Learning from Others: keeping safe and preparing your body for physical activity
This article is a bit lengthy, so read it when you have a good block of time at your computer. It is a fun story, but an important lesson that will benefit you in many ways. Although this is about hiking, it pertains to any excursion you might be going on while on vacation.
Summer often means vacations and weekend getaways. Some of these may include some sort of physical activity. As some of you know, Mark and I went on a camping trip Memorial Day weekend 2009 in Catskill State Park, where we met my brother and nephew who drove down from Albany. One of my favorite activities is hiking, so when camping, I never miss an opportunity to take a nice, long scenic hike. It sure was long and scenic. I asked my brother to go to the office and get some trail maps to find a hiking trail. He returned stating that there were no maps, that they had to be purchased in town for $35 (extortion, I thought) (#1) and instead got directions to the Fireman’s Tower hiking trail about a mile away. The trail, he stated, should take about 3 hours to complete.
The four of us, and my brother’s late dog, set out for the hike about 11:30am. We were expecting about an 80º day, so we were all wearing a t-shirt and shorts. (#2) I packed some water for Mark and I, and snacks, three granola bars and two apples. We got into my brothers truck and drove a mile to the bottom of the hiking trail. Unfortunately, there were no maps at the foot of the trail, just an encased terrain map of the mountain, so we could not see the shape of the trail. I looked to my right and believed I saw another trail opening about 100 feet away, but there was a trail opening about 10 feet away, so we started up the trail there. (#3) The first 5 minutes or so, we all started together, with my brother and nephew ahead of us, being pulled by an excited dog. After a while, they were no longer in sight distance, but knew they were just a few minutes ahead. Mark and I started up the steep trail, covered in loose rocks. I was wearing Timberland hiking boots, so my feet and ankles were solid and protected. (#4) Not the most cushiony boots, but solid. It had rained the night before, so some of the rocks were still wet and slippery. I have to admit, it was one of the most challenging hikes I had been on. The mountain was steep, there were a lot of loose rocks, and the trail did not seem to end. It was grueling, but invigorating, I was working up a sweat and my heart rate was a constant 135 or so beats per minute. We ate the granola bars and apples for energy. Definitely burning off that hot dog I ate the night before : ).
We passed several people along the way; they appeared to be walking leisurely, as I am wiping sweat off my face. I wondered if they came up through the other trail opening I saw, and they were hiking down this rough trail. We finally got to the mountain peak; there was a tall tower, stairs with platforms, which overlooked the Catskills valley with a breathtaking view.
We rested there about 15 minutes or so, and then around 2pm, we set out back down the mountain. Around the other side of the tower, opposite from were we hiked up, there were trail markers, blue ones, that appeared to being going back down the mountain. (#5) So again, the first five minutes or so, we hiked together, then the dog pulling my brother and nephew faster, got ahead of Mark and I. After a while, the trail felt strange. It was over grown, did not appear well traveled, and did not appear to be descending. Nevertheless, we hiked on, following the blue trail markers. Again, after a while, something did not feel right. The trail was ascending, not descending, and was not well traveled. Thorny brush covered the trail, I had a fleece sweatshirt around my waist, so I took it off to cover my legs as I walked through the thick prickers, to keep my legs from being scraped up.
After hiking a couple miles, we came to a split in the trail, with signs pointing in two directions. One pointing the way we came that said 5 miles, one yellow marked trail right next to it, saying about 2 miles, then an unmarked trail opening, with blue markers. That must be it I thought, and told Mark that this was the way out. So we continued following the blue trail markers, not knowing which way my brother and nephew went, but either way, we would end up at the bottom of the mountain. This blue trail did descent the mountain, but again, was grueling, mostly loose rocks, on a thin and winding trail. At one point, the trail was only about 12 inches wide, covered in loose rocks, and zigzagged down the side of the mountain. How we endured this trail without spraining an ankle or knee is amazing. Though my feet were starting to hurt, and I was getting hungry, as we have been hiking for several hours. I could not wait for this hike to finally end. I could tell we were still high up on the mountain, so we continued on.
We finally got to the bottom, but an exit was nowhere in sight. Instead, we were starring at a creek about 20 feet wide. On the opposite side of the creek were blue trail markers. We had to cross. We found a place that looked promising, Mark made it without falling in, yet I did not, and my right foot went in. So, with a wet foot, tired, hungry, it was now about 6pm, we hiked on. After about a mile or two, we noticed the trail beginning to ascend. When it began to get steeper and steeper, I knew we made the wrong decision. It was going on 7pm, my feet were in extreme pain, and we had been hiking for over 7 hours. I physically could not go on, and could not hike up another steep mountain. I was hungry and out of water. We decided to back track, and stay on the trail, but we knew we would not have enough daylight to get out tonight. We re-crossed the creek, this time taking our shoes off. My feet were freezing, especially with a wet sock, so Mark gave me his to wear. Mark mentioned we would have to think about finding a place to stay for the night, and was looking for specific rocks to use to build a fire.
I do not know where we got our energy from, but we decided to press on. “Let’s get out of here.” We backtracked up the grueling trail of loose rocks, zigzagging up the side of the mountain. I slipped a few times, but no serious falls or injuries. (#6) Amazing. We came to the split in the trail, this time, we saw a sign off to the side, point down the blue trail we just came from, stating 6+ miles. I did not notice this sign before, because it was not near the trail or near the other signs. (#7) We decided to press on, our goal was to get to the tower, that way we would have some type of shelter, and we would be off the ground away from animals, as we were in an area with a high bear population. However, we never made it to the tower, as we were hiking, it continued to get dark, and there was no moonlight. We began feeling the trees for the markers, until we could not see any trees. We had to stop before we got off the trail. It was about 10pm, about 11 hours after our first step.
