So I was suppose to start a 4 day bikepacking trip in Denali NP on Thursday. I also have scheduled a 5-6 day bikepacking the Denali Highway in August. There are also a number of 2-3 day trips to fat bike or gravel bike or packraft from now through September. My final big trip for the fall was going to be 5-6 days in either McCarthy or Denali NP.
Well my year is going to change drastically. I was house/dog sitting for a friend who happens to be a chef. While washing a knife yesterday I managed to cut my finger and when I saw the blood flowing from my finger the first think I thought was “Fuck, there goes Denali”.
This was the second attempt to do Denali NP. Back in May we wanted to ride Denali NP but because they were still working on the road we could only go 42 miles in (entire ride is around 90 miles one way). So we switched to riding the Denali Highway and weather was to extreme so we canceled it. First you have to realize this road is very remote, so we had to plan on no support (we both did have a Garmin inReach for real emergencies).
The plan was arrive around noon and ride a short distance (35 miles) and setup camp. We get there and it’s 34ish and raining, so we decided to camp at the parking location (a BLM campground). Since we didn’t have a strict schedule we just planned to make up the miles over the next two days. We are both very experienced outdoor guys and we struggled to get a fire going, all the wood we could find was wet from a week of rain. I woke up around 2am because it stopped raining but fell right back asleep. Wake up in the morning and realized the precipitation didn’t stop, it just changed form to snow.
The weather report for the six days was lows around 28 with highs in the low 40’s. It would be either raining or snowing or something in between for all six days. Looking at that and the struggle we had with fire as well as the remoteness we decided to load up and go home.
Here is what my bike looked like from 15 miles on a very wet gravel road. I should have put it on the roof rack, would have been nasty riding this at the start but honestly my friends bike (it came up in the bed of a truck) would have been this bad at the end of the first day.
Our thinking was anything that got wet would never get dry and if it was our bags (both had down bags) we would be humped. So rather than suffer for six days we decided to call the trip.
So the cut finger ruined at least two bikepacking trips and maybe more.
So how did a cut finger ruin at least two trips?
Photo taken at the ER
Do you remember the part about him being a chef (oh should mention that him and my bikepacking friend are different people)? So that should indicate the quality and sharpness of the instrument of destruction. I am honestly not real sure how the cut actually happened. The way I was holding the knife and what I was doing doesn’t make any sense for the direction of the cut. Regardless, when I saw that blood flowing I knew it was bad. Wrapped it up and got the bleeding to stop so I packed up my stuff and cleaned the blood up before heading home. I went home to feed my cats because I didn’t know how long I would be gone. Here is a photo of cut after I cleaned it at the hospital.
Crazy right? Looks like something a bandaid could fix. Well, it seems the aforementioned instrument of destruction easily cut not just to the bone but also into the joint capsule, which I have learned is not good. I have no idea what the surgery recovery time is for something like this, but I should tomorrow. I get to see a hand surgeon tomorrow and should know the fate of my upcoming trips. Until then they didn’t want me bending my finger so it’s in a splint.
I’m pretty sure that the August trip is out, as are any gravel bike or packrafting trips through August as well. So this accident has ruined at least two long trips that were already rescheduled from earlier this year. This has been a challenging summer that keeps getting worse. But I can ride my fat bike because the shifting is with my thumb and I can use the other fingers to brake. Granted my normal brake finger is my middle finger, but it’s doable. I can’t ride the gravel bike because my shift finger is the middle finger and I’m not sure I would be comfortable braking without the middle finger.
So I will just switch the activities to either fat bike or backpacking and maybe a fat bike single track bikepacking trip or two. Anxious for tomorrow because the fate of my short summer will be revealed. As I sit here and type this on my phone because it’s easier than trying to type on the keyboard my knuckle is killing me. Guessing I cut into some of those nerves in the knuckle and they are telling me how stupid I was. Here is a photo from this morning of it when I was changing the bandaid.
Let me leave you with a final thought. I have become pretty good because of multiple shoulder separations and surgeries over the years, but the initial relearning is a pain in the ass.
