I had a fall this afternoon. I was simply walking across the back yard, hit a wet spot where the grass went out from under me and I went down hard.
For you guys in your twenties and early thirties that might not sound like a big deal, but when you are 66 it can be a life changing, or life threatening event. For me that is especially true since I have had several back surgeries and the last one was induced by a fall that destroyed my L5-6 disk.
So now I am chock full of pain killers, still hurting from head to toe, and have an MRI scheduled for next week.
As I was walking back to the house, and still evaluating how much damage I had done to myself, I suddenly thought about the same thing happening if I were far from communication or help.
A simple slip and a broken leg, a fall and a broken back, a poke in the eye from a tree limb. There are more things that can happen in the woods than you can count, and about the time you think things are under control something jumps up and bites you in the butt.
Do your due diligence, let someone know where you are headed and when you will be back, where your jump off point is, have a communication device or signal device at all times and keep your day bag packed with realistic gear. You might be there all night waiting for an evac, you never know.