'F' is for 'Fail'

Just a reminder to be careful out there guys:

(There are two of us that own this account but I'll write in the first person of course).

1. On Thursday afternoon we were on Ninth Line somewhere East of Furgus exploring when somebody driving a Cadillac Escalade was either not paying attention to the road, or has very poor depth perception and, while already driving too far into the middle of the road, suddenly swerved head-on into us. My friend was driving and luckily reacted very, very quickly to avert disaster. He steered us out of the way but we ran out of road so we ended up drifting almost completely flat on the car's side into what was a pillowy snow-filled ditch. It was my car he was driving and am just thankful it only cost a $100 to get towed out with zero damage to the vehicle - amazing!

2. After having completed a fairly successful, albeit drawn-out, hunt for abandonments last night (which also involved me stepping on a nail the one day I didn't wear my boots - luckily it didn't draw blood), we were on our way home when we found what to turned out to be a very uninteresting abandoned bungalow with unlocked doors and the furnace running (but not producing any heat). We were just leaving and the driveway was dark. I did a little jog off of the stoop and into the driveway. I immediately stepped on an icy patch where there was a divet I didn't see. The same foot I stepped on a nail with twisted inwards to the left while the rest of my leg twisted to the right producing a loud 'pop'. The slip of course made me fall onto my right side. I immediately clutched my ankle and in an unusually calm voice (I am admittedly a bit of a prankster so my one friend told me after he had a brief moment of doubt) said "I might have broken my ankle". My friends told me they were asking me questions and looking at my exposed ankle as I continued to hold it but that I had a concentrated look on my face and was unresponsive. I just remember laying my ankle down in the snow and how good it felt and then a brief moment where I had this strange sensation of 'ahhh.. this.. feels.. cozy' at which point I'm told my eyes rolled into the back of my head. My one friend held my head and after being out for 30-60 seconds grew worried as I remained unconscious. He said he gave me a few smacks in the chest which I do not remember at all but am told did wake up. I felt disgusting for a good ten minutes and didn't become fully lucid until I got over the extreme light-headedness I felt after standing up with my two friends' help.

I'm now about to finally head over to the hospital to check (fingers crossed) for a fracture or torn ligament. Although I'm having to use crutches (always good to keep those it turns out, haha) I think it's probably just a really bad sprain!

ALL THAT just to say: BE CAREFUL out there guys! Haha.. Take it from me! :P

Thanks for sharing your experience Bando, this hobby can be very dangerous at times, you should always be aware and have an exploring buddy with you. Glad your car was ok and hope you heal soon. To other members, if there is a dangerous situation at any location on here, please make a comment about it on the site. We need to look out for each other, otherwise, Happy Safe Exploring!

Play safe my friends.  Hope you recover soon Bando, take good care.

I had the same thought about exploring in daylight.  There are so many obstacles that are hard to see, why make it more dangerous than it has to be.  That said, I usually explore all alone so I am also taking a chance.  I guess we accept the risks and carry on.

OUCH, I hope your healing.