Play it safe ....WATCH YOUR FOOTING ....
Just a painful reminder to be careful out there . Painful as I was reminded a couple of weeks ago after having a small fall .
Our first weekend of lockdown freedom and the daughter and myself jump in the car and head off bright (or should I say dark) and early and head to the hills .
After an 8 1/2 km walk in just under three hours to one of the local huts we park up for 20 mins for a rest and a drink , then wander off into the great unknown in hte hills around the hut .
Around an hour later , out the back of nowhere and three river crossings later we approach the bank above another river crossing . The bank is around 3 mtrs tall above the rocks on the river bed . We crouch on the edge and have a nosey up and down the opposite side on the lookout for a freezer filler . See nothing of interest so have a quick wander to find a spot to make our way down into the river , as the bank is vertical .
Find a likely looking spot , the only spot not actually vertical and I take my first step off the top ..... and my foot goes out from underneath me as the earth I stand on gives way .
Now 3 mtrs doesn't sound very far but you still reach the bottom with a splat at my age rather than a bounce , especially when the bottom is strewn with rocks .
Thankfully I was holding my rifle out in front of me rather than slung over my back so that came out unscathed , apart from knocking me on the head on the way down .
So my girl slowly and carefully makes her way down to me and helps pick me up and I test all my bits and pieces for damage .
I have twisted my knee and jarred my back painfully when I landed on my arse on the rocks , along with the expected bruises .
So I settle on a rock and have a smoke and let my body sort itself out . We start climbing our way out of the riverbed and on reaching the top where I fell I come to the painful conclusion that that's me fucked for the day . Another smoke and a couple of painkillers and I pull the plug on the days adventure and we make our way slowly back to the hut .
By the time we reach the hut I am really starting to feel the pain in my lower back and my knee is refusing to cooperate with my desire to walk normally . Another sit down for a smoke and we then start to make our way back to the car , another 8 1/2 km away .
7 hrs of painful hobbling later we finally reach the vehicle , for what was a slow 3 hr walk in .
Ended up spending Sunday parked in my nice soft chair with my knee strapped up along with the next few days off work doing the same .
Even now 2 weeks later my back is still not right and my knee is only just feeling normal and mostly pain free .
I consider myself lucky - it could so easily have been a lot worse and a good reminder as to why we should all carry a PLB just in case . If I was alone and it had of been more serious , I very much doubt anyone would have found me in a hurry where I was .
And a big thankyou to my daughter who kept a level head and even carried some of my gear for me on the way out . Gotta love that girl ....
So be careful out there guys and check your footing , especially when making your way down a steep slope - just because it looks stable doesn't mean it is ...
Play it safe eh...
