[pct-l] PLBs, SPOT, and SATs

[Janet Grossman]

Valid questions, Ned, though I'm not sure how well I can answer them. 
I'd climbed north from Barker Pass, at which there was a lot of traffic 
on the dirt Forest Hwy 3. I got into a fair amount of snow on the way 
up, and then started down into the snowier small canyon with the North 
Fork of Blackwood Creek at the bottom. I was using hiking poles, and 
though I had a pair of Yak Trax I'd tossed into my pack at the last 
minute, I wasn't wearing them because I wasn't having problems with my 
footing. I'd worn them coming down from Dick's Pass and had done some 
accidental glissading anyway. I was really right at the bottom of the 
canyon, with about 15 feet of snow left, and was following footprints to 
where I planned to go down those 15 feet. About 6 feet before my 
intended turn to go down, my feet went out from under me and I slid very 
fast down a steeper bit of snow, then shot over the edge and fell just a 
few feet and landed partly in a snow-melt creek, on my left side. For 
some reason it didn't occur to me to take my pack off before getting up, 
and I'm unsure if I damaged my left shoulder blade from the fall itself 
or from getting up with my pack on, though the pack at that point 
weighed a maximum of 22 pounds and probably less. At least I'm 
right-handed. I had no idea where the trail itself was, but I crossed 
the flat, boggy area and the real creek, and on the other side found an 
unmarked trail junction and camping spots as the Data Book, etc. 
mentioned. Looking at my PCT Atlas, I realized I'd do much better going 
back to Barker Pass for help than continuing north, so that's what I did 
the next morning, and was fortunate enough to meet Liam and his parents 
at the Baker Pass TH. Liam had been a thru-hiker this year but got off 
the trail at Echo Lake and was all clean and unsmelly. They drove me to 
the Urgent Care in Truckee.

As to how other hikers could avoid this, that's the hard part since it 
happened so fast I didn't have time to really see what went wrong. Maybe 
if I'd been wearing my Yak Trax rather than carrying them in my pack I 
wouldn't have fallen. I may have just had a moment of inattentiveness, 
though I don't think so, as I had been going very carefully down the 
snowy incline. I would, at any rate, recommend taking off one's pack 
after a fall rather than struggling to get up with it still on as I did.

Janet

On 8/14/2011 1:27 PM, ned at mountaineducation.org wrote:
> Janet,
>
> So sorry to hear of your on-trail injury! Would you tell us more about 
> how this happened, where exactly, and what future hikers could do to 
> avoid such happening to them (what they should be aware of while 
> hiking, how they could prepare for it, etc.)?
>
>
> "Just remember, Be Careful out there!"
>
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education
> South Lake Tahoe, Ca. 96150
>    P: 888-996-8333
>    F: 530-541-1456
>    C: 530-721-1551
>    http://www.mountaineducation.org
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Janet Grossman" 
> <janetgr at Cableone.net>
> To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
> Sent: Friday, August 12, 2011 6:08 PM
> Subject: Re: [pct-l] PLBs, SPOT, and SATs
>
>
>> I'm really un-technological, finally got a cell phone a couple years ago
>> but almost never turn it on. However,  I started out alone at Echo
>> Summit on 7/28, planning to get to Oregon this trip, and fell on the
>> snow about 3 miles north of Barker Pass on 7/29, so at about mile 35 out
>> of the planned 640. I knew my shoulder blade was rather badly hurt after
>> sliding about 15 feet to the end of the snow and then falling off the
>> edge into a snow-melt creek. I was clear that I didn't need an air evac,
>> which was good since I couldn't get a cell phone connection down in the
>> canyon. I ended up camping in a dry area across from the creek, glad I
>> had my long pants and sleeves and headnet already on since I couldn't
>> use my shoulder well enough to set up my tent. The next morning I
>> climbed back up and over to Barker Pass and got a ride into Truckee to
>> an Urgent Care. Although the x-rays there didn't show a fracture, I
>> realized I was in way too much pain to consider hiking anymore, so made
>> my way home to AZ. The orthopedic guy I saw here thinks my shoulder
>> blade is fractured even though his x-rays also don't show it, so we're
>> waiting for my insurance to approve the CT scan he wants to do to see
>> what's going on. What I know is that every time I do much with my arm, I
>> feel moving and crunching in my shoulder blade, as well as excruciating
>> pain. Anyway, all this has made me think that perhaps even I will break
>> down and invest in a SPOT for my attempt at the same hike next year, as
>> of course my situation could have been very much worse.
>> Janet
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