Spending time outdoors is known to increase your overall health. In my youth, I preferred mother nature over video games. I couldn’t sit still. I need to move at all times. My parents encouraged outside time. I often had dirt under my fingernails, dried mud stuck to my skin and stained clothing. Strangers probably thought I was homeless and not taken care of. This wasn’t the case. I grew up more fortunate than a most of my peers. I was just a wild kid who loved getting dirty while pushing the limits. Safety was discussed but not in detail. My mom was a nurse and saw injuries and illnesses at work every day. She knew when it was time to tell me to suck it up or when she needed to fix me up.
One of my favorite activities was snowboarding with my brother and sister. We loved it so much it affected our education. We were the kids who missed so much school that we needed mandatory doctors note to return to school. Luckily, we had a family doctor who had no problem writing these notes a few times a week. He would always remind us how important our education was while also wanting to hear about our crazy adventures in the wild. If a storm was rolling in we knew we were ditching class the next day. While most kids were laying out their outfits and packing lunch we were prepping our gear.
One of the most exciting feelings ever is when you exit the groomed path and enter the powdery backcountry. We had a secret spot that not many knew about. It was where we would set up basecamp for the day. We would also build a jump to practice aerials. This was our classroom and we learned everything school was teaching us but from a hands-on approach. We learned how to communicate in sketchy situations. We learned geometry and physics from building and launching off the jumps we built. We learned biology and nutrition from how our bodies performed on the slopes. We learned many skills that just can’t be taught in a classroom.
Safety wasn’t an issue until my mom saw a video of me doing a backflip. I was an adrenaline junky and the risks I was taking started to hit a level that could be life-changing. My mom isn’t the outdoorsy type and until she saw the video she had no clue what type of risks I was taking. She learned pretty damn quick. The next day she took me to buy a helmet. She knew she couldn’t stop me from taking these risks so she compromised. She made me research other safety gear I would need. Once I had a list she took me to the store to purchase it all. I’m forever grateful to have parents who supported my passions no questions asked.
I recently found some of my old snowboarding safety gear during my move to Utah. Whistle/compass/thermometer/magnifying glass combo, flashlight, Multi-tool, swiss army knife, and extra binding hardware.
I also carried a space blanket, waterproof matches, shovel, hydration pack, dried food, sunscreen, and extra layers.
My parents built a sturdy safety foundation so I was able to handle difficult situations while playing outdoors. I’ve built on that foundation over the past 20 years. Most people are trying to shave grams on the trail to move faster but I’m not concerned about weight. I’m already a slow hiker so moving quickly isn’t my concern. I’d rather be over-prepared so I can save me or possibly another life.
I want to cycle to work but my handbike has very little clearance. Yesterday, I was out scouting by wheelchair, a 5-mile section of the Jordan River Parkway Trail. I came to a sharp narrow turn on the trail to find a man who went down on his bike. He had yard saled all his gear blocking the trail. He was sitting in the middle of the trail with blood coming down his face while holding his arm to his side. Safety instincts sank in quickly.
I have a spinal cord injury so my first question was if he can feel all his extremities. He muttered yes. Then I asked if he has any back or neck pain. His voice was stronger with this next reply, “No, the only pain I have is in my shoulder.” Then I asked if he remembered the crash. He said yes and also mentioned he had been laid out for roughly 10 minutes before I found him. While asking these initial questions I took my backpack off and pulled out my first aid kit. I then reminded him that we were in a dangerous situation because of the blind turn in the trail. At any second another cyclist could come around the corner and crash into us. I moved most of his gear off-trail while asking him if he thinks he can scoot off-trail too. This is something I wouldn’t have done if he had pain in his neck or back.
I pulled out some gauze and asked the man if he can apply pressure to his head wound. He was unaware of the blood trickling from a cut on his head. Not knowing he had a head wound was my sign he might have gone unconscious at some point during or after his crash. I was still assessing his injuries when a county worker arrived on a 4x4 golf cart. Help in numbers is a good thing as long as there’s a leader and everyone keeps their composer. I let the county worker know what I knew and then continued to pull out first aid supplies.
As we were tending to his obvious injuries we asked him the basics. What is your name? What month and year are we in? He gave the right answers. Then we started to look for broken bones. The man then mentioned his hands starting to feel tingly. I instantly asked the county worker to call 911. Any time injuries are increasing it’s best to have the professional on their way. I continued to speak with the man about hiking and biking just to keep his mind off the injuries. This is when things started to get interesting.
He stopped me mid-sentence by asking if a bathroom was close by. I let him know we were about a mile from a bathroom. He wasn’t thrilled about it. He said he was going to shit his pants and he was super embarrassed. I let him know he didn’t have to be embarrassed because I was with the king of shitting their pants. I have never been more excited to share my “shit happens” stories. I let him know about how a spinal cord injury affects bowel and bladder function. Then I started in with the stories and boy do I have a lot of them. While telling him the time I shit my pants right before what was supposed to be a romantic kayaking trip on a bioluminescent bay in Puerto Rico with my girlfriend, I pulled out a trash bag and some wipes. He laughed at my story. I replied I’m happy you’re laughing because my girlfriend wasn’t.
The man then let me know he couldn’t hold it any longer. For everyone’s safety, The county worker and I agreed to hike a bit down the trail in the opposite directions to make sure children on the trail didn’t come to a naked bloodied man shitting in a trash bag. Luckily paramedics showed up at the same time and helped the man do his business before taken him to the hospital. It sucks not knowing how the man is doing or what his recovery will entail. I take my hat off to all first responders, nurses, and doctors who don’t get to see the full results after patching people up.
Stick around for my next blog. I’m going to show you what I carry with me in my backpack at all times.