View Full Version : The rain in Maine falls squarely on my pain...
wacocelt
12-29-2009, 16:17
What had begun as a cool, overcast day gave way to bright blue skies after lunch. We had just finished out lunch relaxation and drying out process at the Spec Pond Lean To and were proceeding South towards the Mahoosuc Notch, which is the hardest mile on the Appalachian Trail.
The Mahoosuc Notch is a solid mile of boulder scramble, clumbing over, around and through huge boulders which have been bared by the elements. Ice can be seen deep beneath the boulders all year round and extreme care and attention are required while traversing this section, so we were all excited and anticipating reaching this milestone.
My hiking companions were Hornz and Bandit, two eighteen year olds I had begun hiking with because they had informed me that they would be joining the Army and more specifically the Airborne Infantry, which I had also served in, when they finished their hike. With us also was Bouie, a young man from Alabama that was hiking with his brother Rooster, who had left a bit earlier than us and was futher ahead. As we hiked along the flat, open space of Old Speck Mountain, we were talking and laughing, truly enjoying the sunshine, gentle temperatures and gorgeous views we had been gifted with.
It was the mild conditions and flat, open terrain which lulled me into a sense of security and caused me to be just unobservant enough of my foot placement, that as I stepped off of a three foot tall boulder I heard a loud snap, like that of a pencil breaking, come from my lower left leg. All three of my companions heard it and we all voiced our dismay with various worried expletives.
Having sprained my ankle in the past I hopped on my right foot, stabilizing myself with my trekking poles, until I could survey the damage. There was no pain in my ankle so I gingerly rotated my foot to test it's mobility and found it to be fine. Using my trekking poles and hopping on my right foot I found a place to sit to further inspect the damage. My companions gathered around me, flustered and worried, as I removed my Keen sandal to see a protrusion, about the size of a number two pencil eraser, jutting up beneath the skin on the side of my left foot.
I had just broken a bone in my foot, on top of a mountain, in the middle of nowhere. There is a caretaker stationed at the Speck Pond campsite, so Booie hustled back to see what aid he might be able to render. Unfortunately, as helpful as he was, all he was able to provide was an Ace bandage and information about a logging road off the West side of the ridge which would be my quickest chance of securing a ride to a hospital.
Bouie continued on to catch his brother, who was miles ahead of us by now, while Hornz and Bandit volunteered to stay with me. They split the majority of my pack weight between them to lessen my load and we began our way down off Old Speck. No sooner had we moved back into the treeline and onto trail proper again, when the wind picked up and the clouds returned, causing the temperature to cool and the skies, as well as our moods, to darken.
The path which we were following isn't a part of the Appalachian Trail so was poorly maintained and then we discovered, much to our collective dismay, that loggers had been running cuts directly up the side of the mountain which ran perpendicular to our route. There would be a quarter, to a half mile of overgrown, poorly maintained trail, which would suddenly open onto a hundred yards of tilled, mangled clear-cut Earth which was almost impossible for me to traverse in my injured state.
After fighting our way over several of these, all of us cussing and complaining the entire time, we reached another and I delcared that we would just follow it down the mountain, to the logging roads below. So we set off down this uneven, loose earthed slope, all of us becoming more frantic as the time passed, however we finally found the logging roads and were relieved for a moment...
Until we realized that there was no rhyme nor reason to these roads, nor were there signs or the like to guide us correctly to the paved roads. We had just traversed three miles of bad trail and logging debris to find these roads, paved with railroad gravel, only to discover that not only weren't we "out of the woods" yet, but that we may very well be lost. Not only that, but it also began to sprinkle and as things are wont to do, it was quickly going from bad to wrose.
Through the process of elimination and being forced to backtrack a few times we finally found a road which we were convinced would lead us to pavement and thus civilization and a much needed doctor for my foot, which by now was aching, throbbing and doing what a broken foot is suppose to do when you're hiking on it, hurting like Hell. We had been on these roads for close to two hours at this point, so it was about four hours before that I had broken my foot, when it began to rain in earnest.
