The Jumbo Picnic Incident...

Melissa had the weekend off. This happens twice a month, so we usually try to make it out as a family and do something fun. Today we got a slow start, and didn't have anything planned really, so we opted for a simple picnic lunch somewhere scenic.

Rene had been on a class field trip up to Mount Jumbo saddle, and suggested we go up there. The day was warm and partly cloudy, with temps winding up in the mid 70s and a slight breeze washing over the hills. We climbed up Lincoln Hills Drive, watching as the neighborhood gave way to expanses of green hillside and bright yellow flowers. Rene filled us in with the flower info he got from his field trip.

"There's Arrowleaf Balsamroot, Larkspur, and Biscuitroot."

We climbed the steep trail, and I wondered first if I was somehow trapped in a Van Gogh, and second why so many of the trails in this area seem to go straight up the fall line at 25% + grades from the TH, and then level off slightly.

After a good climb and a little exploring, everyone was down for some food, so the priority became locating a picnic spot.

Lunch with a view!

After eating our sandwiches and roaming around on the hillside for a bit soaking in the warmth and the views, it was time to head back to town. We still had grocery shopping to do, and this wasn't supposed to be a daytrip, just a picnic lunch.

Elevation was lost quickly as we plunged down toward MT200. Marshal Canyon Rd appeared around a bend in the two-track and offered a high-speed route off the mountainside. Unfortunately, this was to be the cause of the latter half of our adventure for the day.

Julian and I reached the bottom of Marshal Canyon Rd and waited for Melissa and Rene. They were nowhere to be seen. A pickup truck pulls over behind me, and all I could think was "Oh no...." The driver told me that Rene had crashed a little ways up the road, and I should go back up to where they were. 

The scene was messy. Skin reacts poorly to hitting asphalt at 30mph. I checked Rene over for injuries, washed some of his wounds, and then got the bike in rolling order. He was pretty shaken up, and the road rash fairly severe in a couple spots. We had to ride home though, no choice on that one.

He lives! Yet he seems rather unhappy about that at the moment.
Melissa thinks this is great. Badges of honor, or something like that.

We rode at a leisurely pace down along the river, and just tried to relax and keep Rene's mind off his pain. Arriving home, I expended several packages of gauze, half a roll of medical tape, and several bandages to cover the road rash, and used some cyanoacrylate glue to close the deeper gashes. What a mess. Lessons learned: do not swerve at high speed, panic braking WILL throw you from the bike, super glue will close wounds that would otherwise require stitches.

Very pretty flowers everywhere.
This almost matches the color of my son's chin and elbow. Ewww.

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Aside from the disasterous crash, a great outing.
Will be a good area for picnic lunches and days where a
less-than-strenuous outing is desired.