, Bethany. Bethany is dead too. Killed by a rattlesnake. This particular January dad threw the dart and hit the dart dead on central china. So off we went. Not knowing that it would be our last backpacking trip. If I were allowed to bring a firearm I feel certain he would still be here today.
very sad, very sad indeed. remind's me of the time my brother was killed by a llama, very sad.
Once. After walking out about 3 miles on a broken foot, which hurt, it took another two days to get to the nearest village by packraft. Turned out okay though.
-------------- Wealth needs more. Happiness needs less. Simplify.
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
Sorry to hear that. That goes beyond injury obviously. Where did that happen and do you know the hows and whys?
Me and dad were on a father son hike we do every year. Each January we threw a dart at the world calendar that is on the stable wall in the stall we kept my first horse, Bethany. Bethany is dead too. Killed by a rattlesnake. This particular January dad threw the dart and hit the dart dead on central china. So off we went. Not knowing that it would be our last backpacking trip. If I were allowed to bring a firearm I feel certain he would still be here today.
very sad, very sad indeed. remind's me of the time my brother was killed by a llama, very sad.
I never responded but I remember reading your story about you losing your brother. It was just too painful and familiar at the time for me to respond but I was following the thread.
-------------- Of all the ridiculous things to micromanage. Even for a lunatic megalomaniac.
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
You are soooo full of it.
-------------- “What we need is production by the masses, not mass-production” Gandhi
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” David Russell
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
You are soooo full of it.
:-O
-------------- Of all the ridiculous things to micromanage. Even for a lunatic megalomaniac.
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
You are soooo full of it.
That is SO cold.
-------------- "Sure as I know anything, I know this - they will try again...They'll swing back to the belief that they can make people... better. And I do not hold to that. So no more runnin'. I aim to misbehave."
Partially dislocated a knee several times (torn ACL, mensicus...it wobbled for a long while). Scraped off the "toe cap" on my little toe - nail and all. Trashed a heel so badly I could see the fascia. Different trips. I don't learn quickly.
Was on a weekender with three friends back in '89 and one injured his ankle on a glissade. We were maybe 3-4 miles in. He assumed it was a sprained ankle, taped it, and we divvied his gear between the other three of us and all hiked out. He used an ice axe as a "crutch". There was very little any of us could do besides carry his gear (that is definitely the heaviest pack I ever carried, and it wasn't a good fit, as I had to carry his pack--mine was too small to take any extra gear).
When his girlfriend finally got him to the ER, xrays showed he'd broken his fibula. Thanks in part to the abuse it took on the hike out, it took about 2 years to come fully back to normal. He didn't regret not calling for help, though. His feeling was that if he could do it, then getting out under his own power was the right choice.
Been with another friend several times when she had trouble with altitude sickness, definitely beyond the "my head aches" level.
-------------- Bits of writerly thoughts and random short fiction found at The Ninja Librarian Blog
My father was injured on the trail when he was killed by a bear. He was injured up one side and down the other. That bear injured the hell out of him. I miss you dad. :-(
You are soooo full of it.
That is SO cold.
And to think, I screamed "Yes!" when she proposed. Good thing she is hot.
-------------- Of all the ridiculous things to micromanage. Even for a lunatic megalomaniac.
Less impactful (but more spectacular) was spearing an agave into my shin (they don't call them shin daggers for nothing). It hurt a little, but I kept going for a minute. I looked down to see that bottom half of my pant leg was the wrong color. I rolled it up to find the blood pumping out in big spurts. Thirty seconds of hand pressure stopped it for good. I had already checked to see if the offending plant tip was still intact (rather than broken off in the bone).
I've slice open my eyeball twice, boiled my leg to the point of a saucer-sized blister on my leg, sliced my legs open on more occasions than I can count, tore my toenails off almost every other year to the point where I'm considering having them permanently removed. Everytime I wound myself, something gets added to my FAK. I carry a few "heavy-duty" meds so that no matter what, if it's pain I'm dealing with, it can be overcome until I can get to civilization.
I haven't broken a bone yet.
-------------- If I'm going to be lost, in the woods is where I want to be...
I woke up in camp one morning to find that one of my llamas had died during the night. No shat. Didn't hear a peep, about 15-20 feet from my tent. Brain aneurysm was the best guess. Broke my heart and injured my shoulder carrying the gear out. Luckily it was only 6 miles. But, I'm over it. My best friend died of cancer after our last hike together, up to Caribou Lake. Don't think I'll ever want to completely heal from that one.
-------------- It never hurts to do good – Eek the Cat
The quest for adventure is a never ending pursuit, an all consuming way to live life, it is a deep feeling that will never go away, embrace that feeling and have fun with your adventures.
Survival Skills 101 • Eat Better