The three of us were setting a decent pace, despite my broken foot, Hornz beside me to the left and Bandit slightly behind and to the right. hornz had reached a point where he was griping, cussing and complaining non stop about the condition of the road were were on, the trail we had been on, the weather and pretty much anything else which crossed his mind when suddenly he stopped, tears rimming his eyes and said, "I am SO sorry dude!"
I stopped confused and asked him, "What are you sorry for man?"
"Here you are, hiking along with a broken foot, not saying anything and all I'm doing is bitching and complaining. If you aren't saying anything then I damn sure don't have the right to!"
I just laughed and shook my head, "I don't have time to bitch, I've gotta concentrate on the pain..."
warraghiyagey
12-29-2009, 17:30
I was going to read this but don't have nearly the attention span. . . ;)
Self absorbed a little?
Directed at the OP
Lone Wolf
12-29-2009, 21:11
waco rocks!
I DONT THINK THEY MADE IT UP . Why cant you b'stards listen and react to what they say, afterall it sounds like they had been outdoors and you had not.
waco rocks!
Texas?
Yeah, just how is that foot? I've yet to break a bone on the trail, just a few bruises and pulled muscles. And - did concentrating on the pain help, or was it all you could concentrate on at that time?
I'm still waiting for the end of the story (or was all of that building up to the punch line?).
What had begun as a cool
I'm not reading all that crap... :rolleyes:
Let's hit the Reader's Digest Summary version-
"I was hiking on the AT with some other dudes. I'm a clod and broke my foot. We got lost. The weather got crappy. The other dude complained. My foot hurt. The end"
What had begun as a cool, overcast day gave way to bright blue skies after lunch. We had just finished out lunch relaxation and drying out process at the Spec Pond Lean To and were proceeding South towards the Mahoosuc Notch, which is the hardest mile on the Appalachian Trail.
The Mahoosuc Notch is a solid mile of boulder scramble, clumbing over, around and through huge boulders which have been bared by the elements. Ice can be seen deep beneath the boulders all year round and extreme care and attention are required while traversing this section, so we were all excited and anticipating reaching this milestone.
My hiking companions were Hornz and Bandit, two eighteen year olds I had begun hiking with because they had informed me that they would be joining the Army and more specifically the Airborne Infantry, which I had also served in, when they finished their hike. With us also was Bouie, a young man from Alabama that was hiking with his brother Rooster, who had left a bit earlier than us and was futher ahead. As we hiked along the flat, open space of Old Speck Mountain, we were talking and laughing, truly enjoying the sunshine, gentle temperatures and gorgeous views we had been gifted with.
It was the mild conditions and flat, open terrain which lulled me into a sense of security and caused me to be just unobservant enough of my foot placement, that as I stepped off of a three foot tall boulder I heard a loud snap, like that of a pencil breaking, come from my lower left leg. All three of my companions heard it and we all voiced our dismay with various worried expletives.
Having sprained my ankle in the past I hopped on my right foot, stabilizing myself with my trekking poles, until I could survey the damage. There was no pain in my ankle so I gingerly rotated my foot to test it's mobility and found it to be fine. Using my trekking poles and hopping on my right foot I found a place to sit to further inspect the damage. My companions gathered around me, flustered and worried, as I removed my Keen sandal to see a protrusion, about the size of a number two pencil eraser, jutting up beneath the skin on the side of my left foot.
I had just broken a bone in my foot, on top of a mountain, in the middle of nowhere. There is a caretaker stationed at the Speck Pond campsite, so Booie hustled back to see what aid he might be able to render. Unfortunately, as helpful as he was, all he was able to provide was an Ace bandage and information about a logging road off the West side of the ridge which would be my quickest chance of securing a ride to a hospital.
Bouie continued on to catch his brother, who was miles ahead of us by now, while Hornz and Bandit volunteered to stay with me. They split the majority of my pack weight between them to lessen my load and we began our way down off Old Speck. No sooner had we moved back into the treeline and onto trail proper again, when the wind picked up and the clouds returned, causing the temperature to cool and the skies, as well as our moods, to darken.
