My Hiking Mishap

Posted by: DFX on Sep 04, 2015

wanderer-455338_1280I love hiking. From a little day trip to a multi-week backpacking trip, I love it. My vacations are usually centered around hiking, and if I am visiting a new place for another reason, I try to get a hike in anyway. I’ve hiked the interior of the Grand Canyon and most of the Appalachian Trail. I like to run on shorter trips, as you can get a great workout running up and down hills. Trail running also uses some other muscle groups that hiking does not. I considered myself an experience hiker by the time I had my accident.

I was trail running a loop in a national park. The run was supposed to be 10 miles. I broke my leg running downhill on the trail, about 4.5 miles into the loop. It hurt like hell and I had to be evacuated by park rangers as I was still too far away from the trail head to be carried out.

They reset my leg at the hospital, and I was able to leave in a cast the same day. Now I’m back to hiking and trail running just as I was before my accident.

I was lucky that I was not hurt too seriously and that help came as quickly to my aid as it did. However, I was also prepared for bad things to happen, as one should always be.

First of all, I knew where I was going, so when I fell, I knew approximately where I was and was able to relate that to my rescuers. Also, I took my phone with me and I used it to call for my evacuation. I also knew first aid and was able to isolate my leg to prevent further injury. Simple steps like these can mean the difference between accident and disaster out in the wilderness.

I hope that this post has given you some pointers for your own wilderness adventures. Always remember that you should contact a lawyer if you feel that you are injured as the result of negligence. Be safe!