Date: 2015-03-19
From: Tray Mt Shelter

To: Deep Gap Shelter 
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: light rain

By age 54 I should know better than to get foolishly injured. Two years before starting my AT hike I had ignored my wife¢s concerns about dirt bike racing and shattered my hip, damaging the nerves in my leg in the process. After sitting on my butt for two years waiting to get better, I decide to take matters into my own hands.I was inspired by the movie ¢Wild¢ and by reading Awol¢s hiking the AT book. I announced that I was going to ¢Hike the Appalachian Trail¢ to various family members and others who didn¢t believe I¢d really do this. I also had my own doubts after discovering during a pre-hike that I could only go about a mile (and this was on flat ground¢¦) before I had to call my wife to come get me with the car. Despite all this, after several weeks of research and frantic preparation, I finally started my hike North from Springer Mountain on March 3, 2015 which was two years from the date I had injured my hip and leg. As I began my hike I went through all the concerns my family had been sharing with me along with a variety of my own fears. ¢What happens if something goes wrong?¢¢I¢ll be fine!¢ I had insisted. Although I had never hiked before, I stubbornly told myself ¢I¢m going to do this no matter what¢ as I hiked a whopping 2.6 miles my first day. It was several weeks and 63 miles later that the real excitement began. I pushed harder than usual and didn¢t drink enough water that day arriving at Deep Gap Shelter late in the day. A dozen or more hikers were cooking dinner and talking trail smack. I joined in with a small group and was invited to partake in what some hikers call a ¢Staff Meeting¢. Unless the trail had taken us into Colorado, this uh, ¢activity¢ wasn¢t legally authorized so I¢ll let you use your imagination to figure out what happens in a staff meeting. ¢So what if I hadn¢t done this in over 30 years¢¦ what the heck¢, I thought, ¢I¢m on the AT.¢ Within a few minutes of this activity my vision started to spin so I sat down on a nearby bench that was built into the side of the shelter. The next thing I knew I was lying on the ground with people yelling and running over to me. I had passed out and clunked over onto the hard ground. ¢Are you ok?¢¢You had a seizure!¢ I heard a distinct male voice call out.¢Ask him what date it is.¢ ¢Umm¢¦ March 20th?¢ I guessed. The gal looking at me scrunching up her face. ¢No, it¢s March 19.¢ I corrected. ¢He doesn¢t know what day it is!¢¢See if he can walk¢, a short haired hiker who seemed to take command suggested. I was yanked up to my feet and took a few wobbly steps before the ¢Commander¢ (my name for him) shouted out ¢He can¢t walk, I¢m calling 911!¢ ¢Maybe we should wait a bit before calling¢, I meekly suggested. ¢Nope, you sit right there! You¢ve obviously got a concussion and I¢m calling for rescue right now.¢ replied The Commander. He had mentioned he had PTSD and it seemed that my little fall had triggered something for him. At this point I was a bit concerned - mainly because I¢d never had a seizure of any type before. The Commander was telling everyone that they would likely helicopter me out due to the remote location, 3.5 miles up the narrow trail from Dick¢s Creek Gap. I couldn¢t get a signal on my cell phone so I asked if someone - anyone - could please call my wife for me. The Commander was the only one who responded saying ¢What¢s her number?¢ I provided our home number but there was no answer. I then gave him my wife¢s cell, helpfully saying ¢I think that¢s right, if not try the same number ending in 9025 instead of 9925.¢ ¢He can¢t keep his numbers straight!¢ exclaimed the Commander as he made the call and connected with my wife. ¢He¢s had a serious fall and had a seizure. Yes, that¢s right, a seizure. He¢s got a concussion and we¢ve called 911. They¢re on the way to rescue him right now.¢ I knew my wife and kids would be pretty worried and I was wondering how I¢d explain this little mishap to them. After all, I WAS pretty dehydrated¢¦ I contemplated, ¢Maybe I¢ll leave that part about the staff meeting out¢¦¢¢We think he was dehydrated AND there¢s another piece to it that it¢s not my place to get into.¢ Said the Commander, still on the phone with my wife. ¢It¢s not my place to explain that, I¢ll leave that up to HIM to tell you about or not.¢Ok¢¦ I guess I am going to tell my wife the whole story here. Thanks Mr. Commander for helping me make that decision : ) I listened in from the shelter¢s porch to the campfire chatter as other hikers joined the group and and were updated.¢Oh, he¢s definitely got a concussion.¢¢He can¢t keep his numbers straight.¢¢He doesn¢t even know what day it is.¢After an hour or so I was feeling much better and suggested that I perhaps I should get up and walk around a bit to see how I felt.¢You are going to stay RIGHT THERE until you can be evaluated!¢ responded the Commander. ¢Then, and ONLY THEN, can you get up.¢¢Uh, ok, yes sir¢, I thought, inwardly smiling about the hilarity of the whole situation. 45 minutes later multiple headlamps sprouted out from the woods as fifteen medics arrived for the rescue. They had come up a nearby forest service road on ATVs, bringing along an ambulance, and full size 4x4 truck. The lead medic was friendly and helpful, asking me various questions and having me do a few tests like walking around and touching my finger to my nose. ¢I think you¢re fine.¢ he said. ¢I¢ll take you down the mountain if you insist but I don¢t see any signs of a concussion and I think you¢re ok.¢He went on to add, ¢I tend to be overly careful and get in trouble sometimes for taking people in who don¢t need our help, so while there¢s no guarantee of course, I think you¢re ok.¢So I spent the night in the shelter after the other hikers were nice enough to make a spot to squeeze me in. The next morning I got up early and tried to make my way down the trail in the fog without attracting any more attention. ¢So you¢re Flash 52¢¦ ha ha ha ha.¢ I heard again and again the following week. ¢I¢ve heard all about you!¢My wife and kids were initially rattled by my experience but laughed heartily once I told them the whole story as I¢ve shared with you here. Here¢s what I learned from all this¢¦¢If you¢re going to hike the AT, don¢t forget to pack your common sense¢This is my first post here. I did continue hiking further North and will fill you in with further posts on what happened including how hiking with my disability has helped to define my version of ¢Hike Your Own Hike.¢