My free time is scarce these days, but when I have days off, I’m usually wearing my hiking shoes.

I’m by no means a hardcore hiker, but I try to make time to try new trails. My backpack has been worn down by more than a year of rain and wear. My latest pair of hiking shoes have been gracious enough to keep me from harm for the most part.

We’re in the middle of spring with summer approaching fast, and the weather is going to be ripe for hikes. I’m going into this summer with a fresh, first-hand lesson on being safe in the woods.

Some of my friends rented a cabin out in Oakland, Md., a few weeks back, so we spent our weekend on the side of a mountain. The first thing on the agenda Saturday morning was to check out Swallow Falls State Park.

The state park has a gorgeous, 53-foot, free-falling waterfall called Muddy Creek Falls, the highest in Maryland. My friends and I enjoyed a moment watching kayakers navigate the waters while the water roared.

Here comes the object lesson — the object in question being a rock. I was feeling good and cocky and decided it would be a good idea to check out a vantage point on the other side of a creek. Lucky for me, the creek was neither muddy not deep.

I attempted to make a three-rock jump to the other side. I made the first rock, missed the second and landed forehead-first on the third.

The cold water soaked my jeans, sweatshirt and T-shirt. My socks were also waterlogged and frigid. The cold water was probably the reason why I didn’t feel the cut on my forehead.

The good news was that I was with people that were far more competent than me. Special thanks to Caitlin and Erin for getting me to a doctor and to Candace for letting me use her sock to stop the bleeding.

The better news was that it was more of a glancing hit than a deep wound. Nurses weren’t concerned, and the doctor was nice enough to bring some heated towels for my frigid self.

I’ve since been properly mocked by my friends with Harry Potter head scar jokes and so on, all of which is well deserved. Mostly I’ve been looking at the whole thing as a lesson for hiking the rest of the year:

Stay on the path, watch your footing and be wary. I won’t be jumping around like an idiot the next time I’m out in the woods.

But first I’ve got to buy a girl a new pair of socks.