Who's been hurt on a trip?

[snapper]

So as not to hijack Alan's thread about who's been sick on a trip, I decided to respond about my injury on this new one. I hope everyone feels free to chime in with their own misbegotten adventure.

As for myself; I was the senior staff person on a canoe trip in the Adirondacks for another college I work with. Anyway, we were scheduled to climb Owls Head Mt., which is located off of Long Lake. There is a trail that comes up through Lake Eaton campground but we were coming in from the lake. There is a portion of state land that gives access, albeit via bushwacking, to a snowmobile trail and eventually to the trail that leads to the summit of Owls Head. We had a nice lesson in navigation, found the snowmobile trail, etc. and worked our way to the fire tower.

We were relaxing with lunch and I was sitting under the tower when a student called my name. In my rush to get to the person calling me I didn't fully pull my head out from under the tower's framework as I stood up. There was a sickening "crunch" that was both felt & heard on my head. Very quickly a warm sticky fluid followed and it continued to flow down, covering my head and dripping into my eyes. The funny thing about the incident was our designated first aid student was so excited about my injury at the time. Apparently he'd just taken a wilderness first aid class which had set him back $400.00 and his wife was still unhappy with him for spending the money. He figured now he had a great story to justify the cost of the course.

By the time he was finished bandaging my head I looked like something out of MASH. The worst part was we still had a two mile hike back down the mountain and then another half hour bushwack back to the canoes. Eventually we made it and we paddled (I was solo) across to an old marina so I could phone the program in Raquette Lake. It wasn't until I was alone and heading to the phone that my body let me down. As soon as I was out of sight of my students my entire body went limp. I had to grab onto the desk to keep myself from hitting the floor. After making the call I was able to regain my composure and meet up with the students to explain that someone would be coming to take my place.

Once the camp had another staff member in place I was taken to the hospital in Saranac Lake where my head was stapled back together. I was hoping to get back out after a day and finish up the trip but this was the height of black fly season and I wasn't able to be outside without a mass of flies trying to get into the wound. Since it oozed for the next couple of days I was like the watering trough that horses are drawn too. Honestly, unless I wore a hat (and it was really hot out) I couldn't be comfortably outside until after dark. To this day you can still see a 3" scar in the bald spot on my head.

OK, there you have it. So what other walking wounded stories do we have out there???

Until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[Chip]

My tandem partner, Marly, and I were paddling my Tripper through Little Falls on the Potomac. We dumped in the big hole upriver of the rocky island. I got hold of the painter and was floating behind the boat, paddle in one hand, feet up, more or less text book. The current took us just to the right (Virginia side) of the rocky island and we slipped between the island and the "clever rock". The Tripper stuck in the hole behind the clever rock and was getting recirc'd as I followed into the hole. I tried to duck under water, but that didn't work because I was wearing a PFD! The boat struck me over my right eye, which must be some of the softest skin on a body, and opened up a nice bloody gash.

Marly ended up on the rocks below the rapid on the Virgina side. I recovered the boat on the rocky island, then paddled over to where Marly had landed. We got out my first aid kit and Marly did her best to patch me up. My wound was one of those that isn't really that bad, but it bled like crazy. We finished the trip with Marly's patch on my head. It was not that big a deal.

The funny part of this incident happened on the way home. I stopped at a drugstore and went in looking for butterfly bandages. I was getting some serious looks from the workers in the store, and customers backed away from me. I didn't think too much about it until I got back to my car and went to apply the bandages. When I looked in the mirror I recoiled. That guy in the mirror looked like an ax murderer. There was the ragged looking field bandage Marly had applied, soaked through with blood, and several streaks of dried blood running down my face. I looked totally goulish and it was a wonder nobody called the cops.

 

[Doc.]

I was on an solo 3-day 2-night on Bay Springs Lake in northeast Mississippi late one November a few years ago. I had berated myself during my preparations that I had let my blades get dull. Consequently I sharpened them as though I had "an axe to grind". The first evening I cut some logs about 6" in diameter and about 10" long. As I was making some starter splits from a quarter-round, I made the most perfect blade-to-wood contact ever. The sharpened hatchet blade fell through the wood like warm butter, as well it sliced through my right thumb and finger. It cut through half of my thumbnail, through the quick below, and out the other side. It also cut my pointer finger at the second knuckle. Didn't feel a thing. Thanks to a good first-aid kit that included super glue I was able to patch it up and continue the adventure. I was thankful I am left-handed; that allowed me to paddle adequately. I must admit I didn't spend near as much time on the water as I had planned.

 

[Guest]

last year on a solo ADK deep wilderness trip,I slipped while lining my canoe through a shallow section of river and fell hard on a my knee on a rock. I crawled to shore,took a pain pill,crawled back in the water and soaked the knee. then I sloppily set my hammock up right there illegally close to the water. The next morning I was better and made it out. I always carry a spot device.
Turtle

 

[Guest]

Sickness is one thing. Injury is another.

