View Full Version : Falling
maxNcathy
03-09-2006, 22:38
I'm quite new to serious trail hiking and my wife and I are going to be spending a some time on the AT next month going north from Damascus.
From reading trail journals it seems that most hikers take a few falls...Bill Irwin(blind hiker) is reported to have fallen 5000 times on his thruhike.No doubt, he holds the record! Poor guy. His pictures show him wearing knee pads.
I wonder if I should get some knee pads too. It is not fun falling on a pile of rocks on your knees.
Have you ever felt like Humpty Dumpty and had a great fall on the AT?
How many times would you guess you have fallen on the AT over the years?
I am not trying to belittle or embarrass anyone, just wondering about how many times on average a person can expect to take a tumble over a six month hiking expedition on the AT.
Max
I hiked the whole trail without falling. Just be careful.
the goat
03-09-2006, 22:46
4000+ miles with probably b/t 6-10 fall downs.
you'll be fine, no worries.
Old Spice
03-09-2006, 22:51
Bill Iwin is the man. I found out about the trail through him some years back while working in Maine. Apropos of the falling thing, I would forget the knee pads, keep your pack as light as you can, use trekking poles, and just be careful.
Almost There
03-09-2006, 22:54
Just be careful where the trail is narrow. I have fallen twice. Once with ice on the trail when I stepped on an ice slick root and fell sliding about ten feet down the trail. The second was when I stepped near the edge of the trail and the soft ground gave way beneath my foot. It happens but for the most part nobody every gets really hurt...other than ego.
MileMonster
03-09-2006, 23:01
I took a few diggers. Usually happened on wet rocks. No major injuries, though. Just get up and keep walking.
....Have you ever felt like Humpty Dumpty and had a great fall on the AT? How many times would you guess you have fallen on the AT over the years?....
Twice. Most falls are pure carelessness or from attempting to hike too fast with commercial treking poles.
Rendezvous01
03-09-2006, 23:06
You'll fall. Just when you least expect it, too. But not very often. I have fallen twice in 1100 miles, but I walk slowly. It's when you are in a hurry, or tired, or aren't paying attention to your feet, or are laughing at your hiking partner who just fell, that you are most likely to take a tumble. If you do fall, usually the best thing to do is to relax and go with it. Forget the kneepads, you are more likely to fall sideways or onto your back (particularly if your pack is heavy), and the only thing you'll probably wound is your pride.
hammock engineer
03-09-2006, 23:10
Look into trekking poles. Some people hate them some people love them. I think they help me from falling, I'm not very graceful. It's like having 2 other feet to depend on.
Jack Tarlin
03-09-2006, 23:13
Max:
Everyone's different.
But sooner or later, just about everyone takes a good hard fall.
I'm horribly pigeon-toed and I have big feet, which is a pretty awful combination for a hiker. So I fall all the time.
No, you don't need knee-pads. Sooner or later, you'll take a tumble, and in virtually every case, you'll be humbled a bit, but not seriously hurt.
And it'll happen when you least expect it, so pay special attention on rocky areas, and when it's wet. Wet leaves, and even more so, wet tree roots are NOT your friend. Pay extra atention in early morning, when it's damp on the Trail, and obviously, if you're hiking in twilight or darkness.
But don't be over-concerned about this. Sooner or later, you'll fall on your head or your ass. All you can hope for are two things: That you get right back up immediately, and that nobody's there to see you wipe out!
vipahman
03-09-2006, 23:15
Slippery shoes can give you 5000 falls. The only times I've fallen is when I've had bad shoes or in heavy snow drifts.
Skidsteer
03-09-2006, 23:28
Max:
and even more so, wet tree roots are NOT your friend. Pay extra atention in early morning, when it's damp on the Trail, and obviously, if you're hiking in twilight or darkness.
But don't be over-concerned about this. Sooner or later, you'll fall on your head or your ass. All you can hope for are two things: That you get right back up immediately, and that nobody's there to see you wipe out!
Jack, your post reminded me of a football drill called "The Board". Take a 2"x12" about 10 feet long and lay it down in the wet grass. Square off two guys astride the board and blow the whistle. The coaches(sadistic bastards) would watch with glee to see which one of us would be the first poor sap to misplace a foot and fall on our a**. As I remember, the point of the drill was to teach us to keep a wide(stable) stance at all times. I still ache some during rainy spells. :D
Jack Tarlin
03-09-2006, 23:32
I should also add WATCH OUT FOR BOG BRIDGES!!!
