[at-l] To Joni, et al -- Some Advice

[nealb@midlandstech.com (William Neal)]

Joni
Do let people know where you are, and where you plan on being.  Sign in the
registers, and let trail friends you trust know where and when you expect to
get to the next point.  

One day I had big plans to hike to the next shelter by that night.  I wanted
to get up early the next morning and make it to a hostel that I really
wanted to stay at, and I heard that often it filled up quickly.  But I began
to fill rough that day.and had been yo-yoing in the way I felt for about a
week or two.  I did not make it to the shelter.  Instead I came off the
trail and walked down some dirt roads to a paved road and hitched into town.
It took awhile.  Almost as soon as I got into town, hikers began coming up
to me and asking what had happened to me.  They were worried and some were
thinking about backtracking and others were going to call the local rangers
if I had not shown up by evening.

Now what would have happened if it had been something serious?  And what
would have happened if no-one knew where I was going or when I planned to
get there?

Don't put down intimate details and don't use your "real" name in the
registers.  Other people beside "trailees" stop by the shelters and use the
registers.  Use your trail name and put down details that pertain to where
you are going next.

As to what was wrong with me...  That leads to the next piece of advice.
EAT ALL (et al) you can.

I was taking 2 meds at the time; exactly like my doc told me to.  But I was
eating more than I should.  Only when I went to the doctor at the trail
town's medical clinic, he told me that I wasn't eating enough.  After
monitoring me for a week, he cut my meds and ordered me to eat A LOT MORE
everyday even if it meant swilling Wesson oil.  I didn't swill much Wesson
oil, but I loaded up at anyway that had food along the way.

You're going to burn a lot of calories on the trail.  So ET AL you can.  

William, The Hungry Turtle