+Totem Clan Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 What is the worst injury you have ever suffered while caching? It can be either a physical injury or a wound to your pride, i.e. an embarrassing moment. For me it would be the time a plunged my hands into an icy creek and went on after cache anyway only to end up with a DNF and a minor case of frostbite. Or maybe the time a raised up too early while crawling under a log and stabbed myself in the back. I should have got stitches but isn’t that what field dressings and butterfly band aids are for. Plus this way I got the find and yet another cool scar. Quote Link to comment
+sobeboy58 Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 The worst I have ever gotten is a few small cuts. I think there was a topic similar to this a few months ago, some of those sounded like they would hurt. Sobeboy Quote Link to comment
+markp99 Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 (edited) Minor, but painfull: I was chasing the last leg of a multi on a very steep slope. Conditions were wet and ~muddy. I stepped on a smallish branch lying on the ground to avoid sliding down the slope. I slipped as if the branch was covered with grease. I went right to the ground landing with my leg beneath me, right across that dumb branch. I thought surely I broke by shin bone. After getting over the initial shock of the slip/fall, I inspected the wound - a nice gash on my shin, through my jeans. The area around the bruise turn interesting shades of blue, purple and green in the coming days OUch. Good news: I did find the final. It was a micro embedded into a small stump right next to where I slipped. So, I would call this cache a success! Edited June 7, 2006 by markp99 Quote Link to comment
+WhatsRNutts Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 (edited) when I was caching in Plano Tx, me and ironwoman went for a cache GCHJ8C in a neat wooded walking trail area. I we went off trail to retrieve the cache. before we could find it I stepped over a log and twisted me ankle really bad. I came close to passing out so we hobbled back to the car and back to the hotel. that was Friday evening, on our way back home to abilene we stopped by to search again, and success! Edited June 7, 2006 by wreckelite Quote Link to comment
+fishingfools Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 broke arm, but then hiked .3 miles and found the cache Quote Link to comment
+Mule Ears Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Sprained an ankle enroute to a mountaintop cache. Kept going, figuring to 'walk it off.' When I sat down to sign the log, I noticed that my shoe was bulging grotesquely and that it smarted to sit cross-legged. Drat! On the hike back, I met a legendary local cacher (HornyToad) who was hiking with a buddy toward the cache I'd just hit. Both gentlemen are in their 70s. We had a nice chat, and I told 'em what I'd done. Both fellows reached for their packs and started bringing out athletic tape, Ace bandages, Ibuprofen, etc. I declined, being just a quarter-mile from the Jeep, but I was impressed by their level of preparation! And now, having had one, I will never use the expression "just a sprain" ever again. I've recovered from serious fractures in a lot less time than that darn sprain. Took almost a year to get totally solid. Cuts, scrapes, scratches, thorns, splinters and spines don't count as injuries. They're souvenirs. Quote Link to comment
+Jamie Z Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I posted my injury pic in this other "Ouch!" thread. Jamie Quote Link to comment
+CYBret Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret Quote Link to comment
+Stunod Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret I'm sorry you're stupid, Bret Quote Link to comment
+Totem Clan Posted June 7, 2006 Author Share Posted June 7, 2006 Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret Ok ok ...... geeezzzz Ouch that looks like that hurt.... I hope you're OK. There you feel better now?.... Truthfully that does look like it hurts. In fact one of your other post is what inspired this thread. Quote Link to comment
+Chark Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I was out with Mohavemonarch tagging along while they went to a cache I had already logged. I hopped out of my jeep (leaving it out of gear and running) to spot MM up a rock I had just driven up, when the parking brake on my jeep popped. Long story short, both of my legs got run over and the entire back end of my jeep was smashed in. End result: Both knees were sprained, body was covered in rock rash, cuts, bruises and the jeep has some "customization" Quote Link to comment