These are the little wooden bridges that one walks on while passing thru boggy or swampy sections. There are many in Jersey, and untold numbers in Maine. They get slimy and slippery as hell, and sooner or later, if you're not careful you'll slide right off of one, usually into some disgusting primevil black muck.
So when you see a bog bridge coming up, get your head out of your butt and pay atention, or you'll be one wet, muddy, very unhappy camper!
Alligator
03-09-2006, 23:39
I can remember two falls distinctly. Once with a monster pack in Glacier NP. My ankle was mispositioned so I took the fall instead of a twisted ankle. The other time I slipped on a wet rock on narrow trail in front of a family of day hikers:o . Just put your head down and keep going.
Stick to the one person at a time on the bog bridge rule.
I should also add WATCH OUT FOR BOG BRIDGES!!!
These are the little wooden bridges that one walks on while passing thru boggy or swampy sections. There are many in Jersey, and untold numbers in Maine. They get slimy and slippery as hell, and sooner or later, if you're not careful you'll slide right off of one, usually into some disgusting primevil black muck.
So when you see a bog bridge coming up, get your head out of your butt and pay atention, or you'll be one wet, muddy, very unhappy camper!
Bog bridges are easily the most dangerous things most hikers will encounter on the trail. Which reminds me. I've spend quite a few days this winter dragging in rough-sawn planks a half mile or so to build more bog bridges.
The things are dangerous to hikers, but they do encourage hikers to stay on the path and thus not create ever wider trails. I ordered more planks today in an effort to keep hikers on the path so as not to damage a group of purple-fringe orchids on some land trust lands.
Weary
saimyoji
03-09-2006, 23:53
Bog bridges are easily the most dangerous things most hikers will encounter on the trail. Which reminds me. I've spend quite a few days this winter dragging in rough-sawn planks a half mile or so to build more bog bridges.
The things are dangerous to hikers, but they do encourage hikers to stay on the path and thus not create ever wider trails. I ordered more planks today in an effort to keep hikers on the path so as not to damage a group of purple-fringe orchids on some land trust lands.
Weary
Are you taking on this endeavor all by yourself? Are you footing the bill for the wood and doing the construction yourself?
Jack Tarlin
03-09-2006, 23:58
Weary and I don't agree on a lot----like anything political, pretty much----but I will say this: Trail work in Maine is tougher than similar work anywhere else.
So thanks for all your efforts! The next time I cross a new bog bridge in Maine without sailing off it into the schmutz, I'll thank Weary!
I hike, I fall, I get up...no problem
but it is funnier when my brother falls.
Are you taking on this endeavor all by yourself? Are you footing the bill for the wood and doing the construction yourself?
No and mostly yes. These psrticular bog bridges are for town land trust trails, not the AT.
The planks were sawn at a local one-person mill. But the land trust is paying the pretty nominal bill. I did write most of the dunning letters that keep our treasury solvent.
I did schedule a work trip early on. The volunteers managed to move the 2X8" 12 foot planks about 100 yards before they all quit. They seemed to think "this is work for people 30 years younger than me." Most were 15 years younger than me. But I had 30 years of trail building experience. They hadn't
So I pretty much took over, though a semi-retired dentist and his wife who had thru hiked a few years ago managed to help some before the wife fell and banged her head. (not seriously)
I just tied a timber hitch on the planks and dragged them in one at a time. I kept hoping for snow to provide a lubricant, but this has been a mostly snowless winter on midcoast Maine, so pine sprills and oak leaves had to make do.
What else could one do with a big piles of planks sitting at a trailhead? Besides I've been diagnosed with diabetes brought on by some steroids to treat an artery inflamation and I needed the exercise to keep sugar levels down.
Weary
I've have dozens of falls, but managed to always bounce back up. One time I tripped and was trying to catch my balance, stumbling head on into a large boulder but was able to shift my weight at the last second to avoid a collision.
Generally it happens when I'm going faster than my normal pace.
AbeHikes
03-10-2006, 08:31
I fell on the same rock twice 1.5 years apart. I remember hiking and thinking "Hey. There's that rock I slipped on a year and a half ago. Wow. That was stupid. I...". Zzzzzzzzzooooop. Bam. "Canafradgitzsunjamanbaratooka! Stupid rock!"