The path which we were following isn't a part of the Appalachian Trail so was poorly maintained and then we discovered, much to our collective dismay, that loggers had been running cuts directly up the side of the mountain which ran perpendicular to our route. There would be a quarter, to a half mile of overgrown, poorly maintained trail, which would suddenly open onto a hundred yards of tilled, mangled clear-cut Earth which was almost impossible for me to traverse in my injured state.
After fighting our way over several of these, all of us cussing and complaining the entire time, we reached another and I delcared that we would just follow it down the mountain, to the logging roads below. So we set off down this uneven, loose earthed slope, all of us becoming more frantic as the time passed, however we finally found the logging roads and were relieved for a moment...
Until we realized that there was no rhyme nor reason to these roads, nor were there signs or the like to guide us correctly to the paved roads. We had just traversed three miles of bad trail and logging debris to find these roads, paved with railroad gravel, only to discover that not only weren't we "out of the woods" yet, but that we may very well be lost. Not only that, but it also began to sprinkle and as things are wont to do, it was quickly going from bad to wrose.
Through the process of elimination and being forced to backtrack a few times we finally found a road which we were convinced would lead us to pavement and thus civilization and a much needed doctor for my foot, which by now was aching, throbbing and doing what a broken foot is suppose to do when you're hiking on it, hurting like Hell. We had been on these roads for close to two hours at this point, so it was about four hours before that I had broken my foot, when it began to rain in earnest.
The three of us were setting a decent pace, despite my broken foot, Hornz beside me to the left and Bandit slightly behind and to the right. hornz had reached a point where he was griping, cussing and complaining non stop about the condition of the road were were on, the trail we had been on, the weather and pretty much anything else which crossed his mind when suddenly he stopped, tears rimming his eyes and said, "I am SO sorry dude!"
I stopped confused and asked him, "What are you sorry for man?"
"Here you are, hiking along with a broken foot, not saying anything and all I'm doing is bitching and complaining. If you aren't saying anything then I damn sure don't have the right to!"
I just laughed and shook my head, "I don't have time to bitch, I've gotta concentrate on the pain..."
A great report!
warraghiyagey
12-29-2009, 23:33
Let's hit the Reader's Digest Summary version-
"I was hiking on the AT with some other dudes. I'm a clod and broke my foot. We got lost. The weather got crappy. The other dude complained. My foot hurt. The end"
http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-dance006.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)
modiyooch
12-30-2009, 08:11
Would the foot have broken if you were in boots instead of sandals? I'm so old school. I insist on wearing boots for ankle support.
Let's hit the Reader's Digest Summary version-
"I was hiking on the AT with some other dudes. I'm a clod and broke my foot. We got lost. The weather got crappy. The other dude complained. My foot hurt. The end"
lmao! awesome!
Moral of the story: Don't post trip reports on whiteblaze unless you are looking to get flamed.
StarLyte
12-30-2009, 09:00
I can tell by your writings, that you were a little in shock, fear, and disbelief that this major inconvenience happened to you and your group.
This is the forum to express that, and I'm glad you did.
Just a little reminder to ALL OF US that this could happen very easily, without warning, AND WITHOUT anyone there for us. What if he had been hiking by himself....the anxiety and fear factor would have really kicked in.
You stayed as cool as you could and you made it. Two hours is a long damn time trying to get off the trail, but you did it.
Pat yourself on the back, thank your friends, and glad you made it to post this report.
warraghiyagey
12-30-2009, 13:27
What I'm wondering, Wacocelt, is if you've ever heard of FUBAR. . . or the 4 Pines Hostel. . . ?
If you have maybe you can tell everyone that story. . . .
Lone Wolf
12-30-2009, 13:30
What I'm wondering, Wacocelt, is if you've ever heard of FUBAR. . . or the 4 Pines Hostel. . . ?
If you have maybe you can tell everyone that story. . . .
