Death Valley Debacle

[trailhound]

Now that DV is hitting 100F+ degrees, regular trip reports have slowed down. I figured that I could post this account of being in the park from March 21 to 28.

Here is where our Death Valley adventure began.



Here is where our Death Valley adventure ended.



We were hiking across the desert to Red Wall Canyon. I stepped down into a gully about 2.5 feet deep and 3 feet wide. Somehow. I lost either my balance or my footing and took a fall. I slammed into the far wall of the gully. My right leg pulled up so the left knee jammed into the right foot which got wedged between two rocks. Lightning bolts were coming out of the right foot. After a struggle, I got to my feet and started a slow hobble to the vehicle. Fortunately it was only 1/4 mile away.

Two hours later I arrived at Centennial Hills Hospital in Las Vegas.  X-rays showed that the fifth metatarsal bone was fractured. They gave me a stiff soled sandal to wear that kept the foot from flexing. Our flight home was 4 days away. We drove around the valley playing the tourists who never get out of their car.  At least, I managed a few pictures.




















You may notice that the last picture was from The Natural Bridge area. We checked it out the day before to get the cobwebs out. Besides. we hadn't been there in 25 years. Here are the (once) happy hikers.