+Mule Ears Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret My family's motto, one I heard often growing up, was "No sympathy for self-inflicted injuries." But yeah, that looks real painful, man. Ow. On the other hand, you're now well qualified to weigh in when somebody uses that old expression, "better than a sharp stick in the eye." But good gosh, at least you weren't run over by your own Jeep! Quote Link to comment
+CYBret Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I'm sorry you're stupid, Bret That's better! Thank you! Bret Quote Link to comment
+BomberJjr Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 I think the worst I've had has only been a bee sting. Quote Link to comment
+GeekDad Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 (edited) Forty-two (or thereabouts) fire ant bites on my right leg from kneeling down onto a fire ant mound to find a cache on Castaway Cay, Bahamas. I knew I was somewhat allergic to them from living in Texas 15 years ago, but I had never gotten that many bites before. My knee swelled up to about twice its size for a few days, and the marks weren't totally gone for over a month. The worst part of it is that now I'm sensitized to bee stings! Edited June 7, 2006 by GeekDad Quote Link to comment
+Cache us Clay Posted June 7, 2006 Share Posted June 7, 2006 Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret I get so creeped out by eye injuries, but I just had to look at that photo. I've had sympathetic eye watering since. Quote Link to comment
+frizz Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I was looking for a cache next to an elevated boardwalk, tripped over tree root, and fell chest first into a protruding railroad tie support, breaking a rib. DOH! I eventually found the cache, the first part of a 5 part multi, but was uncomfortable for a few weeks. Quote Link to comment
+What rock? Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Thought I had sprained my ankle so kept walking on it (including caching) for almost a month before going to the doc to see why it wasn't getting better faster. It was broken. Hope to be out of the Frankenstein boot in another week. Quote Link to comment
+baby blue and the bandits Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I was out checking on a freshly place cache in the middle of a bunch of lava rock, jumped from one rock to another and missed skidding my chin down the rock...I went back a few weeks later with a couple of my nieces and there was still a big chunk of skin and hair on the rock Quote Link to comment
+SnappyTurtles Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Actually nothing major yet, but I didn't realize how sharp Joshua trees are. There was a cache just sitting peacefully in it's branches. I reached for it and got stabbed. Since then I've placed a cache called "Ouch!!!" that sits in a Joshua Tree and I've added it to my collection of Cache Themed Signature Geochips. Quote Link to comment
"Paws"itraction Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 (edited) Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret Ugh, ew, ow, ow OW! Yikes. Eeeeee, pokes in the eye just creep me right out. Which is weird, considering I wear contact lenses, but whatever. Here ya go. Ready? Ppppoooooooorrrrrr, poor CyBret. <pats head> Poooooorrrrr, pooooooorrrrr CyBret. Your eye all better? Hope so. There. Good? Maybe you and Lord Elwood can compare eye injuries, yes? Edited June 8, 2006 by PAWSitraction Quote Link to comment
+Totem Clan Posted June 8, 2006 Author Share Posted June 8, 2006 I was out checking on a freshly place cache in the middle of a bunch of lava rock, jumped from one rock to another and missed skidding my chin down the rock...I went back a few weeks later with a couple of my nieces and there was still a big chunk of skin and hair on the rock Pardonn me while I gag for while. Weeks old flesh... yummy. Quote Link to comment
+ADK 46-R Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Broke my collar bone, i fell off of a 230' waterfall in the adirondack mountains . i'm a pretty experienced mountain climber/hiker, but i guess everyone has there days . the fall was a good rush! Quote Link to comment
+Miragee Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I dislocated my kneecap just after placing a cache. When I stepped sideways and put all my weight on my left leg, it folded under me, dropping me to the ground so fast that my camera, which was hanging from its strap around my neck, flew out to the side and hit a rock. Fortunately, that day I was caching with someone. I never would have been able to get home without help. This was a nasty injury another cacher endured. Quote Link to comment
