After a brief but incredibly packed start to prep week at AMC’s Cold River Camp, the Croo and I finally had an opportunity to explore some of the nearby trails. We took off in the early afternoon to the Basin trailhead off of Route 113 where we were stunningly greeted by The Basin and the Royces which stand behind it. I was immediately taken by its beauty.
Splitting our group of eight in two, about half of us set off on a trail run while the other half began a hiking pace. Leading the trail running group, I ran up until Hermit Falls where we waited for the other half to meet us before ascending the ridge. On the way to the falls, there was one pesky stream crossing, but the terrain was otherwise excellent for running. After the Hermit Falls jug-handle spur, the climb was steep and covered with an abundance of decomposing leaves, so we opted for a swift walking pace rather than a jog. Coming upon the ridge, despite not summiting anything, we got excellent views of CRC’s valley as well as the basin below us. The climb had been steep at times, but it was well worth the effort.
Around 4:30, we started to descend as a group, with the running group slightly ahead. We had traveled a little less than a mile from the ridge when something I’d been lucky to avoid for a long time happened.
My left foot went down in a huge pile of slippery leaves and the pile carried me to the ground, where my ankle was jolted miserably underneath my body weight as I tumbled slightly down the hillside.
Immediately, I knew this wasn’t going to be a shake-off but tried to stay cool. The first thing I said was that it felt like a WFR demonstration rather than reality. And like most WFR demos, I was unprepared as I can’t fit much first aid into my running vest. Luckily, Patrick had a kit with him and we wrapped my ankle up before making a slow and painful duck-walk trip down.
Seeing the parking lot was such a relief. In my three years of intensive hiking, I’d never suffered a non-surface-level injury. Thankfully, though I was close, I did not fracture anything. But, I would say I’ve learned a lesson on being more thankful for time I can get out in the mountains- distance makes the heart grow fonder I suppose.
Hope to be out there on hills soon. And once that doesn't hurt, mountains before I know it.
-Izzy
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