Listening to your body

[TickPicker]

Would the experienced hikers comment...........I know there is the obvious.......if it hurts it's a problem.......but are there other "signs" that would tell you when you need to pay attention to part of your body/health when on the trail.

Steve
The land of the dimpled chad

[Footslogger]

Yes ...there are many signs and symptoms of which hikers should be aware. Among the most common (and often ignored) are the ones that involve your head/brain. Assuming that there are no underlying health issues, a headache is often an indication that you are dehydrated. Lightheadedness and dizzieness in cooler temps can be an early warning sign of hypothermia.

Sometimes during a strenuous uphill climb a hiker will hear their "heartbeat" or a ringing in their ears. When that happens you are getting the message that blood pressure has risen to a very high level and you need to back off a bit.

'Slogger

[chris]

One of the most common, and overlooked, problems is that of "hiker hunger". If you find yourself constantly hungry, you are just not eating enough. Contrary to popular opinion, it is possible to carry enough food to (mostly) sustain your body during a long distance hike. Next to blisters, a lack of calories is the most common health problem that I've seen on the AT. You should be able to carry enough food on you so that you can avoid the serious hunger pangs. One way to make sure you are eating enough is to carrying food in pockets so that you can get at it while you are hiking. I tend to hike in 2 hour blocks and will eat a candy bar and a granola bar, or something similar, during eat block.

If you can keep up a constant calorie level, you can hike longer and more enjoyably during the day. Moreover, you can maintain the body weight needed to keep up the hike over a several month span. Specific caloric needs are determined by the individual and their hiking style. However, your body will tell you if you are not eating enough. Hungry? Eat. Tired? Eat. Malnourished hikers can be seen as early as the Smokys. Note that the more weight you carry on your back, the more food you need, thus compounding the problem. Also, moving faster means carrying more food per day than moving slower, but might mean a lower overall packweight per mile.

[A-Train]

However obvious, shin splints and shin pains is a product of doing too many miles in one day, or hiking too quickly or going up and down a hill too quickly and stopping too quickly. The easiest way to remedy this is to do calf stretches in the morning before hiking. Pay attention to your body so you can catch these things before they turn into problems. I saw guys who needed to take zeros because of shin splints and then got out the next day to do 30+ mile days just to have the ailment reoccure.

In general, giving yourself a half a day or day off now and again can never hurt, even when you think you don't "need" it

[Nean]

I think the key is to LISTEN and not ignore what your body is telling you. That macho stuff might fly when your a spring chicken- which is good 'cause not too many spring chickens know how too listen, or was that just me? My advice is to walk at your own pace and don't try to keep up with folks who might walk a little faster.

[Spirit Walker]

Another one to be aware of is dehydration. I have certain signs that I am getting dehydrated - a light headed feeling or headache, maybe a bit of nausea. I try not to get to that point but it happens and I've learned how to know, before things get too serious.

[Nightwalker]

One of the most common, and overlooked, problems is that of "hiker hunger". If you find yourself constantly hungry, you are just not eating enough. Contrary to popular opinion, it is possible to carry enough food to (mostly) sustain your body during a long distance hike.

Yeah, but if you do, people will say you're cooking too much. (Heehee. Carryover from another thread.)

[rickb]

Read up on ticks and Lyme Disease.

Its a very real risk, but there are also ways to improve your luck.

Rick B

[SGT Rock]

Yeah, but if you do, people will say you're cooking too much. (Heehee. Carryover from another thread.)

Naw, your cooking too much

My dinner is 2 servings of Zatarains red beans and rice, 4 ounces of sausage, a couple of tortillas, and some instant pudding for desert. It is probably over 1000 callories for dinner. Only the red beans and rice need cooking, and I can make that happen on 15ml of alcohol. Oh wait, I need hot tea with my dinner, that is another 12ml.

'nough kidding with frankenlooper

I would say that there are a couple of things that you should learn to listen to your boty on - hypothermia and dehydration.