+Forty-n-Eight Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 My worst injury happened as I was searching for a cache around a dead tree stump. The ground around the stump looked solid, but when I stepped in one spot I broke through the rotten roots and dirt and sunk up to my thighs scraping the living sh*t out of both legs on the way down. I had to be careful not to lose a boot trying to pull my legs out. By the time I got back to the car I had blood running down my legs and into my socks. I must have looked a bloody mess staggering out of the woods. Quote Link to comment
+Red_Devil35 Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I was caching in a park very close to where I live, after several days of rain the slopes were very slippery under their cover of dried leaves. Of course I slipped and fell, landing on a small tree stump with my right cheek. I had trouble sitting for a while and I still have the reminants of the 6 inch bruise. Quote Link to comment
TahoeJoe Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 I was caching with a friend when he stirred up a nest of yellow jackets on the trail and unfortunately they went after me and I was stung 11 times. I ran for about a quarter of a mile throwing off my backpack, GPS and shirt. I probably looked quite comical as I was running. Quote Link to comment
+paintfiction Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 broke arm, but then hiked .3 miles and found the cache You obviously have your priorities firmly in place! It is a pleasure to cache with you especially since I know for a fact that you won't wimp out over something as trivial as a broken arm.... You did sign the log - right? Quote Link to comment
+Recdiver Posted June 8, 2006 Share Posted June 8, 2006 Last year while going for a cache on a scree-covered slope one of the rocks moved just as I put all my weight on it. My caching buddies heard $#@& - crash -$#@& -crash - $#@& - crash then I luckily was able to stop sitting right next to the cache and a startled cacher, if I hadn’t stopped it would have been a long painful way to the bottom. Limped back up to the caching vehicle bleed profusely from a number of wounds, ribs, arm, & shin. Nothing broken, however I lost a fair amount of skin in the process. Painfully continued caching for a couple more hours. Sorry no pictures. Quote Link to comment
+Vinny & Sue Team Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 Well, I hve never had any kind of physical injury in 13 months of caching, despite the fact that I prefer to seek caches with a Terrain rating of 4 or above. I have hunted for caches on the beams under active highway bridges, far above the ground, on the understructure beneath abandoned railroad bridges, over 80 feet above the river below, and in caves and up trees, and have placed Terrain 5 caches in all kinds of extreme settings, including really nasty storm drains and an abandoned railroad bridge in the backcountry, 132 feet above a river gorge, but have never had any kind of injury, not even an insect bite which I can attribute to caching. Closest I have come to any kind of drama was swallowing a lot of sewage-laden water in Baltimore Harbor when on an outing in a small boat last month to place some caches there -- I encountered unexpected 3 foot waves once I got out onto open water, and thus waves were breaking over the bow of my boat every ten seconds, drenching me. It was worse than riding a bucking bronco. Oh, and I once had a really intimate encounter with a large and very cute female Eastern Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus horridus) while Sue and I were hunting a cache which was located mere feet from a rattlesnake den (on a black bear-infested mountaintop) near our wilderness home. As for potential embarrasments, well, gee, I regularly declare DNFs on 1/1 caches, and, in fact, on most caches rated 2/2 or below. And, oddly enough, it often later turns out that those caches which I DNFed were missing in action. Very odd. However, I do not find this fact at all embarrassing, but rather kinda fun. Quote Link to comment
+scavok Posted June 9, 2006 Share Posted June 9, 2006 "Ouch! That looks like it hurts!" No kidding. Look at the size of this ouch! http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LU...28-8dee0a308093 Quote Link to comment
+Nerves Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 Severe leg fractures on a 1.5 terrain caches. Yes, that's right...1.5 terrain. I'm scheduled for my second surgery in July for major leg reconstruction and will be in a wheelchair for 3 - 4 months again. Quote Link to comment
+humanloofa Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Besides being a favorite food for jumping cactus, I have had only one semi good/embarassing one. Loose rock, good incline, the mickey mouse ear cactus, and my butt. Add them together I learned I can pick out cactus of my backside in the middle of the desert. Quote Link to comment
