Monday morning when we arrived at 4am, Laine met us at the Port. It was so great seeing her! We hadn't seen her since Christmas vacation. And we were super stoked she pulled herself out of bed at 4am after spending the weekend at a Brewfest!
She took us to the hostel she works at and we all crashed for a few hours. Possibly the best sleep ever!
We ran a few errands, and Laine showed us around her town a bit, then we headed off to West Glacier trail for a hefty hike.
It was a bit rainy, and cloudy, as seems to be the usual weather for Juneau, but the scenery makes up for that. It was just beautiful to be surrounded by the most pristine mountains I have ever seen.
The beginning of the trail was pretty smooth and wide. It definitely crossed my mind a few times that this trail would be a piece of cake if it stayed like this.
Then it started getting a little steeper, and the path turned from dirt and rock to simply rock in many areas. The rocks were a bit slick, but we all had great boots on so I just kept trucking along. In fact, I felt great. It was a powerful feeling to be huffing along in the beauty of that trail, taking it all in and just plain being active in nature. I'm sure that sounds corny, but it's probably the best way to describe how I felt.
And then, I probably got a little to confident in my hiking abilities. I started keeping pace with the head of the pack (our group included 7 people and a dog). And as I jumped up on a rock ledge to move to the next height, my right foot lost its footing, leaving my left foot to support my body as I fell off the rock ledge. I landed on a branch filled bush, which made a shit load of snapping noises, and scared the crap out of those behind me. I am pretty sure no one with me heard my ankle pop (only the branches cracking), but I certainly did.
I knew right away that something was wrong, but still tried to stay cool and keep my composure till I knew for sure if something was wrong. Chaz helped me get up, and as I started to put pressure on my left foot, a sharp pain shot up my leg on both sides. That's when I lost my shit. Straight up bawling! I think I said something along the lines of I did something really bad.
And I did, but it could have been worse. I will tell you though, it's not easy getting through a trail with only one leg. Wanna know how I got back?!?!? You'll have to check back later for the next part of the story!