Very quickly a warm sticky fluid followed and it continued to flow down, covering my head and dripping into my eyes.

I was taken to the hospital in Saranac Lake where my head was stapled back together. I was hoping to get back out after a day and finish up the trip but this was the height of black fly season and I wasn't able to be outside without a mass of flies trying to get into the wound. Since it oozed for the next couple of days I was like the watering trough that horses are drawn too. Honestly, unless I wore a hat (and it was really hot out) I couldn't be comfortably outside until after dark. To this day you can still see a 3" scar in the bald spot on my head.

The fly sucked wound part sounds like a true horror.

Facial cuts and injuries do bleed like a mofo. That alone is reason enough to carry a mirror on solo trips. Or better yet, two mirrors. It is hard to see the side or back of your head with one mirror. I carry a cheap two-mirror compact, available in the makeup isle at Wal-mart.

http://www.walmart.com/search/?query=two compact mirror&cat_id=1085666

Well dang, it seems there are a lot more choices available today, especially if you want something Doggy style. At the time the one I have was the sole choice in a two mirror compact, hot pink with white polka dots. At least I know I’m not losing that garish puppy in the leaf litter anytime soon.

The boat struck me over my right eye, which must be some of the softest skin on a body, and opened up a nice bloody gash.


The funny part of this incident happened on the way home. I stopped at a drugstore and went in looking for butterfly bandages. I was getting some serious looks from the workers in the store, and customers backed away from me. I didn't think too much about it until I got back to my car and went to apply the bandages. When I looked in the mirror I recoiled. That guy in the mirror looked like an ax murderer. There was the ragged looking field bandage Marly had applied, soaked through with blood, and several streaks of dried blood running down my face. I looked totally goulish and it was a wonder nobody called the cops.

I feel ya. Worst facial bleed injury yet was yanking back on a limb in a strainer and having it suddenly snap into threes, with the jagged middle section flying back and hit me square in the face. My companions patched, taped and bandaged me up, and I didn’t realize I looked like an extra from the Silence of the Lambs until the drive home.

Other people’s injuries constitute tales beyond telling. For a while it seemed that every group trip to Milburn on the Pocomoke Swamp involved a hospital visit. I still know the shortest route to Salisbury General from any compass point

To be fair we had 60 or 70 people on those trips, so “accidents” were a regular occurrence. Paddlers puncture impaled by strainer branches, folks steam rolled in the Atlantic surf, fingers slammed in trunk lids, bizarre reactions to spider bites. I have a vivid memory of friend Harry leading a group of people down to the dock and hearing him announce “There’s a big hill here, so be carefu…BOOF THUD CLANGLE BANG.

Harry’s nose was never the same.

Bee sting allergic Ben getting wasp stung on the penis while pissing on a duck blind still tops all tales. And all visual memories, once you’ve see that.. . . . .

Chip, I know you have worked through a companion’s dri-ki thigh impalement, and Willie has had a never-saw-towards-your-leg incident. crap happens, and the how it happened may be less illustrative than the how the emergency was handled.

Willie, thanks for the gift of a Quik Clot Trauma Pak kit that Stephen used on your leg. A simple clotting sponge/prepared dressing might be as helpful, unless I was the one near passed out bleeding and needing immediate instruction attention.

http://www.amazon.com/Adventure-Med...54534341&sr=8-1&keywords=quikclot+trauma+pack

I hope I never use it, or have it used on me, but that trauma pack is in the group first aid kit.

 

[Alan Gage]

Bee sting allergic Ben getting wasp stung on the penis while pissing on a duck blind still tops all tales. And all visual memories, once you’ve see that.. . . . .

That's a good one. I hope someone had the forethought to take a picture for him before the swelling subsided.

Alan

 

[yellowcanoe]

Lovely stories
We leave Friday for a gator and bug infested canoe trip..
I feel like the Hex has been spun...

 

[Will Derness]

S
OK, there you have it. So what other walking wounded stories do we have out there???

Day 9 on the Green River, Utah. Late in the day we were stopping to set camp near Fort Bottom. In a one boat eddy amidst a thicket of willows, I was about 50 yards downstream of my two companions. After several carries of gear to higher ground, it struck me widening the path slightly by clearing out some of the willows would be a good idea.

Working quickly (there's the foolishness) I grabbed several slender stalks and using my curved 14 inch pruning saw with a cut away from me motion (back hand) sliced through the stalks. Kept repeating this until one bundle refused to yield after two backhanded cuts. In frustration I quickly flipped the saw around and made a cutting motion towards me, through the willow bundle and my out stretched leg. Yep, the saw made quick work of the willows and also left about a 8-10 inch deep wound in my shin.

