Anybody Diving Destin Jetties Sunday (6-21-09)
- Thread starter Raider
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SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Seriously... its not that bad. 
If anyone has that big of a problem with that walk, they probably SHOULD walk it... often and regularly.
If anyone has that big of a problem with that walk, they probably SHOULD walk it... often and regularly.
Well, the walk of death really lived up to it's name! We got down to Destin about 11:30am on Saturday and we went straight to the public beach access to check out the "walk of death" and decide if it was to much for us. The most freaky thing happend to me that has ever happened to me ever!
My 18 year old daughter and I started our walk out onto the sand. We took off our flip flops and started walking down the trail. The sand was warm but nothing unusual. As we walked towards to beach the sand was deep and hot just like it always is. We got to the beach saw how far it was going to be down to the jetties and decide to walk back to the car and talk about weather we thought we could make the walk with all our gear the next morning early before it got so hot. About half way back my feet begain to give me problems. I stopped to look at them to see what was wrong with the bottom of them. I had loose skin on the bottom of them like a burst blister. I put my flip flops back on and made it back to the car, now in extreme pain. After a trip to the E.R. I found out I had 2nd degree burns covering most of the soles of both my feet.
Vacation was over before it started! I'm now stuck in the hotel room unable to walk with both feet bandaged up and taking pain meds. I have been coming to the beach since I was 4 or 5 years old, every year, sometimes several times a year, I have never even heard of this happening to anybody. They said they had seen it happen from walking barefoot of hot concrete or blacktop but not sand. The people at the E.R. all stated that they had never had anybody come in that this had happened to. The "WALK OF DEATH" really put the "DEATH" on my diving this years trip and from all reports I have missed some really great vis and conditions!
How's that for a dive report? LOL!
My 18 year old daughter and I started our walk out onto the sand. We took off our flip flops and started walking down the trail. The sand was warm but nothing unusual. As we walked towards to beach the sand was deep and hot just like it always is. We got to the beach saw how far it was going to be down to the jetties and decide to walk back to the car and talk about weather we thought we could make the walk with all our gear the next morning early before it got so hot. About half way back my feet begain to give me problems. I stopped to look at them to see what was wrong with the bottom of them. I had loose skin on the bottom of them like a burst blister. I put my flip flops back on and made it back to the car, now in extreme pain. After a trip to the E.R. I found out I had 2nd degree burns covering most of the soles of both my feet.
Vacation was over before it started! I'm now stuck in the hotel room unable to walk with both feet bandaged up and taking pain meds. I have been coming to the beach since I was 4 or 5 years old, every year, sometimes several times a year, I have never even heard of this happening to anybody. They said they had seen it happen from walking barefoot of hot concrete or blacktop but not sand. The people at the E.R. all stated that they had never had anybody come in that this had happened to. The "WALK OF DEATH" really put the "DEATH" on my diving this years trip and from all reports I have missed some really great vis and conditions!
How's that for a dive report? LOL!
Like I said, it is a death march!
Hope your feet heal.
I just returned from two weeks in the Keys and Gold Coast and I encountered as well, on a beach dive at the Pompano Drop Off, sand hotter than molten glass. Good thing I had beach shoes in my dive bag or I would be in the hospital with you.
Yeah, there is a reason some of us put up with the hassle of owning a boat, the death march is one of them.
N
Hope your feet heal.
I just returned from two weeks in the Keys and Gold Coast and I encountered as well, on a beach dive at the Pompano Drop Off, sand hotter than molten glass. Good thing I had beach shoes in my dive bag or I would be in the hospital with you.
Yeah, there is a reason some of us put up with the hassle of owning a boat, the death march is one of them.
N
wjefferis
Contributor
**** note to self, keep wearing my dive booties all the way to the water until I get to the jetties********
Hope your feet get better soon.
Hope your feet get better soon.
SuPrBuGmAn
Contributor
Damn that sucks, LOL. Never had any problems with it myself!
SeaYoda
Contributor
I've had my feet become painful but not burned by that white sand. The sand near the shower head must be different than the stuff further toward the water (seems darker with more plant matter in it). On my last dive I had to stop and put my sandals on to finish my walk to the street. I've also, in the past, encountered more sand spurs and shell fragments in that part of the walk. Maybe the increased air temps this year have something to do with the sand being hotter?
mike_s
Contributor
wow... I've never heard of a burn that bad on feet from walking on hot sand. but I guess some folks feet are more tender than others.
Raider... the best way to do the 'walk of death' is to head straight to the water from the beach access and not to try to walk in the soft sand directly to the jetty. it adds maybe another 100 feet to the walk, but walking on the hard packed sand at the waterline is much easier than the soft sand.
Raider... the best way to do the 'walk of death' is to head straight to the water from the beach access and not to try to walk in the soft sand directly to the jetty. it adds maybe another 100 feet to the walk, but walking on the hard packed sand at the waterline is much easier than the soft sand.
The nurse (RN) at the E.R. was a combat medic in the Army. I was in the Army also and I would put more faith in what an Army combat medic told me than your average E.R. doctor. He said if the sand was getting direct sun light as hot as it's been here lately and it was in a confined space where it wasn't getting any wind circulation over the it, it would get pretty hot on the surface.
Now the puzzling question for me was, why didn't my daughter's feet get burned? She was right there with me step for step but no burns. He said me being bigger and my foot being much wider than hers could have made a big difference. It's kind of like pushing down on something in the frying pan, you know how it will really start to fry when you do that?
Anyway that little trail wasn't getting much of a breeze in there and it was hot so I think I was a victim of several bad circumstances coming together all at once. I know this, "I WILL NEVER EVER, TAKE OFF THE OLD FLIP FLOPS IF THE SAND FEELS HOT!!!!!" And you can damn sure quote me on that!!!!! LOL!
My left foot is (I think) about healed. It's the one that the skin didn't burst open on. I'm able to put weight on it using a pair of crutches. The right foot is all together a different story. The skin came open on it pretty bad and it's still pretty rough feeling even taking a little pain meds. I'm going to wound care this afternoon to let them change the dressings and we will see what is what.
Thanks for all the well wishes and good thoughts, and remember "RESPECT the Walk of Death!" LOL!!!!
Now the puzzling question for me was, why didn't my daughter's feet get burned? She was right there with me step for step but no burns. He said me being bigger and my foot being much wider than hers could have made a big difference. It's kind of like pushing down on something in the frying pan, you know how it will really start to fry when you do that?
Anyway that little trail wasn't getting much of a breeze in there and it was hot so I think I was a victim of several bad circumstances coming together all at once. I know this, "I WILL NEVER EVER, TAKE OFF THE OLD FLIP FLOPS IF THE SAND FEELS HOT!!!!!" And you can damn sure quote me on that!!!!! LOL!
My left foot is (I think) about healed. It's the one that the skin didn't burst open on. I'm able to put weight on it using a pair of crutches. The right foot is all together a different story. The skin came open on it pretty bad and it's still pretty rough feeling even taking a little pain meds. I'm going to wound care this afternoon to let them change the dressings and we will see what is what.
Thanks for all the well wishes and good thoughts, and remember "RESPECT the Walk of Death!" LOL!!!!
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