| | -
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
| 1 label |  |
|
|
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 2.70 Miles |
814 AEG |
| | Hiking | 2.70 Miles | 1 Hour 57 Mns | | 1.38 mph |
| 814 ft AEG | | 20 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | The plan was a 4-5 hour hike, beginning in the center of a figure-eight loop and doing a general wandering on both sides of Apache Trail.
Not long after reaching the ridge east of Apache Trail here come three bighorn sheep chugging along right toward me... I don't know who was more surprised, me or the bighorns. 
Unfortunately, they reacted first, wheeling around and ducking behind brush so fast I wasn't able to get my camera out, turned on and ready-to-shoot. 
So, with the bonus of the bighorn sighting, all was going according to plan... until the halfway point, when I stopped at the car for a quick cold drink before continuing on. And somehow, in the process, I managed to have the cooler lid fall down on me, punching a hole through the skin on the top of my head. ](https://hikearizona.com/dex2/images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
And as usual for scalp wounds (yes, as a matter of fact, I have plenty of experience with them), instantly blood was gushing down my face. I had an ice-cold washcloth in the cooler so I grabbed it to stem the tide, but before I was able to do so the whole front of my shirt was drenched in blood.
Oh well, I'll worry about that later.
Needless to say that was the end of the hike... time to take off the pack and head home. It was a bit of a challenge keeping enough pressure on the washcloth while driving. Every once in a while I took a quick look in the mirror to see if it had stopped bleeding, only to be greeted with another rivulet of blood running down my face... so I stopped checking.
Although it was no longer bleeding when I got home (a 45-minute drive thanks to seed/hay spraying underway on Apache Trail), the light-blue washcloth was now a thoroughly wet, deep-purple. And I'll be sporting a nice bruise and a 3/8" long gully in my scalp for some time.
Once I got everything under control, I went back out to remove everything else from the cooler, only to find a small puddle of blood in the cooler, evidence of a stream of blood down the side of the cooler and a by-now dry puddle of blood on the running board. So I had a bit of cleaning to do.
Now if only my head would stop pounding... |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
