Of course you plan to be careful and safe. No one plans to get hurt. But it can happen and if (or when) it does, it helps to know where to go. 

I typically look up three things before heading out on a trip and particularly if I’m planning to be somewhere without great connectivity:

• The location of the local hospital
• The location of a local pharmacy
• The location of a local vet (we travel with a dog and they can get hurt too!)

I don’t always write all of this down, but I have it in mind, just in case. 

Yesterday I had occasion to use that info. After a particularly rainy night, the rocks around camp were very wet and slippery. While prepping coffee, I slipped on one and fell on an outstretched hand. Unfortunately, it’s a wrist I’ve broken that way several times before and after a couple of hours of trying to shake it off, we decided to head to the local ER. The x-ray confirmed it was no worse than what I expected- a likely scaphoid fracture that is being immobilized with a brace until I can have a proper ortho doc confirm. 

So plans shift slightly. No kayaking or biking for me and I have to stick to hikes that require little or no scrambling. And for a couple of days I need to keep my hand above my heart to keep the pain and swelling down. It wasn’t exactly what I’d planned, but by knowing where to go, we were able to get a quick assessment and treatment that got us back to our vacation. And by knowing of a pharmacy to stop by on the way back to camp, we were able to restock Advil and get some KT tape to help the immobilization.