My friend was visiting for the weekend and we decided to head to the Peak District for a hike.

I didn’t realise how poorly prepared I was for the walk. I can’t remember how far up we were – perhaps half way? Perhaps 3/4 of the way to the top of the waterfall/scramble.

I slipped on a rock, lost my footing. At the time, I didn’t really know what happened but I ended up in the plunge pool at the bottom. I had no helmet, I was wearing new boots, and I was out of practise.

What I want to say is: thank you. Without your support and accompaniment, I think we’d have been in far more trouble than being knocked about a bit.

Yesterday I went to minor injuries because well… everyone there told me to. Turns out I got lucky.

No head injury, but my shoulder is seriously messed up – ligament damage in my shoulder (ACJ). It still hurts, and my knee is feeling fine now.

There’s a chance I have a permanent injury from the experience, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll definitely keep doing it, and enjoying every moment that I hike 🙂

Please see attached a photo from the day we got – yes, this is a photo of me just a few minutes before I fell 😛

by LobCatchPassThrow

14 comments

  1. > I’ll definitely keep doing it.

    Please please please don’t keep doing it without being prepared next time.

    Worst case scenario is you don’t have a couple stumble over you, your injuries are even more severe and search and rescue have to be called out for you at a large cost, all because of a lack of sufficient preparation.

  2. Damn that’s rough but also very lucky! Big up the Liverpudlians who helped you out though, what legends.

  3. It’s so weird to me that you say Liverpudlian and not

    Scouser

    I was married to a person from Liverpool and would never call him a Liverpudlian.

  5. please be very careful when doing this , my college tutor died from falling while doing the same thing a few years ago.

  6. Out of interest what route were you doing up in the peaks?

    If the weather turns it can be easy to get lost when you’re on top of the table!

  7. People needlessly die every year, unfortunately due to ignorance. People seem to think because it’s little old England its just like taking a stroll in the shire. The weather can turn from bright sun to howling wind and freezing rain in half an hour, the terrain can be treacherous and hard to navigate, when bad weather comes in the visibility drops dramatically… it should be taken seriously

  9. I used to live in one of the villages nearby, and go up kinder frequently with a friend. We turned back one day because it had got so bad up there.

    On the way back down there was a Duke of Edinburgh group going up. We warned them it was too dangerous. They didn’t have an adult with them. “We have to complete it”. We said “You’ll be respected more for turning back – it’s the whole point of the course – know what you’re doing”.

    We both got back down to the pub. Mountain rescue were called to get them a few hours later, semi-hypothermic, the big heli then got them.

    Just a story, hopefully one people see when they think about unfavourable conditions.

  12. You keep blaming the boots, even though they are decent hiking boots.

    It’s definitely operator error. You should be sure of your footing by testing before putting full weight on it and have three points of contact in difficult areas, etc. If you’re unsure of the route, turn back and find an alternative.

    I’ve never needed a helmet for a hike unless I planned to go caving, climbing, etc I’ve been on many long distance hikes over multiple feels, mountains etc on distances of up to 50 miles and I’ve never ever seen anyone with a helmet, that wasn’t wearing it due to disability.

  13. Got to respect the hills if you’re going walking in them.

    Dozens of people die every year up here, often those who are ill prepared but the hills also claim experienced hikers and climbers.

    There’s hundreds of rescues every year, and thousands of call outs. I’m speaking about the Scottish Highlands but I imagine areas of the Peak District aren’t a million miles away from some of the terrain and conditions experienced here.

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