Thursday, April 7, 2016

A hike to remember

Ow! My knee!
Fourteen Senior Trailblazers met on a fabulous sunny day to drive the 45 minutes down to the trailhead on Fidalgo Island to hike on the Anacortes Community Forest Lands to both Sugarloaf and Mt. Erie. Some of the hikers got to cover around seven or eight miles, but not all of us.
Chris' new removable cast
First, the back story. Chris is thrilled with her new removable cast and managed admirably to navigate the ups and downs of this rabbit warren of trails that starts at Heart Lake and takes us first to Sugarloaf and then to the top of Mt. Erie.
Fawn lily
We saw fawn lilies in several places. We know that's what they are because of their purple and green leaves. They are lovely and only bloom for a short period, so I had to capture this one as best I could. Then we headed for the first of our destinations, Sugarloaf. The view is pretty spectacular, to say the least.
Linda gazing out at the view
Since it was after 11:00 by the time we got here, we stopped to have a quick snack before setting off for Mt. Erie. On the way back down, I had an event with my knee. A sore spot became an excruciating show stopper. Although I don't know yet what broke, something did. It started last week on the steep downhill but today it finally made it impossible for me to continue. That's somewhat of a problem when you're out there.
Making my way carefully to the road, with help
Although I could still walk, I couldn't bend my right knee much at all without pain, so everybody pitched in to get me to the road. (There's a road to the top of Mt. Erie, but we take the trails. Usually.) Once we got to the road, Steve said he would jog to the parking lot and get his car, and he and I (and Jacqueline, who stayed with me) would meet the others who would hike to the top while he came to get us and drive us to the top to join the others.
The trail where we waited for Steve
The two of us settled in and had our lunch while we waited for Steve. Plenty of cars went by, but no Steve. Although cellphone connection was spotty, Al managed to get through and found that we were still waiting, and then... here he comes. He had made a wrong turn to the parking lot and ended up going more than twice the distance he should have, and he jogged the entire way! A dog saw him and decided to make it even more difficult for him by taking a bite out of his leg. He kept going, picked us up, and by the time we were all joined together at the top of Mt. Erie, we redistributed the cars and started back down.
A Trailblazer conversation on top of Mt. Erie
Since Steve, Jacqueline and I had only just arrived, this is the only view I got from the top of Mt. Erie, but the others had been waiting for us for awhile, not knowing that Steve had been jogging for what was around seven miles to get to us when he did! The hikers headed back down to the cars, while Carol, Steve, Jacqueline and I got in Steve's car and made a beeline to the Senior Center. While driving, we imagined how we could make a movie out of today's adventure. We wouldn't have to exaggerate much to make it a good story, would we? (A case of rabies from the dog bite, the two waiting for him having contracted the Zika virus from mosquitos, and a car crash on the way home, maybe?)

Once we had cell coverage, I called my doctor and was able to snag an after-hours appointment tonight at 7:00pm, when someone can take a look at my knee. I suspect I will be missing some hikes, because although I can walk, it's only slowly and with care, and stairs are a serious problem. Any downhill causes pain. But we'll see what he says. In any event, it was definitely a hike to remember.
:-)

19 comments:

  1. Well, bummer! I'm sorry about the pain, but even more sympathetic about your not being able to hike for awhile. Please give us updates on your condition and on Steve!

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  2. That was an adventure. Good that you are going to see someone about your knee tonight. Ice and crutches may be your best friends for awhile. Hope you update here I will check later. Thinking positive thoughts for you! :)

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  3. oh, no! sorry for you and very sorry for steve, too!!!

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  4. It does look like a spectacular hike, but you'll probably remember it for a different reason! Hope that knee recovers quickly!

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  5. Sending all best wishes for a speedy recovery, Jan. Such a spectacular view, shared with resourceful people.

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  6. Oh - huge bummer about your knee! Hopefully it's not serious and you'll be back hiking soon. I'm glad you have good friends that are willing to drive (and jog) the extra mile to get you home.

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  7. Well, that's a real bummer to have a knee give out on the trail I hope it's not serious and that you recover quickly and get back out there. However, if the Dr says stay off well, stay off for a while.

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  8. I am so very sorry. Fingers and toes crossed it can be rectified quickly. Love the friends you have made.
    Big cyber hugs.

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  9. Steve is quite the hero! Sorry to hear about the knee, and I hope your doctor finds a simple and immediate cure.

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  10. Someone should have videotaped this adventure. Hope your knee is okay and that the dog bite isn't serious!

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  11. Oh dear! I hope you haven't done too much damage! Also hope that Steve's leg is ok and the wound heals soon. Take care.

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  12. That is just horrible, DJan. I am so sorry that happened to your knee. I hope you don't end up having surgery. Fingers crossed and good luck.

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  13. Oww, that sounds so painful. Sure hope you find the cause and can "get er fixed real soon." Let us know when you know.
    Hope Steve got the name and number of the owner of the dog and the dog is watched for 10 days. Dogs don't have to foam at the mouth to be rabid. Also, if Steve isn't current, he needs a tetanus shot. This is coming from a woman bitten 13 times as part of her job.

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  14. Oh my goodness, it sounds like you did a number on the knee! I see an MRI in your future. Hope it's not too serious and some rest will mend it.

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  15. Wow. Double wow now that I've read Arkansas Patti's comment. I hope that by next week you are sitting around with the others and laughing about today's episode.

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  16. Hope your knee injury is minor and you will only miss a couple of hikes. However I know well the older we get the longer injuries take to heal. Good luck.

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  17. So sorry to hear of your knee injury, I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's nothing serious.
    ~Jo

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  18. Poor Steve! Art got bit by a dog once when he was leaving my school. The principal begged Art to take the owner to court because she kept disregarding signs that said to keep dogs out of the school playground. He did and solved a problem the school had been concerned about for a long time.

    And your knee!!! Oh my gosh! That's always a scary thing to be hurt while on a hike. I sure hope it gets healed right away. Mom had the same sort of thing happen two days before we were to leave for Japan. We took her in a wheelchair. She's able to walk perfectly well now and the doctors couldn't understand how she hurt herself just walking down the stairs. It guess it can just happen that way. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you.

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  19. Oh no! I shall have to read your other posts to find out what happened. I am finally catching up online after being so sick--only to find out your knee went out on you. So sorry to hear that. :(

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