Injuries/accidents/other memorable caching happenings

[AstroDon]

@greyhounder wrote:

On my first cache I slid down an ice covered slope, doing the splits. Not significant, but I was a little sore from that.

My “favorite” injury” was when I bent over to look for a cache and got thwapped in the eye by a branch. Try explaining that you got a black eye from geocaching and have people believe you.

Bec

I would have thought that your experience with the snow while doing our geocac benchmark cache this winter would have been your “favorite injury”. Frostbit butt hurts!

[greyhounder]

@AstroDon wrote:

@greyhounder wrote:

On my first cache I slid down an ice covered slope, doing the splits. Not significant, but I was a little sore from that.

My “favorite” injury” was when I bent over to look for a cache and got thwapped in the eye by a branch. Try explaining that you got a black eye from geocaching and have people believe you.

Bec

I would have thought that your experience with the snow while doing our geocac benchmark cache this winter would have been your “favorite injury”. Frostbit butt hurts!

I forgot that one! That was a good one too!!

[Team Black-Cat]

It seems like most of my adult life has been a series of minor disasters. That’s where the Black-Cat moniker came from. Since we started caching, the mishaps have been refreshingly few. My most recent blunder happended during the event in Stevens Point a couple of weeks ago.

When we stopped at the first cache, I grabbed the handheld and got out of the truck. My daughter reminded me that we should put on bug spray, so I set the handheld and car keys down on the seat and grabbed the spray. Had one of those slow motion moments just as the door latched shut. Mrs. TBC drove down from Wausau to rescue us, but not before a member of Plover’s finest stopped to investigate.

There’s been a lot of really minor things common to most cachers like turning a terrain 2 into a terrain 4, or sinking ankle deep in what looked like solid ground, but thankfully, no injuries.

[Barry Butrymowicz]

Val and I have had our fair share of moments over the years, we got stuck in the sping mud going to one of Little Otters Waterfall Caches. we got stuck in the sand at another, going for a first to find, and just recently have got stuck in the mud with our 4 wheel drive. As for run ins with the police we have gotten pulled over for speeding, broken tail light, and once in Wyoming at about 10 at night, had the help from a state trooper to find a cache after I had parked on the side of a access road, aparently there was a prison break nearby and they were looking for the suspect, I was glad he helped find it, he had a better flashlight and was like having a security guard. (still got a warning ticket for it as i had a tire hanging across the white line)

Barry and Valarie of sweetlife

[grcarlson]

@Frizz wrote:

@grcarlson wrote:

. And now for my worst injury since geocaching but not geocaching related was a motorcycle accident and getting my leg broken in two places plates and screws in my leg that happened on Thursday evening just before I was planning on heading to TN for all the Geowoodstock festivities. I’ll be out of work for several weeks at least, depending what my doctor says about working as a youth counselor. For a while I guess I get to read all the posts of everyone else having fun.

That sounds alltogether too familiar. Two years ago, I broke my leg just 11 days before a planned GW V trip. I wish you a very speedy recovery. Remember, geocaching can be rationalized as “rehab activity”.

Now I’ll just have to convinve my physical therapist of this viewpoint.

[Sparse Grey Hackle]

OMG ❗
Finally, I can share. And, like Team Black Cat (Brian) I have had my share of mishaps. Although I am ever vigilant and saftey minded,
Scheiße happens. 🙄

My all time geo incident happen along the beautiful Root River bike trail in SE Minnesota after doing a series of caches in May 2006.

After completing “Half way between here and there” (GCPE06) we were going down hill at a nice breezy clip when a fallen branch flipped up into the bikes pedal crank and jammed the pedals. Then BAM!

Soon in what seemed like slow motion I was going up and over the handle bars as the bike pivoted on the front wheel sending me up and over the handle bars ❗

➡ Now, let me tell you the FALL is not what hurts.

It is the LANDING!

And, the pain that does not come right at the start, first you think some weird things, so as I lay there, my first thought was I hope the Blondie Bloodhound did not have to see me do that! (Luckily, she did not.) Then it was did my bike shoes come out of the pedals? (they did) and then it was hey did the Garmin stay in the RAM mount? (it did).

