Date: 2004-06-03
From: Floyd Mountain

To: Cornelius Creek Shelter
Miles today: 3.0
Weather: clear sky

An Even Lousier DayI had muscle spasms well into the night last night, and despite that I was able to sleep nearly 9 hours, yet I still feel exhausted. I almost passed out this morning while packing up my tent and I had to stop nearly a dozen times on the way up Floyd Mountain ¢ I¢m afraid something is wrong with me. I¢m sitting here at Cornelius Creek Shelter debating if I should walk out to the Blue Ridge Parkway, two-tenths of a mile behind the shelter, and go to a hospital. I¢m feeling physically wasted, cramping badly, having cold sweats, and have nearly blacked out twice.Part of me is desperately fighting the realization that something is amiss ¢ this is the thru-hiker mindset that is urging me to walk through it and ¢suck up¢ the pain, but I don¢t think I can make it through the day. I¢m heading out . . .A quick, time-tripping anecdote: It was August 1, 2001, and after taking two weeks (maybe more) off the trail, I decided to flip flop from Duncannon, PA, to Mt Katahdin and start heading southbound. The temperature was in the mid to high 80¢s the day I was climbing Mt. Katahdin. I drank 4 liters of water on the ascent and descent ¢ that¢s approximately 128 ounces of water. On my way down off the plateau, I started having serious cramps in my legs, back, and stomach. An hour later my jaw muscles and hands were cramping and a half hour after that I was having cold sweats and my eyes were racking out of focus. When I reached Katahdin Falls, as I was kneeling down to get water, I passed out. When I regained consciousness, it was 7:30 p.m. and I began blowing my whistle. I was lucky another hiker heard, and doubly lucky that he was a camp counselor and trained in wilderness first aid. After rehydrating a bit he helped me down the last mile to the ranger station, and by this time the cramps were nearly paralyzing and I was having a hard time catching my breath and experiencing chest pains.I was taken out of Baxter State Park in an ambulance. I was given four liters of IV fluids at Millinocket Hospital before I was finally able to urinate for the first time in over 12 hours. My condition was relatively dire: severe dehydration, acute renal failure, Rhabdomyolosis (when muscle begins to degenerate, and copious amounts of muscle enzyme are secreted in the urine), and my liver and kidney functions were considered critical. In fact, I was in such bad shape, and possibly having cardiac issues, that when I stabilized a bit the emergency room doctor recommended that I be sent to Eastern Maine Medical Center, in Bangor, because they were larger and better equipped to deal with my condition. I spent 2 days in the hospital there. It took 3 weeks for my liver and kidney functions, and a battery of respiratory and cardiac tests later, before all systems returned to normal and I was cleared by my physician to return to hiking. I started southbound again, from Mt. Katahdin, on September 1, 2001.Time trip back to today: I walked out to the Blue Ridge Parkway, and was able to get a ride within 10 minutes to the Peaks of Otter Resort. I was told that the nearest hospital was in Bedford, VA, so that¢s where I went. I honestly thought because I didn¢t feel as if I was in such bad condition as I was in 2001 that I¢d sit in the emergency room, get a couple of IV¢s of fluid into me, and be released ¢ wishful thinking! The emergency room doctor said they had to admit me into the hospital because my liver, kidney, and muscle enzyme functions were dangerously askew, and that I would have to stabilize before they could release me and clear me to hike again. Just more of my incredibly poor decision-making and bad luck have put me in this situation ¢ I¢m the king idiot moron. This sucks!