Dan&Chris Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Alright, FINE...this is the THIRD THREAD I've posted this link to. When do I get a little sympathy for my stupidity??!?!?!?! Bret Quote Link to comment
+Wandering Bears Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Saturday I took a spill while hunting for a relatively easy (for this area) 3*. The rock I was standing on BROKE, plunging me down 4-5 feet. I landed square on my right knee on the rock below me. Busted my knee up good. I bled profusely as I limped back to the Jeep and called it a day. I had 8 caches on my "to do" list that afternoon. I was done after #2. Funny thing is, I could see the cache from where I came to rest at the bottom. My wife was fretting over me asking if I was ok, and all I could say was, "there's the cache, can you get it for me?" LOL Quote Link to comment
+norsehawk Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Been careful out there, the worst that I've done was encounter thorns while wearing shorts, that didn't work out very well. Quote Link to comment
ElevenBravo Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 So far, Ive only hurt my pride. I too carry a small stock of first aid supplies, along with some other assorted junk for the trail. Though, I am also getting into hiking, if its a woods cache, I strap up with my hiking gear, including walking stick, and Im off. See my avatar or my profile for pix of me looking like a fool, but always prepared. The Army taught me, dont go out with nothing, its foolish. Quote Link to comment
+dkwolf Posted June 26, 2006 Share Posted June 26, 2006 Sprained an ankle enroute to a mountaintop cache. Kept going, figuring to 'walk it off.' When I sat down to sign the log, I noticed that my shoe was bulging grotesquely and that it smarted to sit cross-legged. Drat! On the hike back, I met a legendary local cacher (HornyToad) who was hiking with a buddy toward the cache I'd just hit. Both gentlemen are in their 70s. We had a nice chat, and I told 'em what I'd done. Both fellows reached for their packs and started bringing out athletic tape, Ace bandages, Ibuprofen, etc. I declined, being just a quarter-mile from the Jeep, but I was impressed by their level of preparation! And now, having had one, I will never use the expression "just a sprain" ever again. I've recovered from serious fractures in a lot less time than that darn sprain. Took almost a year to get totally solid. Cuts, scrapes, scratches, thorns, splinters and spines don't count as injuries. They're souvenirs. In truth, unlike a broken bone, you never fully recover from a sprain; that joint will forever be weaker than it was. And each time you sprain it, it only makes it easier for the next time. Trusy me. I can't count how many times I've sprained my ankles. Anymore I can feel it coming several days in advance, the joint starts getting sloppy and if I step just wrong, down I go. And I've got to give you credit for the hike back...1/4 mile on a sprain is a long ways. Last severe sprain I had ('bout 6 years ago now) happened in a pickup-basketball game. Walked back up the hill to my dorm--probably around 1/4 mile and got in the shower. Had to sit down for a while--in the shower, mind you--because I was very close to passing out. Quote Link to comment
+michigansnorkelers Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Broken Leg ... 5 days ago!!! I was done for the day, and walking up a short steep incline when my foot slipped under me and I landed with a loud CRACK!!!!!! And my wife has been warning me that I need to get a cell phone! Wish I had one then. Nobody around and a mile from my car, I used a tree branch for a crutch and hobbled two hours in severe pain. I was really worried that the pain would overcome me, and that I would be stranded overnight. However, I managed to make it back to the car before sunset. Fractured Fibula, that's the smaller of the two bones in the lower leg. RIGHT leg! Just above the ankle. Now, if it had been the Tibia, the larger bone, I would REALLY have been in trouble! Quote Link to comment
rbrugman Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 Various bug bites, some minor cuts. I got one deep cut on my leg once, but it healed. Other than that, the worst that has happened was that the bark seperated form the log I was walking on trying to cross a swamp and landed me in the mud. Hurts the pride but nothing has been broken. Quote Link to comment