All in the sight of about 6 Boy Scouts. Wrapped one of my hiking poles around my right let. Got up, brushed off, checked all my gear (human and man-made), and kept going. Wanted to authoritatively say "Let that be a lesson to you, kids".
Walking down Mt. Everett in early July on a HHH day, I said aloud "I don't think I've fallen in about 1000 miles." I made it about another 100 - 200 yards and.... SPLAT. Whatever you do, don't voice aloud how long its been since you've last fallen. Its a certain recipe for disaster.
Dances with Mice
03-10-2006, 09:12
I've had my fair share of faceplants but my most memorable fall was near the end of a Scout hike from Dicks Creek to Unicoi. I was supposed to be the sweeper, bringing up the rear, but I'd let two of my group, a father and son, fall behind. I started to hear traffic in the gap and decided to wait to get the crew together again and there was a NOBO headed uphill towards me. Seemed like a good time to pull off to the side, lean against a tree and wait for my stragglers.
So I stepped to the downhill side and leaned back against a tree. And leaned...and leaned...and WHOA! What happened to the tree?! I tucked, flipped, straightened my legs and by pure luck stuck the landing! I came out standing straight looking around for my target tree. There wasn't one around. I still don't know what happened, I was positive there was a tree there.
Then the NOBO walked up. "That was great!" According to him, I'd been walking down towards him when I turned with my back to the downslope and did a perfect backflip. He thought I was some sort of backpacking gymnast showing off my technique for his entertainment. He gave me a "10".
I'm by far the most clumsy person I know and though I have taken several near falls while hiking, I have only fallen once. I deserved this fall, I think God was just laughing at me...I turned around to poke fun at my hiking parter walking so slow and just as I was about to turn back around I busted it.
I'm by far the most clumsy person I know and though I have taken several near falls while hiking, I have only fallen once. I deserved this fall, I think God was just laughing at me...I turned around to poke fun at my hiking parter walking so slow and just as I was about to turn back around I busted it.
During my 2,000-mile walk home in 1993 I remember falling just twice. Once in Shenandoah after replacing my boots in Waynesborou, VA with a pair that proved to have unexpectedly slippery soles. I stepped on a wet rock and slid sideways. Again while watching a very pretty and friendly woman hiker I tripped on a root and landed face down. I carried an embarrassing scar on my forehead for two weeks.
I've fallen a few times in the 13 years since. Those I remember: once on ice while walking off a too big Thanksgiving dinner at The Cabin in East Andover. Again last week when I stepped into a pile of dry oak leaves, only to have my right leg slide out from under me, twisting and over bending my knee.
I walked six miles yesterday on a very rough woodland trail, so I guess I've recovered from the latter mishap. I try to be more careful these days. I've never had a broken bone and I don't want one now. I'm sorry I wrote that. As several have pointed out, to brag is to tempt fate.
Weary
AbeHikes
03-10-2006, 11:26
Walking down Mt. Everett in early July on a HHH day, I said aloud "I don't think I've fallen in about 1000 miles." I made it about another 100 - 200 yards and.... SPLAT. Whatever you do, don't voice aloud how long its been since you've last fallen. Its a certain recipe for disaster.
Isn't that like saying "It'll probably blow over" or "Nah. It won't rain today"?
I have a talent for tripping, falling, bouncing off of things and generally finding common, every day tasks like walking as a means to inflict pain and embarrisment on myself :rolleyes:.
There are a few of the narrower bridges in VA that can compete with bog bridges in the slippery department, the ones with a rail on only one side.
They got pretty mucky in 2003, especially on the ends where people are tracking mud on them all day long. I was happily walking along, one foot on the bridge, two feet on the bridge, and suddenly no feet on the bridge. Pretty rocky little stream and about a 4 foot drop head first, my pack snagged a tree on the way down which fortunately slowed the fall to about nothing.
For dive fans, this was technically a reverse I think, not a dive... Feet first, out and over as opposed to head goes down, feet go up.
I never did figure out quite what happened other than I just had my head in the clouds. I could see the skid marks where my feet started sliding and I swear the end of the bridge was as slick with mud as any ice I've ever walked on.
Lesson learned, slow down on all bridges and use the hand rails.