Immediately I knew I was in trouble. I clamped my gloved hand over the wound to staunch the blood flow while I hobbled to get my 1st aid kit which I always have at hand at the canoe seat location. As I was finishing my self applied first aid my two friends arrive to discover my situation.

Later that evening we did a second dressing using a clotting bandage from a trauma kit and seriously cleaning and irrigating the wound. I kept still that night and we discussed what to do in that remote setting - 40 miles from the confluence of the Colorado. Fortunately we were about 2-3 miles upstream of Potato Bottom, the last point there is any river side access to the 4 wheel drive White Rim road. The next morning we paddled down there and my partner luckily found some mountain bikers doing a multi-day trip with truck support. They agreed to take me out, at the pace of the bike riders. I left my canoe and gear with my friends who camped there overnight.

About 7 pm, some 28 hours after the accident, medical professionals handled my wound in the hospital. Too much time had passed for stitches to be used, so it was going to be a long recovery time before it scabbed over.

My accident was foolish - tired and working quickly can easily lead to this kind of outcome. My friend having the clotting bandage was a huge benefit, that has become a standard item I carry with me now.

The doctor who treated me asked "who did your field dressing?" I told him my partner and I both worked on it. He told me "great job under those conditions".

 

[dave0]

Hmm, I was on an island on Sebois Lake in ME. Just sharpened my knife and while cutting up some grub I cut my thumb enough for a band aid. Only real blood event on a trip. Did start a pair of pants on fire, actually smoldering on the James Bay once but only lost the hair on my leg and had a nice hole in my only pair of pants. Lesson learned to not stand to close to the fire!

Other stuff involved re-occuring back injuries which is worse then slicing ones self up. Had to call one trip due to that! Ironically it was on the Back River, ME when I blew my back out while paddling hard against a current, felt like broken glass grinding in my lower back and we still had some miles to paddle. I was not a happy camper!

 

[Alan Gage]

Seriously hurting my back on a trip is near the very top of my "never to do" bucket list. I'm lucky to have a pretty good back and have never hurt it badly but a couple times I've tweaked it just enough to get an idea of how debilitating it would be to really throw it out.

Alan

 

[red langford]

Never anything but scrapes and nicks while canoeing. I did have serious calf muscle cramps for days on a trip two years ago, but more of a irksome nuisance than injury.

However, while hiking the Bruce Trail back in 2005 or 2006 I slipped going down a very short decline. I put my arm out to brace the very short fall and SNAP broke the wrist. I thought it was dislocated at first so I tried forcing it back together. The end result looked like it was for sure broken so it was an hour of strenuous hiking followed by 45 minute drive to the hospital.

I think I am very cautious when out in the bush and always to to think before I act in order to get out in one piece and on the right side of the dirt, but accidents can happen.

 

[BWCA66]

Downhill, canoe on shoulders, boot unknowingly fits right under a tree root, next step foot won't come up and my momentum of heading downhill with the weight of the canoe on me takes me right down doing the splits. Did manage to let the canoe roll off to the side as I was going down but it didn't stop my fall. Thought for sure I broke something but thankfully did not. Ended up with a major groin pull that within 24 hours had my thigh black and blue almost down to my knee. The worst actually came the next morning because it really stiffened up overnight and still had a few lakes to go to get to the car. Took almost 3 months before the black/blue/green coloring worked it's way out, 6 months before I could jog or run and a year before I couldn't feel it anymore. This was on a trip with my 6 year old daughter and a couple of other guys. I always made it a point when I went out with my kids when they were too young to be able to get out from a wilderness trip without me to go with at least another adult along. I now make myself follow that same rule with my grandkids. I never worry about it by myself solo but don't like putting the kids or grandkids at risk.

 

[red langford]

Watch this video of Canadian legend Les Stroud on getting hurt while out on an adventure.

http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/survivorman/videos/mending-a-hurt-finger/

Warning, he does use a would word that gets bleeped but not very well

 

[snapper]

BWCA66 - I too am always sure there's a safety net for when I took my kids and now plan to go out with my grandsons (no granddaughters yet but they'll come too when we have them). I was fortunate to have some friends that were interior rangers in the Adirondacks when my kids were young and I always had their blessing to be my back-up in case of a problem. Luckily I never needed their assistance but it was nice to know they were available.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper

 

[lowangle al]

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This one really hurt. Crocodile bite. Good thing I carry tie wire and duct tape in the first aid kit and I am also a fast healer.

 

[lowangle al]

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This one wasn't as bad, but it was real. I don't remember the story though.

 

[lowangle al]

I actually did get hurt on a trip one time. We were packed up and ready to head out when I had to put some water on the coals to kill them. I had my hand too close and a jet of steam shot up and burned my hand. It hurt like a SOB and the only relief I got was by submerging my hand in the lake. Eventually I got the idea that if I put on a glove and kept it wet it might help. I couldn't believe how well it worked, I had no more discomfort or pain until it scabbed up three days later.