I'll have one more wrap up after this...a trip of this stature deserves a 4 part series...especially since it ends with my mother-in-law pushing me up a hill in a wheel chair! Huh, did I just give something away?!
My Alaskan vacation took a slightly negative turn when I fell on the trail. Like I said, I fell into a twig bush, which led to a lot of external noise, but I heard something pop inside too. That immediately scared the crap out of me.
Once I was on my good foot, we all started to come up with action plans of how to get back. Well not all of the terrain covered was intense, there certainly were areas that were. And many areas were quite narrow.
We started the trek back, once I had relaxed, with me placing my arms around Chaz and our new friend Caz (Chaz and Caz…lol), and hopping on my one foot. Very quickly my arms started hurting from the strain of having them around two tall guys, and the leg muscles in my right leg were on fire from carrying the weight of my body while hopping. I knew the weight and maneuvering was not efficient for the guys either. One or the other generally could not see their footing and there were a few instances where they too just about slipped.
In areas where it was up hill or rocky, I would get on my butt and scoot up. This was a rest for me and the guys. I have the hardest time accepting help, especially when it requires the other person to put in so much time and effort. And well my arms were certainly feeling everything, there was just something easier about doing it myself.
We had to take many breaks due to exhaustion or difficult terrain. It took us like 45 minutes to do a half a mile. At this pace, with about 2 miles left, I knew that A. I would be exhausted (not to mention the guys) and B. It would probably turn dark and the wolves would eat us (well, me…I imagine everyone else would run). Turns out since it stays light in Juneau till about 11:00pm, B probably wasn’t going to happen so Caz kept pushing us to just keep going and take the trail as slowly as we needed to.
As luck would have it, the trail butted up to a beautiful and quiet lake, which occurs due to the run off of the glaciers. There was a small rocky beach that came in to view and all I could think of was sitting on that beach and not moving. Luckily, we took a break at the beach, and everyone continued to brainstorm.
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Since it rained on and off,
my legs were covered with a rain coat to stay warm. |
My father in law and Caz hiked the shore line to see if there was any possibility of walking that instead of the trail. My sister in law was on the phone trying to call the visitor center to see if they had a boat (for some reason it is hard reaching people on Memorial Day!), and I was dreaming about how nice it would be if one of the helicopters giving an aerial tour above us would stop and scoop my friends and I up.
Luckily they returned with the news that Caz had called a friend in town who just happened to have his canoe strapped to his car and was on his way up. Thank the Heavens Alaska is full of outdoorsy people! I was beyond stoked. I was so thankful there was water transportation coming and that I, and those carrying me, wouldn't have to endure the most intense workout I have ever experienced.
The canoe arrived, the guys cracked a beer, and we headed towards the beach where the cars were parked!
The girls in the group had gotten a head start before the canoe arrived (those not in the canoe had to hike back!), and the boys arrived shortly after we arrived (they took of once we were in the water).
Laine snapped this pic of our arrival!
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| Insanely happy-Photo by Laine |
Then we had to decide whether to hit up the Urgent Care, or the ER. We decided on Urgent care since it was closer. We arrived at Urgent Care somewhere around six. The Open sign was on, but the place looked dark. We pulled up and checked the hours....they closed at 5 on Holidays...who ever turns off the sign at the end of the day obviously had grilling and beer on the brain! I don't blame them.
So it was off to the hospital. The moment we arrived was immediately added to my list of Insanely happy moments! Right up there with my wedding day! (I kid, I kid!)
It didn't take long to get checked in. The receptionist/nurse was from the MN....she for sure favored us! And the X-ray tech was from the MN too...but he didn't melt in the palm of my hand as much as the receptionist. She even came to my room when her shift was over to say good bye! Golden!
But the rest of the hospital visit was no where near as quick as check in. I believe I hurt my ankle around 2pm, arrived at the Hospital a little after six, and finally left a bit after 9pm. It was quite the experience. I spent over an hour sitting in the hospital room. And Chaz thought it was just a hoot that the calendar behind me had a picture of the Glacier we were hiking to. Bitches!
By the time everything was wrapped up and all the i's were dotted, I got to leave, but not without some wonderful new accessories!
But let's not focus on the crutches. Let's focus on the blurry picture of my amazing husband. While I don't have pictures of him carrying me, he did...And he was there every step of the way, providing support and love. Not to mention the undivided attention I received in the days following...but I'll fill you in on that in the next and last recap!
Happy Friday!
