Wednesday October 6, 2021

Today we would be in the Santa Cruz mountains and doubtful there would be services, so we head to coffee and breakfast. Along the way we passed by an El Camino Real bell.

The weather today should be low 70’s so it’s perfect hiking weather.

The trail took us back onto the Los Gatos creek trail up up and away towards Alma Bridge road, across Highway 17 to Bear Creek Road. In the first 3 miles we gained 450 feet of elevation. It was steep in parts but it was really pretty. It looked like they were making use of every drip of water.

I didn’t like the look of Bear Creek Road. We had 2.5 miles to walk on it and it was narrow and windy. I kept turning to watch for cars coming behind me.

Tracie was a bit ahead of me and when I came around one corner, she was lying on her back just off the road. Her nose was bleeding, her forehead was bleeding, her knee was bleeding and her arm was all skinned up. I was still looking at her trying to figure out why she was laying down. I asked if she was ok and she said NO. I was momentarily shocked. Tracie is always ok. What the heck!!?

She tripped on the raised curb that divides the road from the shoulder and fell hard on her face. OMG now what do we do?

I asked how I could help and brilliantly she had a bag of ice water in her pack so I got that out and she used it to keep any swelling down. Beyond that, she didn’t think she could walk and we were in a terrible spot on the road.

I finally convinced her I should dial 911 and get help. Before we knew it three vehicles showed up, a fire truck with paramedics, an ambulance and another medic vehicle. They moved her off the road into a driveway to check her out.

When all was said and done, Tracie didn’t feel great and while the ambulance personnel offered to take us down the road where we could possibly get a ride to our destination (our suggestion), it was obvious to me that she needed to be checked out at the hospital. So we got a ride back to Santa Clara where we had been two days ago!

Tracie’s husband Steve works at Stanford Hospital and was actually at the airport heading back to Portland when I called him. He changed his flight and came to meet us at the hospital. Oh Tracie… when you do something – you do it well and with such unique style!

We still have options but backpacking to Santa Cruz is off the table. Since my car is in Benicia at Stef’s, my current thought is I will head there via Bart this afternoon, while Tracie is being evaluated, pick up my car and we will drive to our destination. It’s 11:45 am. Let’s see what happens in the next two hours!

So what happened was Tracie had her CT scan, was reevaluated and released within two hours of being admitted. Steve was able to make his flight. Tracie wanted to continue on to our booked hotels, so off we all went via Uber to Oakland, then Bart and one more Uber to Benicia.

Tracie was still a little shook up when we arrived at Stef’s so we gave her an ice pack and had her relax for a while. Every ice session helped.

While at Stefanies we were entertained by the kids, Lucy and Alden and joined the family for an easy dinner.

Time to go. Scott’s Valley is waiting. We won’t do much this evening but need to get settled in so we can get some sleep. It’s been a long day, traumatic for everyone, especially Tracie.

I’m so thankful Tracie is ok because the accident could have been so much worse. It’s a reminder to slow down and pay attention to your surroundings. Today’s road required attention to every detail. Thankfully there will be a next time….

#CAmission