Date: 2008-08-12
From: home 

To: Home
Miles today: 0.0
Weather: broken clouds

A subtext of the last hike involved feeling out of sorts, and as it turns out, I seem to have contracted giardiasis. I know this is a big topic among hikers, and because of that, I thought I¢d throw in my 2 cents. As Abe Lincoln once said, ¢This is the sort of thing that will appeal to the folks who like this sort of thing¢... or something along those lines. Through out my AT hike I have treated water most of the time, but chose not to at times, with up to now, no major problems. I began hiking in ME in early July with Signage and Recon, and I started hiking in NH with V8 and Certain on July 26. On Tuesday night of August 5, I noticed a stong irritation in my stomach after eating supper. It felt like heartburn only definitely in the stomach, not the esophagus. It eventually let up, I just figured stress and fatigue and a lot of trail food... The next morning, the same thing happened after eating my standard breakfast. Hm. Maybe a GI virus? Off to hike to our lunch place. Granted it was cold and wet, and I had poorly planned clothing for these conditions. I grew chilly and spacy and overwhelmed in a few miles, and basically collapsed into sleep at the Galehead Hut at noon. Got up for a little supper, went right back to sleep. Slept all night with a growing irritation in my gut, that now was all through it. I sweated a great deal that night. In the morning, I felt more rested and took a couple of Prilosec from my hiking friend, Certain, and off we went. I was SO glad to be back in action. Hiked OK a four mile stretch out. Food that day gave me that same upper GI irritation, which varied in intensity. No runs. Just an extra visit or two to the woods than usual, and a sense of bloating in the abdomen. Two days later I was home, had dinner Sat night and was extremely unconfortable all night: sweating, aching gut, miserable. I slept all day Sunday. Monday, I finally got up and dressed, but was so wiped out, I wasn¢t doing much. Today I saw the Dr, who dx¢d giardiasis, and I will start the meds for it tomorrow. He ordered the lab tests but was certain enough to get the meds started ahead of the results. I am relieved as heck, as the lack of energy and mental clarity is depressing as all get out. I remember taking water from a stream in NH and just sort of neglecting to treat it. As most of you know, its a flood zone over there recently, with run-off in absolutely every water source. I am re-examining my water treatment methods, and looking at how to get around the 5 minute mix/20 minute wait routine for Aqua Mira. That works well for my 2 liter camp supply at the end of the day. I could add in a filter or a steri-pen for on the fly drinking, but for now I'll carry chlorine tabs and a little jacknife with which to open those pesky little foil packs.This bug has really eaten into some prime hiking time, and yet in hindsight, I could have likely prevented it. A major head¢s up, indeed!8.13.08In reading I noticed that giardia is a bug that maany people carry without having symptoms. It is also one that will go away on its own in 2 to 6 weeks. My urgency about finding a remedy is definitely related to being on a leave that I took expressly in order to hike the AT. I hope the little guys just go back to sleep, or whatever they do in there, at least til after hiking season!