So we had parked the Bronco at the end of our hike, now Wes would drive us to our starting point, Amacololia Falls Lodge. Emma asked for a bathroom stop if possible and Wes said that we could stop at Walasi-Yi Center. We drove there and it was then I realized I had left my money pouch in the Bronco back at the parking area. When we got back in Wes's van I asked him if he would kill me if I said i had to go back to the car. He said it depended on what I had left behind. I replied that it was my money. He smiled very big and said yes we will go back for that. I joked and asked if he would charge me more for that. So we went back for my money. I had also left my Mt. Dew which I had planned to drink at the lodge, but i didnt know this till later!
We had driven about 15 or 20 minutes and we reached a curvy and hilly area. We were approachiing a cruve when in the on-coming lane ahead we saw a motorcycle fly through the air and crash into the trees....area was just down the road. We arrived at exactly 3 pm. Mr. Wisson was not there, but arrived a few minutes later as promised. He introduced himself and his wife Dixie. They were a very friendly couple and let me sit in front to avoid car sickness, which I really appreciated.
Emma asked for a bathroom stop if possible and Wes said that we could stop at Walasi-Yi Center. We drove there and it was then I realized I had left my money pouch in the Bronco back at the parking area. When we got back in Wes’ s van I asked him if he would kill me if I said I had to go back to the car. He said it depended on what I had left behind. I replied that it was my money. He smiled very big and said yes we will go back for that. I joked and asked if he would charge me mor~ for that. So we went back for my money. I had also left my Mt. Dew which I had planned to drink at the Lodge, in the car, but I didn’t know this till later!
We had driven about 15 or 20 minutes and we reached a curvy and hilly area. We were approaching a curve when in the on coming lane ahead we saw a motorcycle fly through the air and crash into the trees off the side of the mountain. I yelled for Wes to stop. He did and I jumped from the van and ran in the direction where the cycle had flew. As I reached the edge of the road and looked down at first I didn’t see anything except trees. I could sense someone else running up also. I looked around and down and saw a man basically wrapped around a tree. He was sitting right against a tree with his legs straddling it.
I started to go to him when I heard a moaning right beside my feet. I looked down and there was a girl laying there also wrapped around a tree. She was moaning and then began screaming for help. She looked awful. Her arm was bent at an incredible angle and I knew right away that her arm was really messed up bad. She had hit the tree so hard between her legs that it had split her jeans right in two in the straddle. Marsha and Emma looked down from above and I yelled to get help, 911 or something. They ran back and I couldn’t hear everything that was being said, but I knew they had heard me. The other person who was also running up was a young man who had been riding on another motorcycle behind this couple. He called to the girl “Mandy can you breath”? She didn’t reply, but she cried out “My arm, my arm please move my arm I can’t stand this.”
We were afraid to move her in any way for fear of breaking her worse than she was. More people started to arrive and I could hear Wes calling out for a car phone. Finally someone did have one and they called an ambulance. A fireman who was trained in rescue arrived on the scene and I was grateful. He took charge of the girl and I made my way to the man. He was stunned and he had blood coming out of his nose. I asked how he was and he said he thought he had broken his nose and some ribs. I asked about his leg where the pants over his knee was ripped badly and I thought he may have broken his knee. He said itwas not broken, but it was hurting. I told him to stay still until help arrived. I told him his girlfriend had broken her arm and maybe her leg.
He wanted to get up , but I wouldn’t let him. Meanwhile the fireman asked for help to get the girl off the side of the mountain and onto the edge of the road. Marsha got her sleeping bag and they put two long tree limbs down each side and made it into a travois. They gently as possible eased her onto it and took her up the edge. She continued to scream in pain and she looked like she would faint. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she was sweating badly. After they got her up the other biker, Scott came and helped the injured man up onto the road. I climbed up and things were confusing.. Lots of people had gathered including a nurse.
It took about 20 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and the paramedics to get their act together. They seemed more interested in crowd control than the injured girl. The police arrived and he asked me if I had witnessed the accident. I told him yes and he wanted to see my driver’s license. I gave it to him and he disappeared for awhile up the hill and around the curve. Marsha’s sleeping bag, towel, and hand towel were being used to care for the girl. They put the girl, Mandy, on a hard board and taped her down. They gave her oxygen and an IV. I got my license back from the police man and he said that the girl probably wouldn’t make it. I told him I disagreed, that she was talking and she seemed coherent. He said he hoped I was right and thanked us for stopping to help.
Back in the van Wes told us how lots of cyclist come to tackle the mountains on their bikes and end up the same way. With that behind us, but still very much on our minds we travel on toward the Amicalola Falls Lodge where we will spend the night. We will start trek on the following morning. On this ride I told everyone that I had chosen a trail name for us. We are the “Sister Act”.
To Continue click the LODGE TAB