Oh!!!!!!!!!
What am I talking about? Next time you relieve your bowels I want you to wipe with the opposite hand.
Phocal
Well my year is going to change drastically. I was house/dog sitting for a friend who happens to be a chef. While washing a knife yesterday I managed to cut my finger and when I saw the blood flowing from my finger the first think I thought was “Fuck, there goes Denali”.
This was the second attempt to do Denali NP. Back in May we wanted to ride Denali NP but because they were still working on the road we could only go 42 miles in (entire ride is around 90 miles one way). So we switched to riding the Denali Highway and weather was to extreme so we canceled it. First you have to realize this road is very remote, so we had to plan on no support (we both did have a Garmin inReach for real emergencies).
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The plan was arrive around noon and ride a short distance (35 miles) and setup camp. We get there and it’s 34ish and raining, so we decided to camp at the parking location (a BLM campground). Since we didn’t have a strict schedule we just planned to make up the miles over the next two days. We are both very experienced outdoor guys and we struggled to get a fire going, all the wood we could find was wet from a week of rain. I woke up around 2am because it stopped raining but fell right back asleep. Wake up in the morning and realized the precipitation didn’t stop, it just changed form to snow.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
The weather report for the six days was lows around 28 with highs in the low 40’s. It would be either raining or snowing or something in between for all six days. Looking at that and the struggle we had with fire as well as the remoteness we decided to load up and go home.
Here is what my bike looked like from 15 miles on a very wet gravel road. I should have put it on the roof rack, would have been nasty riding this at the start but honestly my friends bike (it came up in the bed of a truck) would have been this bad at the end of the first day.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Our thinking was anything that got wet would never get dry and if it was our bags (both had down bags) we would be humped. So rather than suffer for six days we decided to call the trip.
So the cut finger ruined at least two bikepacking trips and maybe more.
So how did a cut finger ruin at least two trips?
Photo taken at the ER
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Do you remember the part about him being a chef (oh should mention that him and my bikepacking friend are different people)? So that should indicate the quality and sharpness of the instrument of destruction. I am honestly not real sure how the cut actually happened. The way I was holding the knife and what I was doing doesn’t make any sense for the direction of the cut. Regardless, when I saw that blood flowing I knew it was bad. Wrapped it up and got the bleeding to stop so I packed up my stuff and cleaned the blood up before heading home. I went home to feed my cats because I didn’t know how long I would be gone. Here is a photo of cut after I cleaned it at the hospital.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Crazy right? Looks like something a bandaid could fix. Well, it seems the aforementioned instrument of destruction easily cut not just to the bone but also into the joint capsule, which I have learned is not good. I have no idea what the surgery recovery time is for something like this, but I should tomorrow. I get to see a hand surgeon tomorrow and should know the fate of my upcoming trips. Until then they didn’t want me bending my finger so it’s in a splint.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
I’m pretty sure that the August trip is out, as are any gravel bike or packrafting trips through August as well. So this accident has ruined at least two long trips that were already rescheduled from earlier this year. This has been a challenging summer that keeps getting worse. But I can ride my fat bike because the shifting is with my thumb and I can use the other fingers to brake. Granted my normal brake finger is my middle finger, but it’s doable. I can’t ride the gravel bike because my shift finger is the middle finger and I’m not sure I would be comfortable braking without the middle finger.
So I will just switch the activities to either fat bike or backpacking and maybe a fat bike single track bikepacking trip or two. Anxious for tomorrow because the fate of my short summer will be revealed. As I sit here and type this on my phone because it’s easier than trying to type on the keyboard my knuckle is killing me. Guessing I cut into some of those nerves in the knuckle and they are telling me how stupid I was. Here is a photo from this morning of it when I was changing the bandaid.
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
Let me leave you with a final thought. I have become pretty good because of multiple shoulder separations and surgeries over the years, but the initial relearning is a pain in the ass.
Oh!!!!!!!!!
What am I talking about? Next time you relieve your bowels I want you to wipe with the opposite hand.
Phocal
. Hope the healing goes well!
)
