It seems that my misfortune of living with chronic back pain has made me sort of impervious to pain. Or at least neuropathic enough to be able to handle more pain than expected.

Yesterday I had surgery. Right on my tail bone, essentially. I had a spinal block which is one of the strangest sensations I have ever experienced. I was able to wiggle my toes but couldn’t feel them. I told them to move and they moved, but they felt disconnected from my body. Nothing else from my waist down worked, though.

Once out of the OR I slowly began regaining use of my legs. That too was weird. I sent a command to raise my leg and it jerked upward. I had no fine motor control. It was all or nothing, odd.  However, I regained the use of my legs much quicker than the doctor anticipated. So quickly, in fact, that I was released out the front door before he had a chance to get back and give us more detailed instructions for caring for the wound site. The wife and I were slightly confused at the generic instructions on the sheet that the nurse gave us, so we called the Dr for clarification.

He asked how I was, and was alarmed to hear that it was only slightly uncomfortable. In nearly every other case of this type of surgery, people hurt so badly they need to keep a constant flow of Vicodin flowing just to cope. I hadn’t taken anything and was helping with dinner and dishes just a couple hours after getting home. Even now, the next day, I barely notice it and it only bothers me if I sit wrong or it gets hit by something. I was laying on my belly in the living room watching TV earlier and one of the kids starts running toward me, every indication was there that she was going to jump on me the way kids do… I screamed, her eyes grew to saucers in realization of what she was about to do, and skillfully she rerouted her path and landed on the couch instead. I thought I was done for, but all was good.

Anyways, I’m not sure why it doesn’t hurt right now despite everyone saying that I should be laid out in pain right now. I don’t care. I’m just glad I’m relatively comfortable and I should be out and about again in no time.

Hmmm, I was fiddling around today and noticed that the Facebook Connect for commenting wasn’t working. I got it up and going now, so you can use your Facebook login in order to comment now. Give it a shot.

The write-up for my Shi-Shi Beach trip yesterday will be up soon as well. Have to help the kids with homework and house cleaning right now though.

As always, it there is something not working on the site, let me know ASAP so I can fix it, please.

Thanks.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Day 4:

Monday morning everyone was more than ready to get out of there. The shelters were dismantled and camp broken down, gear all packed and ready to go.

The last lesson was signalling for rescue. There are two types of signals: Audible and visual.

An audible signal is whistle, radio, rifle shots or any other thing you can use to gain attention through sound.

Visual signals require contrast and movement. Contrast with your background in order to be seen from the furthest distance possible. Hunter orange is good for that. Always carry as much of it as possible.

Building a signal fire is another option, but in order for a fire by itself to be effective, it has to be unique. I mean unique as in it must alert a boat passing by that that’s not just a campfire on the beach. In order to do this, make three fires in a triangle, (for airborne observers), or three evenly spaced fires in a line, visible from sea.

Smoke is another option and can be visible for miles. On dreary overcast days that are so common here in the northwest, white smoke from plants just blends in with its’ back ground, but on the beach where we were, there was plenty of non plant based refuse, so we made a nice black signal cloud that was visible for quite some distance.

We were ahead of schedule, but we were ready to get home. Everyone was talking about their first meal back in civilization; I had it in my head that I wanted a bowl of clam chowder and a Caesar salad. For some reason, that just sounded divine at the moment.

The pack out was uneventful and the hour and a half van ride from the trailhead to our cars passed slowly. Once back at the cars we quickly parted ways, but not before exchanging contact info with our new found brothers. It has been a bonding experience beyond any other; there’s nothing that brings people together quicker than having to rely on each other to eat and stay comfortable.

Well, it was an experience and a half. I met some great new people and learned a lot about my gear: What I need and what I need to upgrade. Here are some.

• A reliable fixed blade knife is crucial for efficiently getting things done out there. I had my folding knife and a Leatherman tool. I got the job done, but it took longer and was much more of an effort than it had to be. Also, one of the guys there had a cheap knife. It literally broke in half leaving him with nothing. It’s only expensive once. If this was real, he’d be in a world of hurt.
• Rain gear: Gore-Tex is good, but sometimes in the wettest of weather it plugs up and you get wet anyway. Springing the cash for for nice Helly Hansen or the like can do you some good.
• Stainless steel bottles and cups are vital. I had a pan, but my bottles were plastic, vastly limiting my boiling capabilitites. Guyot bottles were popular this weekend because they were tough and you can stick them completely into the fire thereby sterilizing the entire thing.
• Paracord: It’s the defacto king of cord according to most, however we were exposed to some other stuff that is, in many ways, better than 550. It’s a tar infused, three strand line made for catfishing and it makes a wonderful snare wire and lashing cord as well. It can be found at BassPro Shops as well as other places around the internet.
• People are the greatest asset of all. I have been quite an introvert my entire life. Although I open up once I get to know someone, I spend the majority of my time around people just quietly observing. This weekend I learned to initiate relationships a bit sooner than normal. I met some great people from the town I grew up in and that Mickey fellow has some stories and experiences that many of us will never know. Get to know people. It can open doors.

Links:

• Class and individual photos
• Dave on Facebook
• Mickey on Facebook
• Daves Photos
• More Daves Photos
• Mickey’s Photos
• Mickey on Youtube
• My Photos on Picasa
• Canteenshop.com (Guyot bottles and stainless mugs)
• Duluth packs
• Rail Riders Clothing
• Strikeforce striker and Wetfire