I love hiking/backpacking. Plans are to hike sobo next month with a great friend which is a 2x nobo thru-hiker. Anyway, as I was walking my 12miles (no pack) yesterday my left arms started tingling, hands swelling too. We stop to take a break as I was sitting there my arm stop tingling ,after I started walking again it started back tingling. I had this on the trail once before but I was thinking my pack strap was cutting the flow off to my arm ( I did adjust it), but after walking without a pack yesterday got my thinking. Anyway we took off to the VA hospital to get checked out. I had blood work, EKG which all checked out great, got a stress test to do next wk.Has anyone had any of this before? The funny think about it is I was on the treadmill the day before for 45 mins with no problem. Thanks HS

Don't stop exercising after a thru or else you will become another fat body at all the hiker reunions. BTW, I use to be fat, so that makes it all right for me to call all of you fat :)

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...d_dislike.html



Why Is Exercise Such a Chore?

Human evolution made us long-distance runners, but it didn’t make us like it.
Exercise confers huge health benefits, so why does it often feel like such a chore? Evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman of Harvard explains the paradox. He specializes in research on human movement and endurance running and is a keen long-distance runner.


Anil Ananthaswamy: Why did you start to study the evolution of running and exercise?
Daniel Lieberman: I got interested in how we hold our heads still when we run. It began when my colleagues and I were doing some experiments with pigs as models. It is very uncomfortable to watch a pig run: Its head bobs all over the place. But animals that are good at running, like us, are extremely good at keeping the head still, because it is important for gaze stabilization. We started thinking about humans and chimps, and came up with hypotheses about how we evolved head stabilization to run.


AA: Why do you think head stabilization evolved for running, and not another form of movement?

DL: If you watch someone with a ponytail running, the ponytail bobs up and down. That's because of the pitching forces acting on the head. The head itself stays very stable. There are special mechanisms—the semicircular canals in human heads are greatly enlarged relative to apes, for instance—that give us a much greater ability to perceive and react to rapid accelerations of the head.

Walking does not create such accelerations. And I don't think our ancestors were jumping on trampolines or hitting each other on the head so much. The only explanation we can come up with is running.



AA: Being able to run is one thing—how did we then go on to become endurance athletes?

DL: We evolved from very non-active creatures. A typical chimp will walk 2 to 3 kilometers a day, run about 100 meters and climb a tree or two. Your average hunter-gatherer walks or runs 9 to 15 kilometers per day, and we have all these features in our bodies, literally from our heads down to our toes, that make us really good at long-distance walking and running.

I and my colleagues at the University of Utah, Dennis Bramble and David Carrier, think the key advantage for humans was persistence hunting, whereby you run very long distances to chase animals in the heat and run them into heat stroke. We can run for very long distances, marathons in fact, at speeds at which other animals have to gallop. That's not an endurance gait for quadrupeds, because they cool by panting—short shallow breaths. You can't pant and gallop at the same time. If you make an animal gallop in the heat for 15 minutes or so, on a hot day, you'll kill it.


AA: But we have adaptations for this kind of endurance running?

DL: Yes. Our bodies are loaded with all kinds of features: short toes that require less energy to stabilize and generate less shock when running; the Achilles tendon that stores and releases energy appropriately as we run; the large gluteus maximus muscles that steady the trunk; and stabilization of the head. I'm a middle-aged professor, I'm not a great specimen of an athlete, but I can easily run a marathon at a speed that would cause a dog my size to gallop.


AA: What's your best marathon time?

DL: [Laughs] 3 hours and 34 minutes. There are guys who can run almost twice as fast as me.


AA: Still, if you made an animal run that far at your speed, you would ...

DL: I'd have dinner.


AA: Why, in spite of our adaptations, have we gone from endurance athletes to couch potatoes?

DL: It was incredibly recently in history that a large number of humans have been freed from having to do physical activity. My argument, from an evolutionary perspective, would be that not having regular physical activity every day is pathological and abnormal. In a lot of medical studies, we compare people who are sick with controls. But who are those controls? They are relatively sedentary Westerners. I'd argue that we are comparing people who are sick to people who are abnormal and semi-pathological.


AA: If being inactive is pathological and abnormal, then how come we hate exercise so much?

DL: There was never any evolutionary selection pressure to make us like exercise. If you are a Neanderthal or Homo erectus or an early modern human, you didn't think, "Gee, I'm going to go for a run so that I'm not going to get depressed." They had to go long distances every day in order to survive. Not exercising was never an option, so there was never any selection pressure to make people like exercise. On the contrary, there was probably selection to help people avoid needless exercise when they could. Some hunter-gatherers had diets of about 2,200 calories a day. When your energy intake is that low, you can't afford to go for a jog just for fun.


