The Trouble With Taking the Roads Less Traveled

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—   
I took the one less traveled by,   
And that has made all the difference.

And the difference is a torn quad muscle!

Last weekend's hike was fantastic. Headed to the mount baldy ski area and stormed up the trails. On the way back, I noticed a steep gravely slope on the side of the trail down to the ski lift canyon and started to contemplate bounding down the trough. It was about 500 foot of elevation loss that I could do in a minute. The grade ran to the bottom of the ski lift.
A few hikers walking by stopped and asked if I had dropped something down that slope. I told them of my intentions and they shook their heads in disbelief. "That's crazy!" The word 'crazy' is so often used in the English language. “I am thinking of leaping down this 75 degree gravel trough.” “That’s crazy!” Not “wow, that would be fun! We’re going down too!”
We chatted for a few minutes. They had their cameras out for the AFV or a viral YouTube video of a guy killing himself, with a heavy backpack. They asked for my phone number or some next of kin info, just in case I didn't make it. I just laughed, and leapt.
The gravel was deep and my feet sank in; it was a much steadier descent  than it seemed. After the first few steps I began to bound and jump, each step close to a free fall, covering twenty foot of distance. Some gravel was getting into my shoes, but not bad enough to stop me. Soon I was at the bottom, took my hat off and waved at the cheering skeptics at the top. I got cheers from the ski lift riders overhead too, who had their cameras out, somewhat disappointed that I didn’t tumble and make a funnier video.
I was charged and continued the leaps and bounds down all the way to the bottom of the ski lift and crashed on a bench in the parking lot and drank a full bottle of water, had a banana and a couple of cucumbers. A group of ski lift riders came by and said they had me on video and would email it to me. No emails from them yet.
The next day my legs were surprisingly fine. “I am sooo ultra fit!” I amazed myself. But yesterday the swelling of my right quads began and last night the pain kept me up. Today I was limping and could barely walk. Had to lift my leg with my hand to get in the car. Tonight, it’s a cocktail of painkillers and keeping my leg elevated that lets me type. I am not sure when the damage was done and why such a delayed reaction but I shudder at the thought of not being able to hike this coming weekend. I have gotten a permit to Mount St. Gorgonio, the tallest peak in SoCal, a 16 hour round trip hike and just can’t afford being injured.
The moral of the story, spare the cheap thrills and save the legs for another hike!