My father died in a fall last winter.
His demise was frequently on my mind as I picked my way across 90 miles of trail through the Bob Marshall Wilderness earlier this month with two friends.
I didn’t want to suffer a similar fate and end up at the top of the page.
Not that there was much chance of slipping in the bathroom and hitting my head on the sink like Dad did.
But there was certainly the risk of a fall.
I’m of that age group now where falls are a leading cause of death. So I watched my step and stayed on my feet. Especially when the trail crossed a particularly steep slope and the whole world, it seemed, dropped into the abyss below me.
Outdoors columnist stumbles on wilderness trail, plunges to his death
I only needed rescuing once. Foolishly crossing the White River without a wading staff near the end of a long day, I was having trouble maintaining my balance in the stiff current.
Grandfather swept away in raging torrent, feared dead
Luckily, Ben, who had crossed ahead of me, looked back and saw my plight. He dropped his pack, returned to the river and gave me a hand.
If given a choice, always hike with younger, stronger companions.
Just make sure you keep up.
After losing our way along the base of the spectacular Chinese Wall, I lost sight of Ben and Erik as we searched for the trail. Bushwacking through the sub-alpine terrain, I nearly stumbled into the excavation a grizzly had made digging up ground squirrels.
Montana man falls in hole, eaten by bear
Whistling loudly, I caught up with my companions and kept them close the rest of the trip.
Erik fell once when he stepped on the outside edge of the trail across a sidehill and it gave way. He dropped to the ground with one leg bent beneath him, gathered himself and regained his feet.
Had I taken that fall, I doubt my recovery would have been as smooth as Erik’s.
Former newspaperman crippled after trail accident
Eight days of putting one foot in front of the other, up and down switchbacks, across rivers and over deadfall, through mud and brush, hopping from one rock to another without a single fall.
I tried to pay attention even when I was exhausted, take care when I wanted to hurry and rest when I’d reached the end of my rope.
The pounding took a toll on my joints and I used half a roll of first aid tape on my blisters, but I didn’t become another statistic.
Aging hiker falls off face of the Earth
I survived the wilderness relatively unscathed. Now If I can just remember to watch my step in the bathroom.