AA: So evolution selected for traits that made us relax or be lazy?

DL: Of course. Just like anytime you crave sugary, fatty foods—that would have been advantageous for early humans. It's only now that they have become maladaptive.

When you walk into a train station and there is a staircase and an escalator, your brain always tells you to take the escalator. Given a choice between a piece of cake and a carrot, we always go for the cake. It's not in your best interest, but it's probably a very deeply rooted evolutionary instinct.


AA: What are the consequences of the modern sedentary lifestyle?

DL: It's hard to think of one disease that is not affected by physical activity. Take the two major killers: heart disease and cancer. The heart requires exercise to grow properly. Exercise increases the peripheral arteries and decreases your cholesterol levels; it decreases your risk of heart disease by at least half.

Breast cancers and many other reproductive tissue cancers also respond strongly to exercise. Other factors being constant, women who have engaged in regular vigorous exercise have significantly lower cancer rates than women who have not. Colon cancer has been shown to be reduced by up to 30 percent by exercise. There are also benefits for mental health—depression, anxiety, the list is incredibly long.


AA: What can we do about our maladaptive traits?

DL: If we want to practice preventive medicine, that means we have to eat foods that we might not prefer, and exercise when we don't want to. The only way to do that is through some form of socially acceptable coercion. There is a reason why we require good food and exercise in school—otherwise the kids won't get enough of it. Right now we are dropping those requirements around the world.


If we are going to solve these health problems, we have to push ourselves to act in our own self-interest. As a society, as a culture, we have to somehow agree that it's necessary or face the consequence—which is billions of unfit, overweight people.


AA: Has evolution given us any instincts that promote exercise?

DL: Yes. It's important to recognize that the body isn't adapted only in one way or another. There are multiple competing adaptations. While it's true that many of our instincts are to not like exercise, we also have other adaptations that make us enjoy exercise. The most obvious example is the runner's high.


AA: What's the evolutionary advantage of the runner's high?

DL: Imagine you are chasing an animal, and you have to keep going. When you are chasing, you are usually also tracking, which is all about observation. You are looking for clues in the environment. What does a runner's high do? It makes everything more intense. It stimulates your perception and your sensory awareness.

I can give you an example: I ran the London marathon a few years ago, and as I was nearing the finish I remember running by Big Ben and thinking, "Wow, Big Ben is really big." And then I remember thinking to myself, "Oh, I must be high."




This article originally appeared in New Scientist.

Hey gang--

I have a serious question regarding health issues on the trail. I plan on leaving NOBO next March, and besides saving up a little bit more money and maybe switching out a little bit of gear, I'm pretty well ready to go.

Except for one thing.

2 1/2 years ago I had a huge blood clot that almost killed me, (a *very* close call), but I recovered. Then a year ago, I had another episode, this time several small ones made their way to my lungs and put me in the hospy for a week on a Heparin drip. I've been on monitored Coumadin ever since and have had no other problems. In the meantime, I've lost over 160 lbs, too. I feel better than I have in the past 20 years.

Anyhow, I went to the Oncologist yesterday (have to go to the cancer clinic to have your blood worked on) and as much as he loves my improved health and all the negative results on all my tests I've had (nothing at all on a lower-extremity ultrasound I had done last week), he told me that he doesn't want me to walk the trail. Ever. Said it's too much of a risk.

My question is, is there anyone out there on the trail, or who has thru-hiked that was on blood thinners of some sort? He said if I insist on going, there may be a different drug I can take without monthly monitoring and lab work, but I forgot the name. I can't imagine that I'm the first person to attempt a thru hike that has had problems with blood clots in the past.

Other than that, I'm very healthy, except for the extra lbs I'm still dropping. Great blood pressure, low cholesterol, and all that. My doc is afraid that if I'm out in a remote area, a couple days away from the hospital, and get symptoms, it may be too late. Unfortunately, the main symptoms are shortness of breath and leg cramps, which I jokingly told him happens every time I put on a backpack... :D And I said I don't want to live the rest of my life limited to being a few minutes away from a hospital...

I'm still going to go, (at least I say that now) but do any of y'all have any experience with this type of thing? Anything my regular doctor can do as far as different meds go? I haven't talked to him yet. It was just a bummer walking out of the oncologist office yesterday...

I'm only interested in how effective it is for ticks, NOT mosquitoes. I've been hiking for over a month in PA-NJ-NY, and the ticks have been pretty bad this spring. I'm not using permethrin, just DEET. I know some here claim DEET is useless against ticks, but I'm not interested in getting into that.