I fall at least once or twice every time we do a section. One time on a very muddy down slope my feet went forward and I slid down the slope on my butt and pack. The worst part is when I got to the bottom I was like a turtle....I couldn't get up. When my husband finally quit laughing he helped me up.
icemanat95
03-10-2006, 14:46
I only fell a handful of times during my hike. Twice it was induced by lighting strikes, the rest were induced by rain while descending Mt. Madison into Pinkham Notch.
It ain't no big deal.
astrogirl
03-10-2006, 23:43
I fall down, on average, every 250 miles hiked, but I'm a total klutz.
The worst fall I took was in PA before the Pinnacles. Dan's Pulpit or Pulpit Rock, something like that. I landed on one of those shark fin rocks, tore my pants and got a wicked bruise on my quad. A little blood from abrasion too.
I've slid on wet leaves and dry leaves. If I didn't have the poles, I'd probably wind up down a lot more. They have caught me probably twice as many times as I've fallen.
sleepwalker
03-11-2006, 00:34
I've taken a total of two spills in 2000 miles(that's the AT and countless other trails in the Adirondacks, Catskills and Berkshires mostly) . I guess what matters here is how I define falling, which I would say winding up as anything but upright without the hands hitting the ground first.
The first was on the AT as a newbie. I was on Blood Mt headed toward Neel's gap and I remember I was hearing cars. I was still a mile and a half away but me and my 45 lb gregory whitney started sprinting on a seriously steep grade...needless to say, I lost my footing and went ass over teakettle. All for the promise of a little chocolate. It didn't hurt one bit. I just got up and kept walking...albeit a little slower.
The second and most recent was in the Catskills. I successfully crested sugarloaf but on my way down I came to a 12 foot leap off a boulder. So I threw my pack down and started negotiating the drop. I got about halfway and came to a point where I had to jump, so I did. I put my arm out to grab the boulder and my hand hit and I spun around, so I could land on the next boulder feet first...trouble was, is my body spun but my hand was stuck in a crag in the rock. I felt a crack and I yanked my hans hard and the rock let it go. I landed on my butt. I looked at my hand and my left index finger was in the shape of an S. Broken like crazy and I still had 7 miles to go. Instinctively I set it with a lovely snap and kept walking in delierium.
I didn't think I was going to make it because I was dizzy with shock...funny with just a finger break, but it happened. I made it out and had a euphorious one hour car ride home and then to the hospital. It was oct though and it was icy on the downslope so I had it coming to me. I'm just thankful it wasn't worse...mine was the only name on the register that entire day and for one week after.
maxNcathy
03-11-2006, 19:38
has anyone ever fallen
in love
on the Trail
with gal
with a guy
with .......
blindeye
03-11-2006, 20:49
weary this may be a newbie question but what is a " commercial" trekking pole? are there custom poles?
weary this may be a newbie question but what is a " commercial" trekking pole? are there custom poles?
Commercial poles are those you buy. I don't know anything about custom poles. Other than, of course, those I make myself.
Then, of course, there are semi what-ever poles, like the one I used today -- a piece of alder cut on the trail, with a rubber crutch tip on the bottom and with a Komperdell cork tip, imbedded compass, and strap -- cost around $12, but maybe no longer available, since a Komperdell site no longer lists such a thing.
Cheaper versions are available if one wants to search.
I hiked the trail in 1993 at age 64 with an alder pole cut at the bottom of Dunn Notch Falls in Maine two-years earlier while doing "Maine" with a 9-year-old grandchild.
My grandson and I made it to Katahdin, though sadly he never made it to the summit because of a powerful late summer rain.
I had never seriously carried a pole before. But my grandchild was a bit clumsy and kept falling so I cut him a pole from some stuff left by a trail crew at the bottom of the Dunn Notch falls early in my month long Maine AT walk. GRandchild, Jon, of course, woukln't use a pole unless I did.
I've been carrying ever since, and experimenting with Lekis and other potentially useful providers. My conclusion is that one pole, for me, works at least as good, and perhaps better than a leki system of poles.
My multiple day hikes may be slowing down. But I try to do a few miles almost daily.
The stick I use today weighs almost identical to the stick I carried when I walked home to Maine 13 years ago, both 9 ounces. My Komperdell top adds 3 ounces. though I rarely use the wrist strap. I carry because of sentimental reasons -- or something.
Weary