Fun Ride at Kennedy Meadows!

I love riding up at Kennedy Meadows, thick with pines and lots of tight single track. Yesterday was a perfect day, three buddys and I hit the Rattlesnake Trail after about 25 miles of various other single track riding. One of my buddies was crashing about every 1.5 miles, very technical and he was trying to blast through it... we thought he was going to get hurt by the end of the day. He just got lucky on the parts he crashed on. I on tghe otherhand was not. I always wondered when riding on some technical trails were there is a steep drop off to the side with nothing but jagged rocks and trees would feel like, WELL, IT FOCKING HURTS.... I was cruising in second gear on a not super tricky part when my front tire got launched by a rock I was planning to just goose it over.... the raock had another plan though.... sent me nose diveing down the side of a cliff head first into a rock cropping right along the stream.... CRASH, the brunt of it was on my right shoulder and head and left wrist.... Snapped the plastic cup of my knee pad, shattered the helmet, destroyed the shoulder of my chest protector snapped the bone in my left thumb, palm area.... I layed at the bottom of the drop off after belly crwling over to the stream.... left my hand in the ice cold water and fell asleep for about a minute or two until one of my buddies rolled up behind me and saw a yellow bike down the drop off by the stream.... the two guys that were riding behind me helped me get comfy as they spent the next 30 mins. plus trying to get my bike back up onto the trail, they pushed it through the stream a ways until they found a place to blast it up the side which was succesful... I was dizzy and throwing up so we all just sat there for awhile waiting for the lead guy to come back after we never showed up at a rest point... I think I was on the side of the trail for maybe an hour and a half and then tried to ride back since we were about 4-5 miles away from any roads.... I made it about 50 yards the first time, but the clutch hand didn't work so well.... then I just went for it after that. The ride back to a road was painful, technical, rocky, and just not as fun as it was before, my bike was pretty screwed to and the front headlight assembly, front fender were just hanging there for the ride. I fell about three times on the way back, but my buddies were there to pick up my bike for me, got to a paved road and cruised one handed to the camp ground and they loaded up our crap, and onto home we went..... I got to an emergency room by 6:30 last night and did not get out till after 10PM, I ended up with just the hand injury, basic cuts and bruises, super soreness and a mild concusion. I think I lost more money in damaged riding gear then bike parts, bike needs a lever, front fender, and headlight number plate assembly, gear wise= need new helmet, knee pads, chest protector, and pants and jersey that were ripped. I got away pretty lucky, very minor injuries.... In all, I was glad I wore everything I owned in protective equipment because I sometimes don't but will always now in the future.... Now I am home resting and my wife said I do not have to mow the yards today.... yipee...:) love how the bike flew past the cropping of rocks! as I did not