Yikes! Then the pain came. Then, I noticed my Trek was kinda trashed and then, I started to do a primary assessment of my own damage.

The dislocated finger in my bike glove seemed kinda of odd, the pain in the rib cage sharp and severe, the shoulder pain noticeable and oh my…. the knee cap looks a little bloody. Yikes!

Out came the first aid kit. The butterfly closure strips were most helpful as the Blondie Bloodhound got a crash course in field dressing.

And, as my luck would go, we were literally, “Half way between here and there ( thus the name of the cache) so we had a 3 mile walk/limp to the geo mobile to put the bikes back on. It took awhile. It wasn’t pretty. But we got there.

(And there was no way I was going to call 9-1-1 because at that point all I wanted to do was get back to the B&B in Lanesboro and take a couple of Rx vikes and soak in the hot tub.)

Anyway, the Garmin has a real nifty feature (POI’s) that told us where the nearest ER was (I would have settled for a Vet at that point) and that ER would be in Winona, MN… just a short 40 minute drive away for the BB at the wheel. (A shout out here to the kind ladies that help put our bikes on the rack).

Now, we made it to a beautiful Winona Hospital with a very impressive Emergency Care Department that provided excellent immediate care.

(Four fractured ribs, dislocated finger and several sutures and bruises contusions, etc etc). Anyway, I have done worst but not geocaching.

OBTW
The ER doc said another doctor had been in the ER the week before after a bike accident and this poor guy ended up with a fractured neck. Yikes!

As the ER was doing my sutures (for some reason the Blondie Bloodhound took great interest in watching this and the Doc got her a front row seat) after straightening out my finger (just a little tug here) the Doc wanted to know if I had any questions. OK>
“So, where did you go to Med School?”
The U- Dub Madison was his reply and a wave of relief overcame me as I knew I’d be in good hands with a fellow Badger. 😆

[Sloughfoot]

The usual assortment of scratches, bite, bruises, poison ivy more then once but nothing that has required a doctor visit. Most of my mishaps seem to involve the assortment of electronics that I carry. I have been known to get diverted between computer service calls to find a cache or two.

I lost my company pager in the wayside just south of Laona but I made note of it in my log and about a week later Wheezer, Little Wheezer and Goofy2 found it and I got it back. On the same trip near Laona I almost got my white company Honda Civic stuck way off road. When I got back to Laona there was a big puddle right where US 8 and Hwy 32 come together so I made a few laps right in the intersection to get some of the mud off.

I found a cell phone in a park in Appleton. Turns out it was my own and I didn’t know I had lost it. Good thing I followed the same route out that I had gone in on. It was also company property.

I have lost the GPS60CSX at least twice. Once on a steep slope in Devils Lake Park where we were all sliding downhill on our butts. Took about 30min to find it. The second time was last winter while I was looking for a place to put a cache. That time took over 45 minutes to find.

So far it hasn’t cost much other then some wasted time.

[Captain and Mate]

We had just a day or so earlier decided that a first-aid kit would be a good addition to the cache bag. We were doing some winter caching at Lapham Peak and had found a cache with a stubborn top that just wouldn’t come off. I (Captain) got out the multi-tool and was using the knife blade (serrated) to try and pry it off. My hands were pretty cold and I dropped the knife. Common sense would have prevented using a knife for that purpose at all, but I went all the way in the wrong direction by trying to catch it on the way down. Naturally, I didn’t catch the handle and the first-aid kit came in pretty handy. No stitches were required, but Mate still reminds of that brain cramp.

[The Crippler]

Here is my entry for Nuggets on he Trail #17 for May 3rd.

Disaster strikes! As I was riding along the trail next to the pond area a goose comes flying out of the reeds and hits me mid-flight. I tried to gain control of my bike but before I knew it I had flipped and end up on the ground and on the goose. The goose quickly took off back into the pond area as I lay bloodied by the whole incident. Looking back on it, I hope I did not hurt the goose but I believe landing on it prevented a much more serious injury than a few cuts and scrapes. I landed hard on my shoulder and the goose probably prevented further damage. So, what does one do when this happens? Wipe off the blood, try and rinse off with what is left of the water and move on to the last cache. It was a long ride back to the car. Oh, and thanks for the cache.