FUBAR admitted he was wrong, apologized and paid dearly for the incident. he moved on and bettered himself
warraghiyagey
12-30-2009, 13:32
FUBAR admitted he was wrong, apologized and paid dearly for the incident. he moved on and bettered himself
good to hear. . . .
wacocelt
12-30-2009, 22:06
The small clinic we hitched a ride to was eighty five miles from the trail and only five miles from the Canadian border. I would have been rather distressed with having to return that distance if it weren't for the pain in my broken foot keeping my mind occupied. Theres no use in pondering a future problem when you have one bright and shining, demanding your undivided attention in the present.
As we arrived it was late afternoon and overcast. Hornz and Bandit helped me unload my gear from the truck and I hobbled inside. They saw me settled into the waiting room and went outside to have a smoke and no doubt discuss our pending transportation issues. The waitingroom was almost totally empty, the recptionist curt but efficient.
Once I was in the treatment room I was left for quite some time watching nurses putter around doing what seemed a lot of nothing and could see the doctor on duty move from room to room treating the three or four other patients for minor ailments and injuries. I noticed however that as he treated there folks he kept glancing at me, as if distracted, and finally I saw him motion to the person he was speaking with that he would return shortly.
He approached me with a widening grin on his face and extended his hand.
"Hiking the Appalachian Trail, eh? I Thru-Hiked back in 84'."
"Yessir, I am, or was, depending on the verdict here. Lucky me in just happening to hitch a ride almost a hundred miles from the trail and find a former Thru-Hiker."
"Yes, isn't it? You've broken the top eighth of an inch off of your fifth metatarsal. You're going to need to see an orthopedist and it will take six week at least to heal."
So he wrote me a prescription for pain meds, crutches and offered me an orthopedic shoe until he noticed that the Keen sandals I was wearing were design with the same support principles, so just gave me another ace bandage and an ankle brace to stabilize my foot and keep the bone from grinding when I moved. I thanked him, he wished me the best and I was out the door.
So there we stood. Three of us in an unknown town, dark rapidly approaching and no way back to the Trail. We figured the best thing to do would be to grab some hot dogs and other town food goodies, find a place to stealth camp and wait until morning to hitch a ride back South to where we were picked up.
We wandered around town and finally found a small convenience store and were on our way in when a womans voice called from behind us.
"Are you guys hiking the appalachian Trail?" We looked at one another in disbelief. How could someone peg us for AT hikers more than 100 miles from the source?
"Yes, as a matter of fact we are. How did you guess?" I quickly answered and turned on a dime, despite my crutches and turned to talk to her.
"I've been reading "A Walk In The Woods" and figured you guys must be Thru-Hikers!" She beamed at us.
"Well, as you can see I'm not having the best of times at the moment. You wouldn't know a place around here that we would be alright to camp for the night would you?"
"As a matter of fact my husband and I have a travel trailer behind out house you boys can use for the night. Why don't you load on up?"
Our hearts as Hornz and Bandit helped me load my pack and other gear into the back. I sat in the passenger side and they in the back, all of us grinning like foos, ear to ear. She stopped at a small grocery store and insisted on buying us some snacks and drinks before we finished the drive to her house. When we arrived she introduced us to her husband, gave us towels showed us where the bathroom was and welcomed us to make ourselves at home and to shower at our leisure. While we took turns getting cleaned up she put on a pot of coffee as well as some bear stew she had made from an animal her husband had shot right on their property.
That night the three of us discussed what fantasticly amazing luck we were having as we settled in to sleep. The next morning we were further blessed by a home cooked breakfast after which out matron surprised us by announcing that she was going to drive us all the way to Gorham, New Hampshire, the trail town which was our next stop on the trail.
I am constantly amazed at the generosity and compassion showed by the fans and denizens of the Appalachian Trail. There are truly some remarkable people tied to it.
wacocelt
12-30-2009, 22:14
A quick reply to these folks with their "too long didn't read" responses... I'm sharing these stories because they are mine and I enjoy telling them. If you don't want to read them I'm fine with that. If you want to troll and flame me I'm fine with that too.
