Seems like a lot of thru-hikers end up coming down w/something in the first few weeks of their hikes. Did you?

Yep. A bad cold.

Took me longer. There was a real funk going around by the time most us got to Irwin in 2003. Lots of hikers ended up hanging at Miss Janets till the crud disappeared.

I got hit in central Virginia. Got into Glasgow and was feeling really bad. Got a room at the little motel behind the cafe and crashed. Ended up needing a Rx to shake it and burned a couple zeros while I my fever dropped and I got my apetite back.

'Slogger

In 1992 there was a spring just south of the Smokies that got everyone who drank out of it. I was lucky, I didn't get water there. The two I was hiking with spent two days in Fontana very very sick.

nope. went in '03. 6 days into the thru, 6 miles from fontana i came across a girl thruhiker who'd gotten a cold on her bus ride to springer. she slept in the shelter, i cheerfully opted to wrap myself up in a sheet of plastic outside by the fireplace. heh heh, she called me a freak. but i wasn't sick my whole trip. though i'm different, sort of a germ o phobe. i'll go pretty far to avoid colds, even if it makes people think strange of me socially:rolleyes:

In 1992 there was a spring just south of the Smokies that got everyone who drank out of it. I was lucky, I didn't get water there. The two I was hiking with spent two days in Fontana very very sick.


Good reason to treat water, that's for sure. I heard hikers also got ill at some hostel or something this past year - ?

nope. went in '03. 6 days into the thru, 6 miles from fontana i came across a girl thruhiker who'd gotten a cold on her bus ride to springer. she slept in the shelter, i cheerfully opted to wrap myself up in a sheet of plastic outside by the fireplace. heh heh, she called me a freak. but i wasn't sick my whole trip. though i'm different, sort of a germ o phobe. i'll go pretty far to avoid colds, even if it makes people think strange of me socially:rolleyes:

Well, that sounds smart to me!

Also, taking Vit C with you (I plan to take a supply of Ester C and Co Q to take each day. Also a multi vite and glucosmine for my knees)

No. Only got sick once from hiking, and it wasn't on a thru- or section hike. It was from some water source near Wildcat or Carter. Didn't hit till a week after.

I got sick as a dog coming out of Gorham (flu-like symptoms, fever, etc) The whites were a blast from what I can remember though.

Well, that sounds smart to me!

Also, taking Vit C with you (I plan to take a supply of Ester C and Co Q to take each day. Also a multi vite and glucosmine for my knees)


What type of Glucosmine are you taking? I want to get back on it again along with vits. My concern is their weight. I think a couple weeks supply along with vit will run my 8+ oz to a pound. I don't think there is any way around this. But I am hoping.:rolleyes:

I got the Erwin bug last year that afflicted a lot of hikers....but was lucky enough to avoid the Shenandoah virus that also knocked a lot of hikers off the trail for a bit.....