In the last week, I've fallen and tore open a gash on my arm, got slashed in the leg with the weed eater cord when it flew off the reel, got cut (with bruise) by a loose buckle on a cooler, fell and scraped my knee, was scratched across the wrist by a cat's claw while medicating her, and pulled a muscle in my back. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Good thing you don't hunt snakes or work for a bomb disposal unit!!!

Shadow, honey, you're supposed to go to the blood bank to donate......they don't pick up.......

People who have hiked with me, know all too well, that I often joke about being very "accident prone".

I always tell everybody that "the hike isn't over until I get hurt bad". And all too often that is the case.

Near the end of the hike, either I, or a fellow hiker will point out that I haven't been hurt yet .... and most often, right after that ...... BANG! Something unexpected happens.

Friday night Cathy Peddler from the ADP and myself were hiking on the North Country Trail. We had set up camp at Tracy Ridge, and our original plan was to hike 7.38 miles from the NY State line, up to Tracy Ridge to our tent.

At the last minute we decided to hike all the way to Sugar Bay, some 11 1/2 miles.

Since we started out with the "NCT 100 mile challenge" group at 6PM most of our hike was after dark.

An hour after dark and with no lights on, I was on a downhill section hiking quite fast. There was a muddy section on a narrow ledge on the side of a hill. There was three sticks laying length wise on the trail over the mud. I stepped onto the three, side by side sticks with my left foot, and when I did, one lifted up and caught the toe of my right shoe. And down I went!

For some reason, my hands went straight out or up (like superman flying) and I hit head first, face down on a log that went across the trail sideways. My forehead took most of the fall. I hit hard on my forehead and both knees. It knocked the wind out of me to say the least. I saw stars and I may have gone out for a short while.

I was hurt bad. Cathy was behind me and saw the fall. At first I couldn't even talk to her when she asked if I was OK. My arms and legs were tingling and was numb, and it took an effort to breath. That was my first objective.

Cathy helped my roll over onto my side. For a short while I couldn't feel my hands and feet, as I was tingling all over. It was a hot night, and I was hiking without a shirt. All I had on was a pair of very light jogger shorts. We noticed I was bleeding from my forehead, both forearms and both knees ..... all bleeding, but not too bad.

Cathy asked me "what should I do" and I responded (not thinking) "go on without me", "Ill stay here"! All I wanted to do was lay there UN BOTHERED! I guess I got hit hard enough to not be able to think straight.

After I was able to breathe again for several minutes, and get my composure, the cuts on my head (along with the bruise from the bump), arms and knees began to hurt real bad. It took a very long time to stand up ... and that is not like me .... Usually I jump right back up, no matter how bad I'm hurt. But I had a pretty hard hit on the head and had the wind knocked out of me.

After I was on my feet, Cathy said "what do we do now" realizing we were 9 miles into an 11 1/2 mile hike (or so we thought!) and I was badly injured ... !

After I realized that I had no apparent broken bones, and I was able to limp a bit .... I told her ...."I'll walk it off"! Just like my high school gym coach would have recommended! "Walk it off Stoneman"! The answer to every physical problem!

And "walk it off" I did! As it turned out, we missed a major turn or intersection in the dark and was heading in the wrong direction. We came to Handsome Lake campgrounds before we realized our mistake.

So our original 7 mile hike turned into a 16 mile (as per our GPS) adventure hike that lasted until 1AM Saturday morning after starting out at 6PM Friday night. A long night, that ended with me with a bloody head, both arms and both legs! Toward the end of the hike I didn't have to say my usual "hey, I haven't even gotten hurt bad yet"!

Ask anybody who has hiked with me .... I get hurt on nearly every single hike! And I still don't think it's because I'm accident prone .... I just do a lot of stuff or a lot of hikes "off trail". Sometimes I'm almost psychic and can predict just before I get hurt.

I'm the same way, I have bruises and scratches up and down my legs and I don't remember how half of them got there. I'm Gerald Fordesquely clumsy and always bumping into things/tripping. Blows.

Well, my luck hasn't gotten any better. Saturday, a huge deer ran into the side of my car. My passenger side window was partially down, and the head of the deer came into my car just long enough for it to spew partially digested grass all over the interior. Broken windshield, headlight, side mirror, and dented hood, front end, and passenger door. And now the window in door will not go up. The deer rolled onto the road, got up, and ran away. He's probably thinking he's accident prone.....

Shadow,I was thinking it would be nice to run into you, maybe nows the time!(thats what that deer must have been thinking!) Seriously though, it can only get better.

Stony wrote; "Ask anybody who has hiked with me .... I get hurt on nearly every single hike! And I still don't think it's because I'm accident prone ...." Stony probably doesnt think its too funny, but I smile everytime I replay an "incident" I witnessed once while hiking with him. It involved a piece of sh*t "locking" hunting knife, a lot of poor judgement, some words ive never heard before, and a circus like aftermath,(oh, and a hunting arrow) luckily i had a first aid kit in my truck and we werent too far from it, We managed to save the finger...

That my friend, wasn't as a result of being "accident prone". That was just plain stupidity! OUCH! My finger hurts just thinking about it again!