That is a fair assesment and I respect it.Originally Posted by rickb
either way, good luck Chinmusic on your hike. Hope you stay healthy and get to Maine.
The thread title is rather alarmist.
"There are a LOT of sick hikers out here" would have been more accurate and less dramatic.
Just another way to cull the herd. The strong recover and continue hiking. Wash your hands and don't touch the dirty hikers.
Well, with all my precautions, it got me. About midnight or 1am it hit. And hit hard. I've been up all night heaving and diarrhea. Thank goodness for me I am in town now. Having a toilet in my room is a bonus. As bad as last night was I can't imagine going through that in the field.
I stayed at no shelters. I used no privies. I shared no food. I shook no hands. And the damn thing got me anyway. Who knows maybe a sick hiker had selected the same ground as me for their tent the night before. I was almost certain I had dodged it with my precautions.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
Sucks to be you, but ride it out, you will be fine.
Some guys hiked on with it. I'm not made of that. I know I'll be better in a day or so like everyone else. I was due for a zero anyway.
I am actually "lucky" in that I am in town when this hit.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
Happens every year. Id clean the bottom of your tent and go with Aqua Mira, if you dont already. We wipe our sleeping bags down with denatured alcohol. Be glad its happening early....
When I was up at Jerry's Cabin shelter cutting firewood at the end of last month,I heated a liter or so of water to boiling and poured it on the privy seat.........
Being sick on the Trail does suck, I can say that from experience. With that said, every year there are small pockets of hikers that do get sick for one reason or another out there. My first thru-hike in 1999 I was hit hard with vomiting, diarrhea, nausea while in Daleville/Troutville VA. Turned out lots of other hikers had been sick in that general area too and the local Health Department came out to the hotels and did interviews, took samples, etc. 99 was a very dry year on the trail and water sources were running real slow or not all, so if possible alot of hikers were filling up at places in towns along the way. The day before arriving in Daleville/Troutville we passed through Catawba and stopped at the general store, ate some food, filled water and moved on. We also re-supplied our water on trail between Catawba and Daleville (I did filter that year) from a very slow running almost dried up water source.
Anyway, the Health officials came knocking on our room door to see if any of us were sick (there had been quite a number who were that had previously passed through town) and interviewed us, took samples and let us know they were testing both water in Catawba itself and the sources on trail in between. Here is a write up I have found online from what was found out.
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+Norw...s).-a085920305
I have hiked the Trail twice since 99 and thankfully never got sick like that again. I have also stayed, ate and drank water in Catawba since then too and all was fine. As I stated before, 99 was a very dry year with that part of the south going through a good drought, which unfortunately sets up situations for contaminated water sources happening.
If it is a norovirus as I suspect, alcohol/hand sanitizer has little effect. It is very susceptible to bleach though.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
Forgot to add in that it turned out water sources in town (wells, outside taps, etc) and on trail were contaminated with Fecal Coliform Bacteria, which was most likely from surrounding agricultural (animals). Just goes to show that even with the best precautions (avoiding shelters, privies, shaking hands, filtering water) you could still get sick.
Could also be fecal born, human, dog, horse. Hikers poop in overflowing privies, in the woods and track poop into shelters....boom. People in 08 got sick from getting water and NEVER EVER washing their hands or sanitizing them and spread it.
I have been around sick hikers for days and I feel fine.
So...either I have some form of acquired immunity or there is something unique about how it is transmitted.
Regardless, there is something going around.
I smell Lone Wolf here.
Hilarious!
When signing shelter registers USE your own pen,if you have one.....
I haven't even looked at a shelter registers in recent days. I do take your advice about having my own pen. I may just quit looking at them altogether.
Fear ridges that are depicted as flat lines on a profile map.
10-k:
It sounds more like a waterborne infection to me. ChinMusic has done every precaution he could and still he got it that shows it maybe waterborne. This type of infections happens in the seasons and years that due to overflow of streams( heavier than normal precipitation) the water sources mix up .
Ps : This is not an statement and I am using words like" sounds" and "maybe". Fair enough?
ChinMusic: ORS works . It is not fun to drink it I know but it really works both for reducing dehydration and nausea and vomiting.
Thanks for putting the word out. It will help some hikers avoid getting sick. Sorry it got you and glad you are in a room. Thanks also for all the great pictures and journaling!
Posting Permissions
