Monday, just afternoon, I decided that I finally should get my fishing line wet by taking a trip up to see if I could find Lake Elizabeth in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National Forest. Leaving the trailer I head up Highway 2 eastbound towards Skykomish. About two and a quarter miles from town is the Miller Creek Campground and my directions say to exit the highway and drive one mile to forest service road 6420. Once on 6420 I am looking for service road 6410 which appears in less than an eighth of a mile. I turn right on to the service road which quickly turns into a gravel fire service road that at times is single lane. I drive up this road (trail) for approximately seven miles before I come to the end of the trail. But there is no lake.
Apparently as I was watching a river flowing down the hillside on my left, I drove past the lake (pond) on my right. I got out at the end of the road and walked up a trail for roughly a half mile thinking that must be where the lake is. The trail continued and I saw no sign of the lake. Returning to the truck to check the map I realize that I may have passed it on the way up.
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| Beautiful Landscape |
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| On the trail I walked up |
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| Half a mile and no sign of a lake |
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| Parked near the end of the road |
I started back down the road and kept a keen eye out to the left when out of the trees there came what looked more like a pond than a lake. I stopped and grabbed my fishing pole and started down what appeared to be a short trail to the lake. Mine you I should have gotten out my phone and added to my collection of pictures but frankly I was excited to find the lake and wanted to dunk my line. Unfortunately what happens next keeps my attention and I don't take any further pictures.
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The road bed wasn't that bad
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My next trick wasn't so funny. As I stepped down from the last step leading down to the lake I slipped and couldn't catch my balance as I went crashing to the trail. As I fell my right leg below the knee went out to the right as my foot got caught under me. I came down hard and there definitely was a problem with my right knee. I sat there collecting my thoughts and checking my leg to make sure there was no blood or serious pain. I had pain but not to the extent that I thought I would need help and after checking my phone with no bars, help wasn't exactly next door. I got myself up and made it back up to the truck. Weight on the right leg caused serious pain in the knee but I managed to get back in the truck and head down the fire service road and back to the trailer.
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| Half way up a concrete drain pad
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I apologize for not having pictures of the lake (pond) but I thought it more prudent to get back to the truck and head for home. I had a difficult time once I got back to the trailer and we decided to head back home a day early and stop and urgent care on the way. I phoned Zach and he had no problem with us coming home a day early.
We stopped at urgent care and I got in and out pretty quickly. After some initial checks the doctor conclude that I had badly sprained my medial collateral ligament. I couldn't argue with that cause it really hurt when he pushed on it. He said he didn't believe it was torn since the motion of the knee would stop when pressure was applied. He recommended ice, Tylenol and rest. Fortunately I don't work so rest is much easier. He gave me a knee immobilizer which I am supposed to wear if I am up for long periods of time. Don't think I need it to much. It is a stiff, velcro thing that takes time to install and once it is on you can't bend you knee.
So sleeping last night was difficult to say the least. The pain has gone down from a 8 on a scale of 10 to about a 5. I can manage the pain and I hope the healing process is quicker than the hamstring pull I had a few months back. The pain of that was a full on 10 and it lasted for several days before calming down.
Basically, no hiking to alpine lakes or rivers for me for a while but as far as slowing down and smelling the roses.....I don't like roses.
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