Icicle Viewing

Loretta came down to my house and we ventured out for a longer ride today and I'd done ok on the last shorter ride. We rode 14.91 miles today. With help getting Lily ready and avoiding unnecessary dismounts, I can ride. We rode out to the Memorial and my favorite spot on trail 185. It was a very nice day up in the 40's but there were still icicles on the bluffs in the shady spots which are so pretty to see. We had a nice ride.

Icicles at Initial Tree

Today was my first ride since my accident. I was not at all sure how it would go. Or if it was a good idea to even try. Loretta was sure it was probably not a good idea. But, I had to try. With help getting Lily ready, I mounted up. So far so good. I figured as long as Lily behaved, as she usually does, I don't need to arms to ride. I only need one to steer her and the left one is as good as my right arm for that.

We did decide not to ride too long as I didn't want to overdo it. And I didn't know how it would feel after the ride. Riding didn't really hurt as long as I kept my right arm tucked in to my body and held onto my jacket to support the arm and shoulder. Dismounting hurt so I only did that when we stopped for lunch. We rode into Initial tree today and the icicles were absolutely stunning on the trail into Initial and the bluffs around Initial Tree. As we were eating lunch, it warmed up enough that the icicles started breaking off and crashing to the ground. It jumped the mules a bit the first couple times and then they ignored it. We decided to ride out a different way where the trail would not keep us so close to the bluffs and falling icicles. We rode a bit over 9 miles today. My shoulder didn't seem any the worse after so I was happy with that and we had such a nice ride.

Slippery Rocks

Today Loretta and I decided to park at Behman Hill Trailhead and ride towards One Horse Gap. It was supposed to be a warm and sunny day so we wanted to make the most of it. Lily is barefoot right now. She has broken a chunk of hoof off where the nail holes are growing out. Not a big piece and she hasn't seemed sore at all. But, just to be careful, I decided to see if any of my hoof boots fit her. So, while waiting for Loretta to arrive, I dug out all my boots to see what might fit. Easy Boots, nope, Old Mac's, nope. Renegades... YES! My Renegade boots seemed to fit her nicely.

We headed out along some moderately rocky trail. I've found that with Lily barefoot, I have to be careful on smooth flat rock sections. I didn't know how the boots would be. We negotiated the first area of rock ok but I could tell the boots were no better than barefoot. Lily and I were in the lead going down a fairly steep hill when Lily stepped onto a wet, mossy rock and her feet went right out from under her and she fell. I was pitched over her right shoulder. I tried to roll away from her to make sure I was not caught under her when my roll was abruptly stopped by my shoulder lodging against a rock. Lily scrambled up without stepping on me. Loretta had fallen behind me a bit so she was still on top of the hill and didn't see the whole incident. I rolled up into a squatting position and knew I was not ok. I had to just stay there a minute and count my body parts to make sure they were all working. And they were except for my shoulder. It was not right. I finally got to my feet and had to stand for a bit longer trying to decide how bad it was. Was it something I could shake off like a stubbed toe, or was it really damaged. I was thinking it was really damaged. I led Lily down to the bottom of the hill and climbed back on. That hurt but not to horrible. We were only a few miles from the trailer at this point. Loretta and I discussed what to do and I decided to try riding a bit further to see if it got any better. We just chose a route that would not take us a lot further from the trailhead.

We rode on to Rocky Top. My shoulder kept hurting especially over uneven ground but it was not excruciating by any means. However, dismounting for lunch DID hurt. And I didn't expect that. OUCH! At this point a big hematoma had developed on the top of my shoulder. When Loretta felt that, she knew it wasn't good either. She called Terry and asked him to meet us at my house so he could take her truck, trailer and mule home and she could drive me to the ER. We told him we'd call him when we got back to the trailhead so he'd know when to head out to meet us.

We rode up to a gravel rode and as we were riding back towards the trailer on the level road, my shoulder wasn't hurting too bad so we decided to ride past the trailer and continue on for a while as it was such a beautiful day and I hated to waste it. I didn't figure it mattered what time I got to the ER. So, we rode 8 miles before heading home. Loretta took me down to a cemetery. That made me a bit worried she was planning to put me out of my misery.

We called Terry and met at my house. I took a really quick shower as I was really sweaty and dirty. That was not easy with my arm not working right and hurting. I had to have help getting dressed. Loretta took me to Harrisburg Medical Center. It didn't take all that long to get in and get looked at. It turns out I have a grade 3 AC shoulder separation. UGH. Not good. Nothing to be done but let it heal on it's own as best it can. Surgery can be done for it but Dr. said the results are usually not any better with surgery. Healing time is anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks.