2. I met Meagan and Patrick in Wallace after they spent some time at the Labor Day weekend flea market and we drove to the Pulaski Tunnel trailhead for a hike. It was splendid. The combination of the shade and the creek kept us cool. We meandered up the trail, admiring the trees, the small waterfalls, and the beauty of the day.
Before long, we encountered a hiker with a young and strong dog coming down the trail. I climbed a few feet off the trail and stood on some large rocks, happy to give way to the man and his dog. The dog was very excited about encountering us and he pulled forward, pulled hard, and, even though he was leashed, the dog's owner did not have his dog under control. Fortunately, the dog was not aggressive but friendly. He charged to where I was standing on the rocks and jumped on me. He knocked me over. I tumbled down the rocks onto the trail.
I was stunned by having fallen. I got myself in a sitting position. The hiker whose dog knocked me over helped me to my feet. I gathered myself, determined I hadn't broken any bones, and said to dog owner, "I'll be all right. You can go on."
Patrick and Meagan came to my side and I realized that when I fell I jammed the big toe on my left foot. I also had an ugly, but shallow, scrape on my left arm and a small scrape on my leg. I immediately knew I needed to head back to the car, get home, and ice my toe. I told Patrick and Meagan I'd wait for them down below if they wanted to hike farther up the trail, but they said they'd come back to the car with me.
I was relieved that despite having jammed my toe, I could walk just fine -- I think my toe got a healthy shot of adrenaline. Down the trail a short way, we stopped, I got out my day hiking first aid kit, and cleaned and dressed, with Meagan's help, the scrape on my arm and cleaned the scrape on my leg.
3. Back home, I took off my left shoe and my sock was bloody mess. When I jammed my toe, my toenail cut into my toe. It was blue underneath my toenail and the toenail was intact. I cleaned the wound and Debbie dressed it to stanch the bleeding. I got out an ice pack and started the icing process. My toe was swollen, but I've experienced worse.
Later in the evening, I suddenly realized that I could have brought the hiking poles Christy lent me on this hike. They are such a new addition to my life -- I'm not in the habit of using them -- that I didn't even think of putting them in the car when I left. (Now I'm going to keep them in the car.) Had I been using those poles when the excited, friendly dog jumped on me, the chances are good I might have maintained my balance. It's not a guarantee, but my chances of staying on my feet would have been better.
After arriving back home, I felt my cell phone getting hot in my pocket. It was heating up and wouldn't turn on -- in fact, it was in an endless reboot loop. Patrick inspected the phone and found a problem unrelated to my fall. Whether my fall and the phone being on the blink had anything to do with each other is a mystery, but it doesn't really matter. I'll be heading to CdA on Tuesday morning to see if my phone can be resurrected (I doubt it) and, if not, to purchase a new one.
Quite a day.
I wish I could have changed a couple of things about what happened today.
First, I wish the dog owner had had his dog on a shorter leash, especially if he knew his dog is overly friendly with people. He would have had better control of his dog with a shorter leash. As it was, the dog was pulling his owner down the trail, leash pulled out tight, the owner's arm stretched out straight. But, I understand how these things happen and I'm actually grateful that the dog was friendly and not aggressive.
Second, the poles. I really wish I had remembered to hike with them today. I've got to make using hiking poles a regular part of my hiking.
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