Today's hike began rather dramatically. Soon after I took the traditional trialhead picture...
...a man came running down the trail and asked if I had a cell phone. Turns out his friend had broken her ankle a little over a mile up the trail. We called 911, but my phone didn't have the best reception. After I hung up with the operator, he went running to a nearby house while Sage and I ran up the trail.
In the rush to notify the authorities, I had forgotten to ask the man if his friend was alone. It was a chilly day, and the thought of the injured woman sitting in pain and possibly by herself made my feet fly as fast as they could with Sage in tow. My daughter did me proud -- she understood the urgency and moved as quickly as she was able.
Just before we reached the place where the woman was sitting, the man who had run down the trail returned, sprinting by us in a flash. Five minutes later, Sage and I came upon the three of them: the man, the injured woman, and her friend. I was relieved to discover that she had not been waiting alone. Her friend was sitting with her, hugging her to keep her warm.
I offered my ground mat and a few chemical warmers, then started searching through my pack for other useful items. A few seconds later, a group of medics with a stretcher arrived. I was amazed at their response time. They were astoundingly fast.
Once they arrived, Sage and I continued on our way. The trail never got more than moderately steep, and the fallen leaves carpeted the trail beautifully.
We arrived at the summit ledges feeling fine. Sage struck a couple of silly poses.
We asked a nice fellow to take our picture...
...and then we admired the views!
After much ceremonial noshing of chocolate, we followed a spur path and checked out this view of Stinson Lake:
Our descent was casual, though made curious by this note we found about halfway down. I hope Greg eventually finds what he is looking for.
It was a nice walk out. The few tenths of a mile close to the trailhead, which we didn't notice on the way up because we were running as fast as we could, are flat and wide. We enjoyed walking this bit. The fallen leaves made great playthings.
We finished our hike in good spirits. And when I returned to the car, the ground mat was waiting for me. That was nice of them, I hadn't expected to get it back. I'm just glad the lady was taken care of so quickly.
Another nice hike with my youngest.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.