We stopped at Tallulah Gorge on our way to the Smokey Mountains. It is 1000 steps to the bottom of the gorge. From there it is a 1 1/2 mile scramble to the falls. There is no real path, just a series of boulders to climb/hop over. There were 11 people in my party, with four girls aged 7 to 11. Before I go any further I have to say that this ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. I HIGHLY recommend it as a day hike. They only let 100 people down a day, though.
My first aid training is limited to what I learned in the Army and picked up since then, but I am the guy with the FAK. We hadn't even gotten to the trailhead when my wife sprained her ankle on the edge of the pavement. She is somewhat stubborn and elected to press on anyway. I didn't have an ace bandage in my FAK (one of several inadequacies that I found on this trip) so we tightened her boot and pressed on. About 200 steps down, another member went into convulsions brought on by low blood sugar. This is not something I am even remotely prepared to deal with (knowledge or gear) but her husband knew what to do and I did what I could to help. I ran back up the steps (well, I walked fast) to get her glucose meter and on the way notified the rangers. She ended up coming around, was able to make it up the steps under her own power and had no more problems for the rest of the vacation. We also had one bee sting, several yellowjacket stings and various scrapes/bruises.
Obviously, your FAK can't be ready for everything, but I should have at least had a couple of ace bandages, a sam splint and something for major bloodloss. It will be rebuilt before I go out again.
On to the pics! No knife shots, but I did use my vic trekker to scrape out a bee stinger.
Sign at the top of the steps:
Someone found this guy hiding in a pool. It was IDd by someone else as a water moccasin, but I think it's just a water snake.
My first aid training is limited to what I learned in the Army and picked up since then, but I am the guy with the FAK. We hadn't even gotten to the trailhead when my wife sprained her ankle on the edge of the pavement. She is somewhat stubborn and elected to press on anyway. I didn't have an ace bandage in my FAK (one of several inadequacies that I found on this trip) so we tightened her boot and pressed on. About 200 steps down, another member went into convulsions brought on by low blood sugar. This is not something I am even remotely prepared to deal with (knowledge or gear) but her husband knew what to do and I did what I could to help. I ran back up the steps (well, I walked fast) to get her glucose meter and on the way notified the rangers. She ended up coming around, was able to make it up the steps under her own power and had no more problems for the rest of the vacation. We also had one bee sting, several yellowjacket stings and various scrapes/bruises.
Obviously, your FAK can't be ready for everything, but I should have at least had a couple of ace bandages, a sam splint and something for major bloodloss. It will be rebuilt before I go out again.
On to the pics! No knife shots, but I did use my vic trekker to scrape out a bee stinger.
Sign at the top of the steps:
Someone found this guy hiding in a pool. It was IDd by someone else as a water moccasin, but I think it's just a water snake.
It's really a hike down and as you said, no trail, just a bunch of boulders. My wife wants to go back and rock climb the one area.
)
Afterwards, we went to Helen and it just so happened to be Oktoberfest. Nothing like seeing nature's beauty and then watching a bunch of drunken college students fall on their bums! 