The Basics – Water

This is a story of boneheaded stupidity.  It’s also a story of my first ever hike on the Appalachian Trail.

When last we chatted I told you about a pair of boots that mangled my feet. 

I did eventually learn the lesson and bought a new pair – But not before this trip of which I am about to tell you.  Spoiler alert – There is still one more trip to tell you about, featuring the boots from hell.  Here’s a hint:

I returned from the Camino in April 2016 and decided to schedule my first hiking trip on the Appalachian Trail.  For reasons which now escape me, I decided to do the first 100 miles of the AT in Vermont.  I think I just wanted to have a unique experience, and the thought of taking a shuttle to Springer Mountain 80 miles north of Atlanta just wasn’t striking my fancy.  At this point in time, I’d never set foot on the AT.  So clearly I had no idea what to expect.

Let me set the stage further – My pack weighed 43 pounds, without water.   I don’t know what the hell I was thinking!  I was determined to figure out backpacking on my own, and I was making bad decisions.  I had everything in that pack, that I would never use.  And some things that I would desperately need I had overlooked.

So I set off, on the AT in Vermont wearing a pair of cruel boots and carrying a 43 pound pack.  What could go wrong!

I got on the trail just outside Bennington, VT, and made my way to the Goddard Shelter 10 miles down the trail.  It was hard for me, but I made it.  I set up camp, made dinner, and snapped a pic of my tent set-up while I ate my dinner.

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There were some wonderful people there.  We chatted.  It was great.

The next morning I packed up and headed down trail.  My plan was to go to the second shelter down, but I cannot remember the name of it.  Instead, I was beat by the time I made it just one shelter – It was a very challenging day for me.  So I set up camp and then stretched out in my tent.  This is when the complications began.

I’ve never played sports.  So I was not at all aware of the importance of electrolytes.  Therefore, I brought none with me.  That was my first mistake.  So I lay there in my tent having rather painful and strong muscle spasms and cramps – Imagine very intense shivering, all over, but it is 85F out.  I was at least able to deduce that it was related to my hydration, so I was able to get myself over to the water source.  The water coming from the pipe was just a trickle, but there was a small pool into which it was trickling – So I scooped that water into my camel.  Mistake number two.  I decided I would just eyeball the volume and throw in some iodine tablets and all would be fine.  That was the third mistake, compounded by not waiting 45 minutes for the meager few tablets in the camel to at least be somewhat effective.

I waiting for maybe 20 minutes before I chugged the water in my camel.  And though being hydrated did make me feel a little better, I still never fully recovered.  By the next morning, I felt horrible so I made the decision to turn around and head back.  All that travel for two nights on trail – I think I covered just 24 miles.  Awesome!

Anyhoo, for those paying attention to mistakes 2 and 3 above what do you think happened just seven days later?  Like clockwork, I had a sharp spike in temperature (104F) and was explosive from both ends.  Giardiasis!  Beaver fever!  And it was pure hell.  It took about a week for that to clear out, and I will do just about anything to never have to deal with that again.

So what have I learned?

First, make sure you are drinking clean water.  The iodine tablets I took are not bad.  In fact, I still have the small container of them that I pack along, but only as a backup.  I now take a Sawyer with me:

These are available everywhere, but most often I just order it off Amazon.  If you take care of it you won’t need to replace it that often.  Make sure to backflush it with clean water whenever you can, and absolutely test it before you head out on trail to make sure it is still working (ie, you can still get water to pass through it).  Never let it freeze – So if the temps are supposed to drop below freezing while you are on trail, put your Sawyer in a ziplock bag and put it in the sleeping bag with you.  There are also other methods to clean water.  My cousin and her husband have thru hiked the AT and they used a UV wand to treat their water – And neither have had water related issues.  So that is another option. 

The other major lesson I learned is the absolute importance of electrolytes.  Normally, this is Gatorade powder.

I keep trying to find something else to use, solely because I am paranoid a large container of sugar-laced powder will explode in my food bag.  But I also keep coming back to Gatorade powder because it can be found anywhere. 

The final lesson I’ve learned it to always take antibiotics with me.  There is an antibiotic specific for giardia which my doctor prescribed, tinidazole 500mg. It’s 4 pills that you take all at once should be exhibiting symptoms.  I’ve not had to use them – Knock on wood.

So there is the story of my first time on the Appalachian Trail.

What was your first experience on the Trail like?

#Hiking #GenX #GenerationX #Retirement #Adventure #Backpacking #Camino #Gear #Gatorade #AppalachianTrail #Vermont #Sawyer #SawyerSqueezeFilter #Kungsleden