LOL - at least you have learnt something - even if it was the hard way !



I meant, if you become injured (etc) and are unable to continue with your existing gear (whatever it is), you can cache some of it as best you can at that site, to make it easier to reach "saftey"; return later to retrieve the gear.

Not an ideal situation, but it may be better than trying to bring everything with you. A serious injury will be a game changer, and it will necessitate having to re-evaluate your equipment.

Thanks for the numerous responses. Sorry for my late response to any questions but work was too busy today to answer sooner.

Hurt knee, I could walk but I felt the pack and I didn't want to completely blow it out.
Minor rock scrambles, walking hilly terrain. Reverse to get back.

I was hurt before the trip so I left the items home. If I was out I would have asked my friends to take some of my toys. I routinely blow out my back or knees doing something foolish...I mean fun :-) ... so I'm used to rethinking my gear
The trip included some scrambling and that warranted trying to cut weight.

Aussie, cache during the situation makes lots of sense. Hopefully I will never be that hurt but it is something I will keep in mind.

Roarmeister, R.I.C.E. is my friend, I always carry instant ice packs and elastic bandages.
I have a fairly good first aid set-up and both for myself and others elastic bandages have come in handy numerous times.
I keep a SAM splint in my vehicle. If you're taking a kayak the slight amount of weight it adds might be something to consider.
...I know says the guy who KNOWS he packs too heavy but first aid supplies I have needed too often. That's one area I don't want to cut down on.

Packing smarter that is what is always a work in progress for me. In one day you have all given me some great advice which I am going to use to reevaluate what I take.

Good luck with your recovery Chaosmagnet.

Any more advice, I'm always ready to listen?
I look forward to being a part of the forum.

Starting a hike hampered by leg injury is a novel scenario.

If the forecast was for warm weather and the area in which you were hiking is not remote and especially prone to sudden weather changes (i.e. big mountains), then I'd go ultra-light, on one condition:

1) at least two friends/family not on the hike were aware of my precise route (hiking and driving) and prepared to alert police/rangers if I did not report in by a certain time.


For such a day hike in warm weather (day and night) with a reasonably reliable forecast and friends on alert (I would not hike alone, ever), I would go ultra-light:

Hiking poles
water (+ micropur tablets)
2 energy bars
first aid (pain reliever, band-aids)
Survival blanket-tarp (AMK heatsheet or some such)
large garbage bag (for use as emergency poncho)
small amount of paracord
Fire tools: Bic lighter, matches, firesteel, cotton balls + petroleum jelly
Knife
titanium or stainless cup
Esbit titanium stove + fuel tablets
compass w/mirror
Fox 40 whistle
Petzl Zipka head/wrist lamp
pen and paper (serves as fire tender as well as for writing notes-vital info)
duct tape (now wrapped around my Bic lighter)


With such potential to further the injury and be rendered lame, I would seriously consider putting my very light Marmot Dri-Clime jacket (lightly fleece-lined and highly water resistant) in the bottom of my pack.

I agree with the others that there are a lot of variables involved. I shattered my shoulder a couple of summers ago and, would have been able to carry little to nothing at the time it happened, except a fanny pack. I was mostly useless but it wasn't an issue then. I just had to the get out of the water and into the boat and then out of the boat and up the hill to a vehicle. No easy feat but we were lucky not to be in a wilderness situation.

I was immobilized for 3 months after the accident and had to seriously rethink any plans. Again, a fanny pack was about my limit. I avoided camping altogether and slowly worked my way back to hiking. Once I could carry a pack again, I had to slowly build up the weight of what I carried and am still not back to where I was (a mixed blessing for this over-packer.)

Packing was a challenge but I refused to compromise on covering the basics:

-Protection (an emerg poncho and heat sheet for shelter)
-Rescue (whistle on lanyard, small AMK rescue mirror)
-Water (downsized to a small SS bottle and MicroPUR tablets)
-Knife (swaped LM Wave for a one-handed opening folder)
-Fire (BIC instead of a ferro rod)
-Light (switched to something with a push button and a clip, instead of twist on/off or headlamp) *as soon as I could put it on again, I went back to a headlamp
-Snacks (Cliff bars became a staple)
-FAK (downsized to bandaids, triangulars, OTC meds, wipes and prescription painkillers)

Hello Dagny and Bacpacjac,

Thank you both for your very detailed information. It will help me in paring down my kit.

Dagny, your remark about letting two people not on the hike know where you're going is so important. I normally txt my GPS location as soon as I get to a trailhead or when I'm close if cell service is weak. I do the reverse when I'm done. My plans are never so detailed that I have an exact route. I let people know I will be going to such and such section, or following the river on this bank to X, etc.
I have no desire to cutoff an appendage because I'm hurt and nobody knows where I am.

I would never start a hike ALONE if I was hurt. Most trips have some sort of climbing component which means I'm with a group of people.

A good breathable waterproof Columbia jacket lives in my pack. It is getting close to retirement so thank you for your Marmot recommendation.

Bacpacjac, OUCH, one second can change someone's life for a long time. I wish you luck on your continued recovery.

I like the idea of using a fanny pack for upper body injuries. My pack has a removable top which could be used as such with with a little ingenuity.

I am going to give your bannock recipe a try on my next hike.

the wisdom to know when not to go out on a hike or climb due to aggravation or injury. You'll always have other opportunities to hike and climb - and on average you'll have far more opportunities if you don't go out already compromised physically.

Slow down. RICE it. Life is long. You're putting yourself and your hiking or climbing companions at risk. I have left a couple friends at the bottom of a rock climbing route against their wishes, one for being hung over (and still essentially drunk), one for climbing too soon after a shoulder dislocation. When I learned my outdoor skills we appointed hike or climb leaders and their assessment of the team's capabilities was final. I was the leader. I might have been overly cautious in either case, but both times I had that nagging feeling in the back of my head that proceeding with them on the climb would be a bad idea - either in execution, or in the event we got into trouble. Bottom line, we all carried our essential gear, and we all lived to laugh about it later over beers.

injury - go light.

take cell phone
warm jacket
some first aid supplies
water
granola bar

and leave a mote about what's happening
and which way you went.

Pete2

Thanks Lono & Pete2

Very well said, Lono. Risk assessment is a HUGE part if life enjoyment. 5 mins of too much risk while water tubing at a friend's cottage ruined my entire summer. And fall. And winter, and, heck, the next summer wasn't so great either... was it worth it? Nope. Not a bit.