Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Solo Tripping :: Injured while soloing?
|
Author | Message Text | ||
OgimaaBines |
|
||
yellowcanoe |
I threw the fing thing in the woods. Did the whole trip intending to pick it up on my return. It was gone. Another time I fell to my waist in quicksand. I almost pushed that emergency button on SPOT. I finally swam out.. hanging on to my canoe. After all they tell you to stay calm, have a smoke and think, right? |
||
quark2222 |
Doh! I realized today that it made it sound like I was not on a solo. Actually, I was on a partial solo. My son, his buddy, and I headed out for about 8 days. After the first two days, they split, so I was on about a 5-6 day solo. We met up again the last night in the woods, and then headed in together. Lucky for me, they were available to carry part of my gear that last day. The waves on Alton were really nasty that day, and it was rough going in my Prism. Tomster |
||
dentondoc |
Luckily I carry a satellite phone, so I dialed up my outfitter and arranged for a fly-in pick-up. This proved to be a little problematic since I was on a rather small lake with a limited run length for takeoff ... so much so that I was "shuttled" out to a larger lake before transport back to Red Lake. Diagnosis: Probable heat exhaustion and dehydration. (This was more-or-less confirmed by a post-trip medical exam.) The temperatures were pushing into the upper 80's and with almost daily rain; it was very humid. Keep in mind, I DO train for this scenario by regular walks/hikes at distances beyond 5 miles at temperatures ranging from 95 - 100. In addition, I was throwing back LOTS of water. However, I SWEAT!!! (As in, after a few minutes of working under a load, you don't have a stitch of clothing on that is dry.) It's not uncommon for me to drop 5 pounds on one of my walks, despite drinking in excess of 32 ounces of water. So, I guess I finally got to the point that I couldn't "make up the difference" by my level of water intake. I do know about dehydration and can generally recognize the early onset. However, in this particular case, I didn't have any of my usual physiological indicators that I was about to get slammed. ANOTHER LESSON LEARNED!!! dd |
||
dentondoc |
quote boonie: "I've found that I just don't "handle" the heat and humidity as well now that I'm older." Since I've got 5 years on you, I can tell you that its not going to get any easier. Five years ago, I would had been able to blow thru the portage in question doing a double portage without difficulty, even WITH the heat and humidity. dd |
||
hobbydog |
|
||
boonie |
I've found that I just don't "handle" the heat and humidity as well now that I'm older. I often find myself dehydrated on trips from not drinking enough fluids while traveling. |
||
dentondoc |
quote hobbydog: "That kind of sucks DD. You plan for a long time and then have to cut it short. I get in trouble with the heat too. Dehydration can cause you to make some poor decisions. Sounds like you were able recognize it enough to call off the trip. Did you have any electrolytes along to supplement the water intake? " I did have electrolytes along, but I didn't get on top of it soon enough. It sucks big time when you spend more time driving up and back than the amount of time you get to spend on the paddling part your trip. (After pulling out, I still faced a 3 day drive to get home). But for me, it was absolutely the right call. I was spent, and I knew it. It took a full week after I returned home before I was back to a normal routine again. Staying out longer would simple have been fool hearty, IMHO. At least there is no evidence that my problem was cardiovascular in nature ... something else that was gnawing around in the back of my brain. So, I'll definitely "train up" for next season and start my intake of electrolytes as soon as I start sweating. dd |
||
boonie |
|
||
bhouse46 |
While it does suck to have to plan trips around the limits aging requires, it is still awesome to be planning trips and I really hope I can keep going for a long time. |
||
BigK9Mals |
I've been all over the BWCA and Quetico. Both with friends and soloing. This last trip I had was the first injury I have gotten. I was taking a fish off and it took a bad shake and I got two treble hooks embedded extremely deep into my forearm. I was able to tell the person who was with me how to get them out. This got me thinking... I don't think I could have done this myself if it had been embedded into my right arm. This is the first hook I've ever gotten embedded into me since I was a kid and I do a ton of fishing. Just wondering if anyone has gotten injured and how you dealt with it while soloing. In the future I'm thinking I may crimp the treble hooks just to be on the safe side. What are your thoughts on that? I do crimp the hooks in the Quetico and I'm not sure if it affects the amount of fishing I'm catching or not. I'm not diligent about crimping the hooks in the BWCA though as I use the lures again when I get back home and I don't want them crimped while fishing at home. Thoughts? |
||
housty9 |
|
||
hooky |
Other than that, I've had some nagging little aches and pains on hikes. I nicked myself field dressing a deer once, but it wasn't serious. I guess I've either been lucky or careful, maybe both. |
||
jeepgirl |
|
||
bhouse46 |
|
||
BigK9Mals |
|
||
boonie |
|
||
jdevries |
JD |
||
DeterminedOrange |
My first solo last year nearly ended when I walked into a sharp stick while out gathering firewood. It hit me lift a sledgehammer in the chest and it took a minute or so to start breathing again. Weirdest feeling ever, didn't know what happened, thought someone shot me maybe. Continued my trip but was scary sore a couple days later so I turned around. X-ray afterwards showed it was only bruised, was terribly lucky, maybe an inch up or down and could have punctured. I'm leaving for my second solo in a week, will be more careful. Stay safe everyone. |
||
gkimball |
quote dentondoc: " A few years ago I started packing along powdered Gatorade and mixing a strong quart at the beginning of the day whenever it was warm and humid. If it was really hot and I was working hard or sweating alot I would mix a second quart. Drank it like water through out the day. I forgot it this year on a solo in July, and at the end of a pretty strenuous day trip I felt exhausted in a way I haven't in years. I think now it was due to not having the Gatorade all day. |
||
jwartman59 |
|
||
Jaywalker |
Fortunately nothing serious for me - just minor slices, bumps, and burns. I chalk part of it up to luck, and part of it to consciously being just a bit more careful when in a remote area alone. |