My Saturday hiking semi disaster

I have gotten off trail several times by not paying attention, either while talking to someone or just following the wrong trail when criss-crossing a creek. Usually it just meant some extra miles. Once I didn't get back home until 1 a.m. after getting concussed by a bad fall and then bushwhacking in the dark for several hours. Another time I tried to bushwhack over a cactus covered ridge after I got rimrocked. Both times, I would have done better to stay put until morning, but was afraid of family calling out the rescue squad, so kept going.

When I was new to hiking a few years ago I once foolishly went for a hike in 104 degree weather on a trail with absolutely no shade anywhere along the route. I had plenty of water but suffered from heat exhaustion and a lack of electrolytes from drinking too much water. It happened so fast too! My bf and I started having horrible leg cramps so we turned back but we were still miles from the car. My legs turned to jelly, I was really close to vomiting and I was delirious, I couldn’t think straight or take a single step more and sat down on the ground and was ready to give up. My boyfriend also got overheated and had the leg muscle cramps as well but hadn’t drunk so much water so he was in better shape than I was and took care of me. We still didn’t have any electrolytes with us but he stayed with me and tried to shade me with his body. We just sat in the dirt until my urge to vomit had passed and we rested, then we walked back to the car extremely slowly, every single step took all the strength I had in me. We made it to the car and had some food/sweet drinks in the car and once I had some electrolytes and was in the shade of the car I slowly felt better. That was such a horrible experience. But now I know better and always take electrolytes with me whenever I go out hiking or running, not just water. Oh, and I also don’t go hiking when the weather is 104 and there’s no shade on the trail!

had a miss app a couple of years ago, hiked up mount Snowdon and down again and took my eyes off the track when someone asked me a question and twisted my ankle which luckily sent me running down hill into the high bank side and no over the edge. Finished the hike with a very swollen ankle that turned purple but luckily I had good strong hiking boots on.

Not hiking but biking... I was biking on a paved trail with my bf on an unfamiliar trail and he had stopped for some reason and I went on ahead. The pavement was not very well maintained and had lots of huge cracks in it. My front tire got caught in a parallel crack just the right size to trap my tire and I was going at a good downhill speed so it all happened fast. By the time my tire popped free from the crack it had derailed my trajectory, forcing my bike towards a steep drop off to the right. I tried to brake but couldn’t stop in time and it occurred to me that I would end up at the bottom of that drop off so I tried to ditch the bike so I could tuck and roll in an attempt to lessen my impact. Before I could be completely free of the bike a tree limb seemingly came out of nowhere and caught me and the bike, halting our tumble down the rest of the hill. That tree saved me a lot of hurt!!! I was shook up and had a few scratches and bruises but was fine. I had to drag the bike back up and waited for my bf who finally caught up with me and had missed the whole scenario. I was so mad but finished the bike ride anyway. Later on that day I still had that shaken up feeling all over my body and guess I desired to feel in control of myself again so I went out and ran a 5K even though I was exhausted from the bike ride earlier. When I run I feel like my body is moving in perfect harmony and it felt like just what I needed to reset and regain a sense of control and I was much better afterwards. It really would have been a much worse outcome without that lovely tree though!

Another time a tree saved me just in time was a day I was trail running and rounding a blind corner on the trail. It’s a very narrow trail that had a drop off to my right and the upslope of a hill to my left. I tripped over a root and fell to the left up against the hill and had only a split second to feel upset about it when all of a sudden a couple of bikes came in fast around the blind corner and zoomed past me. Since I had just fallen to the side and wasn’t on the trail they didn’t hit me but definitely would have collided with me had I not tripped over the root and fallen in the safest spot I possibly could have been in at that exact moment. I’ve run this trail many times before and never tripped on any roots before or since then, go figure. Trees are amazing!

I encountered a bear and her cub while hiking alone in the Smokies. The bears wouldn't leave the trail so I headed back up the mountain. I didn't see anyone for hours when I met a man and his daughter so I headed back down the trail with them (By then the bears had moved on). At the end of the day we hiked out in the dark and I estimate I hiked 23 miles. Now I ALWAYS carry my headlamp, space blanket, and matches. I thought I might have to spend the night on the trail.

tnh2o wrote: »

I encountered a bear and her cub while hiking alone in the Smokies. The bears wouldn't leave the trail so I headed back up the mountain. I didn't see anyone for hours when I met a man and his daughter so I headed back down the trail with them (By then the bears had moved on). At the end of the day we hiked out in the dark and I estimate I hiked 23 miles. Now I ALWAYS carry my headlamp, space blanket, and matches. I thought I might have to spend the night on the trail.

Yikes! Bear encounters, especially with mom and cubs, scare me!