[Sparse Grey Hackle]

@The Crippler wrote:

Here is my entry for Nuggets on he Trail #17 for May 3rd.

Disaster strikes! As I was riding along the trail next to the pond area a goose comes flying out of the reeds and hits me mid-flight. I tried to gain control of my bike but before I knew it I had flipped and end up on the ground and on the goose. The goose quickly took off back into the pond area as I lay bloodied by the whole incident. Looking back on it, I hope I did not hurt the goose but I believe landing on it prevented a much more serious injury than a few cuts and scrapes. I landed hard on my shoulder and the goose probably prevented further damage. So, what does one do when this happens? Wipe off the blood, try and rinse off with what is left of the water and move on to the last cache. It was a long ride back to the car. Oh, and thanks for the cache.

I for one Crippler, feel your pain and you are a very lucky person to land on that goose.
Me?
I would have been happy to have landed on on anything but the asphalt!

Yikes!

[djwini]

my most memorable insect encounter was at the geo picnic or campout a couple of years ago. we were with a group of cachers that were previously unknown to us. i was retrieving the container when i realized i was standing in an anthill, and they were climbing up my legs. i didn’t know if they were going to start biting, but i wanted them off immediately. that meant stripping to my underwear.
i had a car accident a couple of years ago in ripon. the gps wanted me to turn left. there was road construction and big arrows pointing to the left. unfortunately, i was in the right lane when i started the turn, and the guy slightly behind me and to my left was going straight. i couldn’t figure out why the car in my sideview mirror kept getting bigger and bigger. after the officer was finished with me, i went on to the park for the cache. of course, i did stop and cry a little first.
and then yesterday in west bend area, this car ahead of me was stopped, then he started up and so did i, but he had stopped again and bam, i got him. he never even got out to check, just drove off. i guess the bam wasn’t as big from his end.

[djwini]

my most memorable insect encounter was at the geo picnic or campout a couple of years ago. we were with a group of cachers that were previously unknown to us. i was retrieving the container when i realized i was standing in an anthill, and they were climbing up my legs. i didn’t know if they were going to start biting, but i wanted them off immediately. that meant stripping to my underwear.
i had a car accident a couple of years ago in ripon. the gps wanted me to turn left. there was road construction and big arrows pointing to the left. unfortunately, i was in the right lane when i started the turn, and the guy slightly behind me and to my left was going straight. i couldn’t figure out why the car in my sideview mirror kept getting bigger and bigger. after the officer was finished with me, i went on to the park for the cache. of course, i did stop and cry a little first.
and then yesterday in west bend area, this car ahead of me was stopped, then he started up and so did i, but he had stopped again and bam, i got him. he never even got out to check, just drove off. i guess the bam wasn’t as big from his end.

[Curly Girls]

While we were caching in April of 2008 in Georgia, I remember a cache we visited which was across from a prison. Heck of a place for a cache and a park, right? Well, one of the residents, continually called to me, “Hi Girl”, “Hey Sexy” over and over and over again. My hubby was with me, so that did not even stop him. Thank God for that razor wire! Anyway, we ducked into the woods to get to GZ and away from the view of any eyes. (At least the calling stopped for a bit – had to go back to the car though, and a little more calling.) As I was so frazzled from the encounter, I ran smack into the end of a downed tree limb and got the end of the branch right straight into my thigh. Ouch! Still have a scar from it. Every time I look at it, thankfully I usually only recall that it was from caching and not that day it happened.

[shrek and fiona]

shrek dropped his $350 camera in the water today in sparta
then went in after it
it was a good thing we were on our way to lacrosse and dropped it off at best buy so it was on warranty yet

[sandlanders]

Ouch! I’ve lost two cameras to the water, but thankfully they were both on fishing expeditions and not while out caching.

[Author]

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