The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Birmingham Hiking Meet-Up group was off to the Pinhoti Trail this weekend for a 10 mile day hike of a section of the trail just off the Talledega Scenic Highway.  We left from the parking lot at the Cracker Barrel on 280 and joined up with another group at the Target in Oxford, Alabama.  The total count of hikers was 31 and was a diverse group age-wise.

The good part of the hike was that the weather was nice and warm.  By the end of the day the temperatures had risen to mid-to-high 70's.  There was a little breeze and the humidity did not seem to be that high.  The start of the hike was 3 miles on an old CCC road that would connect us to the Pinhoti Trail.  What was interesting about the road hike was all of the rock work done by the CCC back in the 30's and 40's.  The Civilian Conservation Corps was started by Franklin Roosevelt in an effort to get people back to work.  A lot of the work done was in National Parks and National Forests and their handiwork has stood the test of time.

 
As we arrived at the Pinhoti Trail I was at the back of the pack as far as hikers.  The only problem with that was that there was no rest break and we were off down the trail.  About a mile into the Pinhoti section of the hike I noticed that I really had no spring in my step and was beginning to struggle on the uphill portions of the trail.  I was beginning to feel somewhat bad and also feel the effects of the sun on my face.  After about 4 miles into the hike on the trail and 7 miles total, I arrived at the designated lunch area much later than I should.  As I set down to eat my gourmet meal of peanut butter sandwich, trail mix and Little Debbie Oatmeal cookie, some of the hikers began to move out.  I stayed as long as I could but eventually had to move on out myself.  All in all my little rest and lunch break was only about 15 minutes and I was not fully hydrated.

The leader of the group, Jay Hudson, realized that I was struggling and hung in with me at the back of the pack.  The longer we hiked the more I struggled.  I stopped a couple of times to try to get hydrated but it was always a temporary fix.  As we got near the top of a long hill climb I told Jay that I needed to sit down because I was not feeling well.  After a few minutes I tried to get up and things sort of went black.  I knew then that I was into heat exhaustion.  I got out of my pack and stretched out on the ground and elevated my feet on a log.  I have had heat exhaustion before and I knew what to do.  After 20 to 30 minutes the color came back into my face and I began to feel much better.  We were finally able to complete the hike and find the cars.  Unfortunately the remainder of the group had to wait an hour for us to get out.

I am grateful to Jay and his patience with me as a distressed hiker.  Other people might have been less patient or short with me but Jay knew exactly how to handle the situation.  I nor Jay showed any panic even though I knew that I was in trouble.  When you get in trouble in the wilderness try to be as calm as you can and remember basic first aid skills.  I think our actions kept more serious consequences from coming into play.

I will be taking a trip to the doctor this week to try and pinpoint why I had such trouble.  I have been hiking a lot over the last year without any trouble whatsoever.  I need to be checked out to make sure there is no other cause for the issues that I suffered today.