[at-l] Re: Solitude

[ellen at clinic.net (Bob C.)]

DelDoc, the retired physician, and medical researcher, who has hiked the trail
four or five times, including this summer, gave a workshop at the ATC Conference
Monday on medical conditions that one frequently run into while thru hiking.

Among the discussions of knees, blisters, foot problems, insects, water, etc.,
the good doctor listed "loneliness." He said sometimes the only solution is to
leave the trail for either a few days or for good. But he thought it useful to
write out in advance why you are going to be hiking and refer to it from time to
time. "And no," he said, "just a desire to complete the trail is almost never a
sufficient reason."

  DelDoc is a wiry 78. This year he is slack-packing the trail with an antenna
  strapped to his pack, completing a sophisticated GIS mapping of the trail he
  began last summer.

 I may report in more detail, some of his other recommendations, if I get around
 to it. He said many fascinating things, several of which made me question some
 basic beliefs -- such as the wisdom of treating water and how best to do it. My
 notes are still in the car.

 But I remember he also suggested that hikers should consider taking a
 wilderness first aid course. He said such courses, if nothing else, help you
 avoid panic when an emergency occurs on the trail, either to you or to someone
 you meet.

 I'd love to be on the trail the same time he is. His practice is to have a
 "sick call" for hikers each night at the shelters, partly as a good samaritan,
 but also to learn more about the special medical needs of hikers.

 Weary

 important