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Some of you may have read my Twitter comments, or my blog comments. I'm going to open this topic of first aide, trail safety, trail etiquette, behavior, and incident reporting. I'm hoping that we all will read this, discuss these topics frankly, and help spread the word about how to deal with problems on trails.
First of all, I'm ok. I was more prepared than I guess I thought I was. Here's what happened. I went hiking yesterday morning with Igloo Ed and JDGreen. We had (in my opinion) a great backcountry hike to the Loch on Sunday morning. We didn't go on a regular trail; we mostly followed game trails through the woods. We got to see some places that most people don't see. (I'm posting my pics elsewhere. Not appropriate here.) The Loch was relatively calm; I bet we got there before the majority of the crowds. Beautiful!
Well, Ed and Jim wanted to go back through the woods and do a bit more around the West Glacial Knob. I wanted to go down the trail, see Alberta Falls, etc. So we parted ways, promising to see each other at the picnic in the afternoon. I've been on the Glacier Gorge trail system quite a few times, as many of us have. It was good weather, nice flowers and everything. But I walked around a bend in the trail, somewhere maybe 1/2-3/4 mile (I think) up the trail from Alberta Fall. There was a young boy (maybe 8-9 years old) throwing rocks downhill into the distant creek. I'm not sure if I startled him (how could I? lots of people on the trail) but he threw a handful of rocks at me. His parents just made some excuse about how much energy he had, and quickly ushered him up the trail away from me.
By that time, my forehead was bleeding and my sunglasses were scratched. Thankfully, I had my glasses on, or my eyes most likely would have been hurt. Thanks to a woman nearby who was a 'mirror' for me, I was able to clean up my face quickly and get a band-aid on my forehead. I think the whole incident took less than 15 minutes. I walked out on my own, no problem. I walked part of the way out with a young-ish guy who had lost part of his right leg in a climbing accident and was using a prosthetic. He told me a couple stories of his injuries in the mountains, and gave me some perspective.
I had no problem walking out, or driving back to the Smith's house to clean myself up and relax. By the time I got to the picnic yesterday afternoon, I was basically just mad at this kid and his parents. I had big knot and some bad scratches on my forehead. Today, my forehead actually looks much better, although it does hurt a bit - just the skin and bruises. No headache, thankfully!
This afternoon, I talked to my boss at work - a veteran of the NPS of maybe 15-20 years. He told me how to report the incident, including the fact that this kid's parents didn't stop to help me or offer me their name and insurance information. Even a day later, I should report this, he said. The family is most likely not around, but the rangers are supposed to keep track of every incident where someone got hurt. With the visitation numbers that Rocky gets, many incidents probably go un-reported, but perhaps this information helps the park plan where the limited roving staff visit.
Granted, the NPS does not have NEARLY enough staff, but if we don't tell them, they won't know specifically that things are happening.
So. First. Let's go over what I had with me that helped the incident go a bit easier. Note, I am NOT a nurse, but this was my experience yesterday:
FIRST AID KIT: I had toilet paper to wipe myself up with. Always take tissues, TP or a clean rag with you! I also had triple-antibiotic ointment and sanitizing hand gel with me to help clean and prep the scratches. It also helped to wash my hands, which were dusty, before completely cleaning my scratches. I think it's important that you have both the sanitizing gel and anti-biotic ointment. I used them at different times. :)
I also had band-aids in a couple of different sizes (although I only needed one medium-sized bandage).
For me, I have chronic dry eyes, as diagnosed by my eye doctor. This has caused me problems in the past. My sunglasses were sacrificed in the incident, keeping rocks and dust out of my eyes. I also had plenty of eye drops to flush my eyes out. This was really helpful. Especially if you have contacts (which I don't), consider taking a small bottle of drops with you!
I had plenty of food and water - the water really helped to wash myself up as well. I can't tell you how many people I counted on the way back out that didn't have water bottles, or a Camelback pack (whatever brand), or anything of the sort. I know we've talked about this endlessly around here, but always take plenty of water with you! Even after cleaning myself up, I had plenty of water and food to settle my stomach and ensure that I wasn't dehydrated.
I had all of the 10 things that are suggested you always have in your pack while hiking - even though weather/rain, time of day, etc. wasn't an issue. Perhaps it would be good for us to review this list. Just listen to Aaron's second podcast - responsibility in the park. Kyle reviews this information - things we should all remember. John's comments on that podcast are helpful too.
Next, let's go over something that I did wrong. I didn't report the incident immediately upon returning to the frontcountry. When you see something like this happen, get the names of the people involved. If they get away too quickly, write down as accurate a description as you can, and report it to the next NPS-uniformed person you see - even if they are one of the (typically older) volunteers who are often stationed at trailheads. They can get in touch with rangers and park staff who can then get up the trails and check things out. Sounds silly, but the park really does need to know as much as possible about these kinds of incidents. My boss today suggested that, by not reporting, the incident most likely would happen again. Bill (my boss) said he understood my desire just to get home and clean up, but that I should have taken an extra 5 minutes for a report.
Third, from what I know of all of you Forumers, I know that you all watch your kids and their behavior on the trails. Believe me, I know that. And I'm NOT pointing any fingers. But when you all are in the backcountry, watch the behavior of those around you, especially the kids. Even I have skipped rocks on a lake in Rocky! But if there is any chance of causing harm to anyone, stop your kids from throwing rocks. Bill pointed out to me today that any Ranger worth his job would have given those parents a nice little chat about behavior and watching their kid(s). Picking up rocks and throwing them in creeks/rivers/lakes, no matter how fun, is actually not allowed. And it's the parents' or guardians' responsibility to ensure proper behavior in their kids. I guess we can use discretion, but we need to teach our kids how to behave in the backcountry - in situations, perhaps, that they don't deal with every day at home.
Finally, we all need to remember trail etiquette. How do we treat others on the trails? Do we say HI and offer help or do we walk away quickly, not wanting to get involved (for any reason). There were plenty of people - before and after my incident - that didn't even say hello on the trail. I'm not complaining, but I'm just stating a fact. I know we've talked the etiquette thing to death as well, but perhaps we can revisit this topic and put together a list of what we consider to be good trail etiquette. I'll post a page on the guide site with all of this trail etiquette, if you all think this is something we should post. (Aaron, what do you think?!)
Thanks guys!
Jen
). Further out is a different story and not greeting someone on a more remote trail is a little odd, IMO. Ignoring someone who looks injured anywhere is unacceptable.
) but I guess we shouldn't from now on. 