We walked a few feet to a large rock, about 6 feet long and three feet wide. It was cold, and we again, were wearing shorts and t-shirts. I had my short fleece jacket on, but it did not do much. Mark and I tried various positions to keep warm, but the best was just to huddle on the ground upright against the rock in a fetal position. I put the hood up on my jacket, pulled it down around my legs; Mark did the same with his shirt, and pulled our collar overs our mouths and breathed into our torsos. The hard rocky ground would cause our circulation to be cut off, so we had to get up every 5-10 minutes to move around and switch sides. The temperature dropped to the 40’s. I was concerned about hypothermia, especially with a wet boot. We huddled down like this for about 4 hours. Then around 2am, Mark heard someone. “Hey” he yelled. “Hey” a female voice yelled back. I was a Forest Ranger who was called to find us. She gave me a jacket, gloves, and water for us both to drink. We were so thirsty. I was so hungry I could not eat the Cliff bar she offered. With a flashlight, we began to hike back out of the mountain.
We met up with another Ranger, who was hiking up the opposite side, and then the four of us hiked our way out. Mark and I were still a mile from the tower. Come to find out, my brother and nephew hiked down the yellow trail, and then got a ride from a stranger back to his truck. He waited for us, and when we did not return, made some phone calls. We were supposed to hike back down the same trail we hiked up, there was no loop, or curved trail; it was straight up, then straight back down. Had we had a map, we would have known this. When we finally hiked to the tower, it was still 3 miles down that grueling, rock-covered trail we hiked up earlier that day. My feet never felt so much pain before; I could not believe they were still attached to my ankles. I again, could not believe I did not roll or sprain and ankle or knee. My knees did hurt. About 3 hours later, we were out of the mountain and back to the road. The Ranger drove us back to our campsite, where I devoured a roll and crashed in my sleeping bag at 5am. (#8) I awoke 3 hours later, and went on an eating binge, as I was in a significant calorie deficit, burning thousands of calories on my adventure, but only consuming a few hundred that day.
Through out this I numbered several statements to address mistakes made or important points.
#1. Never hike or go on any excursion without a map. The forest is not your friend; it is not your territory. Neither is any unfamiliar territory. The one thing Mark and I did right was we stayed on the trail; never go off the trail. However, you should follow a map so you know the direction and length of the trail that you are hiking/exploring.
#2. Be prepared. It was 11:30am, and I expected to be gone for only about 3 hours. It is better to pack something and not need it, then to need it and not have it. Had we brought a simple flashlight, we would have been back 4 hours sooner, and got more than 3 hours of sleep. In addition, bring pants and a long sleeve shirt if you are wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Bring a lighter, food, water, extra socks, whatever you think you might need, bring it. Remember, Gilligan’s Island was supposed to be a three-hour tour.
#3. Stay together, or at least in sight distance. If you are traveling in a group, do not get separated.
#4. Make sure you are wearing appropriate shoes for your activity. If you are going to be hiking, climbing rocks or ruins, make sure you have ankle support. Make sure your footwear fits properly, too tight or too loose can cause severe blistering. If you are doing a lot of walking, make sure you have arch support and adequate cushion.
#5. Trust your instincts, if something does not feel right, do not do it. If something inside is letting you to turn around and go back, then do it.
#6. Use proper body mechanics and use caution. This is how neither one of us had any injuries. We looked where we were going, were aware of our footing and our walking surface and made whatever mechanical movement necessary to stay safe. When on an unstable surface, the core stays tight, the knees are bent, and weight stays towards the heels. Sound familiar. It should, as this is what I tell you when I make you do exercises on an unstable surface such as the Airex pad, BOSU, or disks, or when on one leg. I do this to help you prevent joint injuries when you are active. When one is on an unstable surface, the ankles become more mobile, and the knees are forced to stabilize, strengthening the tendons and ligaments that secure the knee joint. Therefore, Mark and I conditioned ourselves by exercising using these equipment pieces and saved ourselves from a serious injury. Mark and I are also very physically fit with strong cardiovascular endurance, so we were lucky that we could endure a grueling 20-mile hike. When setting out for any excursion, make sure you know the length, the terrain, and what ever else it might entail. The last thing you want to do is find yourself in a situation where you “bit off more that you could chew” and not be able to finish, or finish in the length of time you had planned.
#7. Pay attention to your surroundings, and any signs. We missed an important sign the first time. Look around, miss nothing.
#8. So where did this energy come from? Well, some came from my breakfast and snacks, the rest came from me. When the body uses up the consumed calories (from food that has been eaten) in the form of blood sugar or glycogen, it begins to take energy from the body. Stored fat and from muscle; the body essentially begins to eat itself. Before you think that this is a good thing, which in tiny amounts it is, but my body went into a starvation mode. My metabolism dropped, to conserve energy for my activity; the energy was not needed for my digestion or immune system, but for my hiking to get me off that mountain. You always want your metabolism working at maximum capacity; do this by consistently fueling your body with what it needs. Keep your activity level high, to allow for a calorie deficit if you are trying to shed excess body fat, but a small deficit, no more that 500 calories. When I went on my eating binge, I could not satisfy my appetite. I had to refuel, but because it went into a starvation mode, it is more likely that I would overeat to allow some food to be stored, in case that happens again. Therefore, I had to keep that in check, because I felt that I could have eaten all day. I stopped when I felt I had enough. This is why going for long periods of time without eating or eating very little is detrimental to any weight loss program. When you do finally eat, you tend to eat faster, overeat, and store the excess calories.
So take from our excursion these important lessons, and enjoy your vacation activities.
Melanie Clark Mogavero, CSCS, RYT
