Date: 2015-05-11
From: Crazy Larry's Hostel

To: Crazy Larry's Hostel
Miles today: 0.0

I have grown to love the people and town of Damascus, VA as they are a very warm and gracious people and the town is filled with homes that are as beautiful as the are old. I have been wandering the main and back streets looking for lawns to mow and other odd jobs and have been staying active during my stay. Today as I walked down the street where the Mill Restaurant is I saw some ducks and one of them came right up to me and when I put out my hand, pecked it thinking that I had food. Apparently they are very tame ducks and geese in this town. Lately more and more hikers have arrived in town and are setting up in tent city at the city ball field. I have walked by to check it out as some of the activities will be held there and I wanted to know how to get there. I returned to the hostel and noticed that the number of tents in the back yard is increasing and is turning into a tiny tent city of our own. This tent city is quiet and respectful though and respects hiker's midnight. I had a good time visiting on the porch and we stayed safe as we talked trail news. Soon it was hiker's midnight and I went to bed and listened to my iPod before going to sleep. While I have been walking around town I given some thought about some of the things that I have wanted to talk about in my blog but haven't had a good reason to bring up. Since I don't have much trail news to report I hope that you will bear with me as I want to talk about some important issues that I have observed along the way. I bring the following issue up as my last job dealt with water treatment and purification, so I have some experience in this matter, so please bear with me. One of the habits and untruths that I have observed is the myth that if water is coming right out of the ground or from a pipe that you do not have to filter it. THIS IS NOT TRUE!! You can still become sick and risk permanent health issues if you do not filter your water at all sources. The water that you see coming out of the ground may be above ground up hill from you before going underground through rocks and permeable soil and is thus exposed to contaminates. Even springs coming straight out of the ground may have contaminates as the filter materials in the soil can vary greatly and so may have contaminates which you may not see the results of for days or longer. I have seen hikers have to leave the trail due to water borne sicknesses and it is sad, as this is preventable. PLEASE filter all water, no mater how good it looks.Another hurtful habit regarding water that I have observed is a reluctance to bring and thus drink enough water to stay properly hydrated while hiking. I know that we all want to keep our pack weight down and will do insane things to achieve that purpose including cutting of the handle of toothbrushes and brushing your teeth with the camp soap that you wash with. But it is vital, especially as the temperatures rise to consume enough water to stay healthy. For the average person it is recommended that they drink 8 glasses of water a day which is 64oz. An active person, and we are VERY active people, should drink at least a gallon of water a day - 128oz. Many hikers only carry a liter of water at a time and have run into trouble especially if the water sources are scarce. I have seen people who have suffered from dehydration and heat related health issues and these can be life threatening and have long term consequences. (Coming from south Texas where the temps during the summer regularly rise above 100o and are often around 110o I know the value of drinking water and the results of not drinking enough by suffering heatstroke.) I recommend that people watch look at the water situation ahead, camel up at sources and drink at least a gallon of water every day that you are hiking to stay healthy. If you wait to drink until you are thirsty it is already too late. A 2 liter platypus and a 1 liter bottle would be a good combination of containers to make sure that you have enough water to drink, even in dry stretches.Also related to water. Water alone will not meet your body's needs to replenish what your body is sweating out. We need electrolytes to replenish minerals and salts to keep us healthy. There are a number of options available to help us meet our needs and I will share some that I use and have good experience with. 1. EmergenC: A lightweight powdered drink mix rich in Vitamin C and electrolytes that comes in many flavors and has a formulation that has an immune system defense.2. Propel: Another lightweight drink mix that also comes in small packets that will help replenish your electrolytes and comes in many flavors.3. Gatorade: Gatorade also comes in individual packages of powder with a variety of flavors.Well, I will get off of my soap box for now and I hope that this will encourage you to drink safer and stay hydrated as you hike. I eagerly await Trail Days and have heard that my wife is close to selling our car, so as soon as she does she will be joining me for the remainder of my tru-hike. My stay at Crazy Larry's has been great and I am looking forward to meeting all of you who are coming to the festival. Thanks for reading my blog and if you have any suggestions about anything that you would like to hear about let me know.