As for the nameless, faceless dude bringing up a more then six year old incident, I hope you're able to find some peace of mind. I'm seeking mine...
wacocelt
12-30-2009, 22:17
Would the foot have broken if you were in boots instead of sandals? I'm so old school. I insist on wearing boots for ankle support.
Since my pack, in the Summer, usually weighs about 25lbs, I don't need as much ankle support as when I'm trying to do miles carrying say 50. I understand this question can be somewhat of a dig, but it's as close to an honest question to be posted. Be well.
wacocelt
12-30-2009, 22:19
I DONT THINK THEY MADE IT UP . Why cant you b'stards listen and react to what they say, afterall it sounds like they had been outdoors and you had not.
I am completely unsure as to what you're saying or to whom.
wacocelt
12-30-2009, 22:22
Texas?
Yeah, just how is that foot? I've yet to break a bone on the trail, just a few bruises and pulled muscles. And - did concentrating on the pain help, or was it all you could concentrate on at that time?
I'm still waiting for the end of the story (or was all of that building up to the punch line?).
The foot is fine, I just have problems sitting cross-legged on hard surfaces because of the knot on the outside of my foot. And yes, concetrating on the pain, trying to intentionally play with the pulses and twinges did help quite a bit. If you know you're going to be in pain, you might as well dive in and experience that *****, right?
beakerman
12-31-2009, 11:15
A quick reply to these folks with their "too long didn't read" responses... I'm sharing these stories because they are mine and I enjoy telling them. If you don't want to read them I'm fine with that. If you want to troll and flame me I'm fine with that too.
As for the nameless, faceless dude bringing up a more then six year old incident, I hope you're able to find some peace of mind. I'm seeking mine...
Yeah don't let those guys get to ya...they are teh same ones that thought they were being smart by reading the cliff notes back in high school when it came time to read Homer or Shakespeare. They missed out on a lot of good stuff and really the entire point of it.
So you bushwhacked quite some distance--down hill yet on a busted hoof. You are a better man that me...I'd have called in a helicopter, but then again that's probably why I would never have a story like this to relate to folks.
I drove myself to the ER (about 10 minutes) after I got into a fist fight with my table saw once and I got carried out of the woods once and sent to the hospital to be treated for dehydration from failing to drop some iodine tablets in my canteen. Not nearly the tale you tell but I will say you know who your friends are when they carry you out of the woods.
wacocelt
12-31-2009, 12:11
"I will say you know who your friends are when they carry you out of the woods."
Yessir, thats a fact!
The small clinic we hitched a ride to was eighty five miles from the trail and only five miles from the Canadian border. I would have been rather distressed with having to return that distance if it weren't for the pain in my broken foot keeping my mind occupied.
I'm not sure what small town you might have come to that is five miles from the Canadian border after escaping from Old Speck.
I'm guessing you took a trail that lead to the success pond road. Had you turned southerly you would have been in Berlin, N. H. in an hour or so of walking. Berlin has a fine, modern hospital. If you went north you probably ended on Route 26, the road through Grafton Notch. The village of Upton 8.5 miles to the west, but it seems unlikely to have had a clinic. Regardless it was a mistake to head West. Bethel, a thriving town to the east was only about a half hour drive away.
My advice is to carry a map when exploring country you are unfamiliar with.
Weary
wacocelt
01-01-2010, 08:54
I'm not sure what small town you might have come to that is five miles from the Canadian border after escaping from Old Speck.
I'm guessing you took a trail that lead to the success pond road. Had you turned southerly you would have been in Berlin, N. H. in an hour or so of walking. Berlin has a fine, modern hospital. If you went north you probably ended on Route 26, the road through Grafton Notch. The village of Upton 8.5 miles to the west, but it seems unlikely to have had a clinic. Regardless it was a mistake to head West. Bethel, a thriving town to the east was only about a half hour drive away.
My advice is to carry a map when exploring country you are unfamiliar with.
Weary
We were picked up by two old dudes that assured us they had a clinic where they lived and that they were on their way home. In my excitemnt to not be on my feet anymore, I neglected to ask how far they lived until it was way, way too late...