Hypothermia can happen as even in the 50's and it saps you of good decision making skills and sets you behind the power curve to get out of it on your own. You should learn to spot it early on and nip it in the bud.

Dehydration can get people because once you feel thirsty it is usually to late. Headaches, nausea, pain in your sides, muscle cramps, all can be signs of dehydration. Watch your urine and learn to check your capilary refill.

[Moxie00]

All my life I have hated catsup---I still hate catsup. When I thru hiked about half way through Virginia I was in a town and ordered a few cheeseburgers and some fries. My body told me to smother them with catsup--I did and loved them. Every time I hai a town after that I put catsup on anything appropriate to put it on. A few months after I got home and started eating home food as opposed to trail food my dislike of catsup came back. My body needed something in catsup and told me about it. By the way, I was never sick after Georgia and even though I lost 55 pounds I finished in excellent health. I've gained 40 pounds back but it sure as heck wasn't from eating catsup at home.

[Rendezvous01]

Stevehat:
In addition to other body signs mentioned here, I learned to pay attention to my chafing to tell me what to do. Yeah, that's right. Most of the time my crotch would start to chafe painfully at about 13-15 miles, and I eventually learned that it meant it was time to look for a campsite. If I stopped soon after the painful chafing began, by morning I would be miraculously healed, and ready to go on. On the days after I didn't listen to me, and just kept going (got to make it to the shelter, got to make it into town), I was in agony, doing the cowboy walk if I wanted to go anywhere (like from the motel to the grocery store across the street!). As my hike progressed, the chafing wouldn't start until later in the day--less flab on my thighs rubbing together, mostly. I also learned how much a little spot hygiene can be beneficial in preventing that painful malady.

I must echo the thoughts posted above re: nutrition and urine color. Met a young (17 years old) hiker at Kincora who was already averaging about 30 miles a days--trying to hike the entire Trail between his junior and senior years of high school, I think. He stumbled in well after dark, and was as gaunt as Ichabod Crane. He should have eaten something, but passed out in one of the easy chairs, and slept there the entire night. Several of us realized how malnourished he was, and we wouldn't let him leave in the morning until we had crammed him full of a huge breakfast, plus lots of parental-type advice about eating better. Not sure if he finished the Trail, can't remember his name, either, but he left us a very gracious thank you in the next shelter register.

Re urine color, I remember reading a trailjournal last summer (EGHM's, I think) where the author was having some health problems on the Trail. One piece of advice he was given was to drink enough water to pee clear. This seemed to help enough that he thought it worthwhile to mention in his journal for others to learn from.

One last part of your body to listen to: your heart. Not your heart muscle, although that's important too, but your emotional heart. If your heart's not in it, why keep hikiing the Trail? Take a hero day, sit atop a mountain and collect your thoughts; sometimes a short, slow, easy day is just what your body needs to straighten out your mind. Your blue funk may dissipate if your body isn't stressed out from back to back to back 25 mile days.

--Rendezvous

[Nightwalker]

Re urine color, I remember reading a trailjournal last summer (EGHM's, I think) where the author was having some health problems on the Trail. One piece of advice he was given was to drink enough water to pee clear. This seemed to help enough that he thought it worthwhile to mention in his journal for others to learn from.

Before I figured out that I had an abscessed tooth/root, I thought that I had a kidney infection. The color and cloudiness of the stuff in the tent pee-bottle was the reason. I tried over-watering, and it'd just come back at night. My kidneys were telling me that something was WRONG!

Both pee and poop give you an idea of your health out there. Pay 'em a little bit of attention and you'll be a lot healthier. Gross enough to write about, but you'll see what I mean.

[Nightwalker]

'nough kidding with frankenlooper.

Gee, I like that one. Frankenlooper, teehee.

[SGT Rock]

It would make a unique trail name. You can use it if you want and I won't chage you my normal "SGT Rock Official Trail Namen'" fee.