+GClouse Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 I guess I've been pretty lucky so far. I was going after a cache in a local park, with my 9yo son when I slipped on some wet leaves, twisting my knee and landing squarely on my back. The GPS went flying straight up and landed an inch or 2 from my left ear with a heavy "Thunk!!!" Went on to look for the cache, but didn't find it that day Quote Link to comment
+Davispak Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 One time out caching, I got turned into a Newt!!!! But I got better Quote Link to comment
+Vanillahip Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 One time out caching, I got turned into a Newt!!!! But I got better Monty Python! Excellent! I have an embarrassing story related to my ultimate hatred for TICKS. Check out this log. I hate ticks. Did I mention that I hate ticks? Quote Link to comment
+Webfoot Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Should have taken pictures of this one. I still have the red mark up near my wrist, but I literally scrapped off the skin of my right arm from wrist to elbow. Quote Link to comment
+Blue Power Ranger Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 I am posting for my husband. He and my dad went for the APE cache here in Washington, and there was a cache inside the tunnel you walk through. It said it was on an "upper shelf" or something like that. Of course, first we lifted 2 different children up to look for the cache, and heaven forbid we trust the kids that had been on almost as many geocaching trips as the 2 men. To make a long story short, my dad ended up on my standing on my husbands shoulders and then standing on his head trying to find this cache, in a pitch black tunnel. Just as I was going to take a picture of this freakish site, my dad lost his balance and fell backwards and landed on his head on the ground. When he sat up his head was bleeding and we weren't sure how injured he was. We weren't sure if we were going to need to run to the end of the tunnel to get a cell phone signal and call an ambulance. Thank goodness it seems my dad hit my mom's shoe with his head BEFORE he hit the ground with all the gravel and he ended up with not too bad of a head injury, which could have been so much worse falling on your head from that far up. THEN - as we were talking about walking back to the car, he said "heck no - we haven't gotten to the APE cache yet" So, needless to say, we walked the other 2+ miles, and then all the way back with my dad limping and very sore. I heard he had some ugly bruises on his back the next day and quite a headache for awhile. My husband posted pictures on his log for the caches Dad's Injury Quote Link to comment
+AtoZ Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 Maybe a scratch on my leg. But basically my background makes me think before I act, rock climbing, cave diving etc..... So I guess I don't need a field dressing. cheers Quote Link to comment
+Shop99er Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 The usual cuts, scratches, bruises, bug-bites, and stinging nettle boo-boos. I have a nice scar on my nose from getting sliced by a blackberry razor. The worst is that I have managed to poke myself in the eye with a cedar tree not once, but twice!! This happened at two different caches, about 3 months apart. Quote Link to comment
+dblrngr Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 This thread brought back some memories. A while back I was looking under some trees on the side of a muddy hill and when I stood up to walk up the hill my legs flew out from under me. I caught myself before I landed face down in the mud. The next two days I thought I had broken a rib or something. Could barely move and hurt like the devil to lay down and sleep. Image my surprise a few days later when I went to the doctor and found that I had shingles. Had nothing to do with my fall. Go figure Quote Link to comment
+ElectricBird Posted July 30, 2006 Share Posted July 30, 2006 There is a cache near where I live in Georgia where you have to crawl down a 4.5 foot wall to get the cache. I managed to jump down easily and find the cache, but getting back up was different. There was no way I could've gotten up the wall on my own, so I rooted in the woods and found a wooden crate I could use. I got up on it, jumped onto the wall, and fell smack back down, scraping the skin off my kneecap on the crate. I managed to get back up the wall, but I was bleeding all down my leg. And it HURT. Luckily, There was a spigot nearby that I used to wash it off. Even to this day I have this huge scar! Quote Link to comment
+Nerves Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 Okay. Here's the latest pic of my new screws since my 2nd surgery on July 12th. My geo-trauma was October 21, 2005. Uh huh, it hurt. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.