I am already familiar with the literature and studies on p-Menthane-3, 8-diol/PMD/Menthoglycol, or whatever you want to call it (the oil of eucalyptus plant). What I need to know from those who have tried it in the field is this: does it work vs. ticks?

Has anyone had success or the lack of it with this stuff?

:-?

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/20...t-just-soared/

after being a pack to a pack and half a day smoker for the better part thirty years.
I havent smoked for two days now. so far so good. I think I got it beat this time.:sun

I am afraid to hike much more than two hours. I get cramps in my calves. I think it is because of my bad posture. I slouch forward and that puts tension on my calves.

I didn't really have this problem until I got custom made orthotics for my flat feet six or more year ago. The orthotics keep my knees from getting sore when I go up and down hills. I don't know I can blame the orthotics for the cramps, although they could fit better in my shoes. I think part of the problem is just that I'm aging.

Anyone ever hear of this problem?

I read today that the drug used for treating Lymes disease is in short supply and the price is going up. In some areas doctors hand it out to folks that are in areas of high risk fo Lymes. Basically some advocate if you even think you were bit by a tick do a 48 hour round.

I had to abandon my thru-hike this year because of my knees. It's the culmination of knee problems going back to 1997, primarily patellofemoral osteoarthritis. Subject to confirming MRIs, I am looking at total knee replacements if I want to hike again or engage in any leg activity more strenuous than going from the sofa to the bathroom and back. My orthopedic surgeon is very open to my resuming hiking, even long-distance backpacking, after the surgery, physical therapy and rehab, but he avoids any promises and cautions that I might find limitations.

I would like to hear from some WhiteBlazers who have been through total knee replacements and what your hiking has been like since, especially if you have thru-hiked. I haven't given up my dream yet. 20 years of section hiking haven't cured me of wanting to thru-hike.

Please trust me when I say that I have tried many, many alternatives to total knee replacements, and if possible, try to restrain from suggesting use of sticks (I do), lightweight pack (I do), stretching (I do), various Glucosamine formulations (been there and done that), proteolytic enzymes (ditto), straps and braces, etc. I really want to hear from hikers who have been through total knee replacement(s) and what your experience has been like!

Thanks!

Looking for recommendations for gloves - in 40* continuous (days) slow rain my hands get so wet and cold!
What have you found to keep your hands dry and warm in above freezing rain?

I recently did a 50+ mile hike on the AT. We did this in about 6 days, slackpacking. After the first day I started to get pain in the ball of my feet and especially in the 3rd & 4th toe area. I used one of those pads that's suppose to help that and it did for about 3 miles and then it would start in again. It did get worse but we were down there so we kept going. It's not like I was in extreme pain it just hurt. I was using my Merrill Moabs that are great to start with but also I had been wearing them for about 6 months. I also started to find blisters on the sides of my heels and the side of each big toe. I was very discourage but we kept going. Before I was done I had blisters on my blisters! Not a good thing. I don't know if the pain in the ball and toe area caused me to walk differently but I would like this not to happen again.
If anyone can give me some advise if this has happened to them and what they did, I would appreciate it.
I do have an appointment with a podiatrist but they can't take me for 3 months!
:-?

My 13 year-old son and I will be making his first long-distance hiking trip on the AT through parts of GA and NC at the end of the month. Like most backpackers we have different hiking styles and speeds, so I don’t want to keep him confined to staying within his “dad’s line of sight” for the eight days we will be out there. We will, of course, camp together each night.
I could not ask for a better son, as he is mature, thoughtful, and well adjusted (despite having me as his dad and role model :)) But… he is still only 13, and I (and his mom) worry about his safety on the trail during those times we will be hiking apart.
I’d be interested in hearing from other hiking parents on where their comfort level is on this and what rules, strategies, and/or technological options (like SPOT) were used to achieve it.

I've heard rumor of a hiker who was bit by a SKUNK [May 2013] while tarp-tenting along the southwestern VA section of the AT

Has anyone else heard about this??

Does anyone know more details as to where exactly it occurred?

hey yall i was wondering how any of you that may have panic attacks deal with them on the trail? i do good sometimes and can go 2-3 days out on the trails and not have one then il have one at night and it will keep me up all night :( ive gotten up and walked around and did jumping jacks and anything else i could think of to relieve the symptoms but to no avail, and the bad part is it wears me down so bad that the next day im beat before i even start ... so any help would be great, even if i have to take a pill to help i will (i dont like taking anything but if i have to i will) thanks