Well I seem to be ok from the hike. No rhabdomyolosis symptoms. I spent much of yesterday going over the mistakes I made.
Number one, I let my ego get the best of me, because of my previoius failure on the trail. I should have been more modest this time, knowing I had muscle weaknesses that needed to be built back up. Half way up at most this time. Patience. Patience.
One thing that stands out is the importance of checklists---not just mental ones but actual real ones writen down on paper. Even going to work, as I am about to do, I have a mental checklist and I sometimes forget things. Like right now it will much easier if I pay for parking on the web before I leave. On my checklist should be my reading glasses. I should be to make sure I know where they are before going to bed, lest I be unable to find them in the morning. The worst that can happen is that I have to turn around and go back home. On a trail it's a more severe downside to forget things---potentially life endangering.
It's almost as if I forgot previous wisdom of hiking and had to be reminded of it. I always used to carry my REI camp stool in my pack. This means I can sit down anywhere on the trail and take a rest, without having to look for the right kind of rock (which itself always presents the danger of lurking snakes). Combine the stool with my ultralight backpacker umbrella---just a few ounces---and I've got instant shade. Rest in shade with water is the key to survival in the desert. How did I forget this? Twice as much water as you think you need. How did I forget that? Saturday was a crash course in relearning things that were once well-known to me. That's what happens when you stay too long off the trail. Relearning things becomes more unforgiving as you grow older. I need a paper checklist.
3 comments:
Amen, brother
Grades from Saturday
Day pack:
1. At least two large metal thermos flasks of cold water filled with ice. [Grade D]
2. Snacks that will not melt into a gooey mess for easy calories [Grade F]
3. Trekking poles [Grade A]
4. Map [Grad A]
5. Portable camp stool [Grade F]
6. Backpackers umbrella [Grade F]
7. Cellphone full charged [Grade B]
8. Cellphone power pack fully charged [Grade F]
9. Electrolyte powder (new item, Grade N/A)
Clothes
1. Large-brimmed Tula straw hat [Grade C, since I only took regular flopping hiking hat]
2. White shirt, polyester-cotton or linen, button-up, long sleeves [Grade A---but I wish I had ten of them. I would wear them rotatnig every day.]
3. Long slacks [Grade A---but I rarely ever wear shorts in any circumstance, nless going to the beach]
4. Good shoes [Grade D---soles are worn out and were slippery on the rocks]
5. Wool socks [Grade A--I never wear anything else anyway]
Can't think of anything else essential at the moment. I could use a replacement for my cherished hiker's umbrealla as the silver coating of my old Golite one from 2011 is worn through on the seams and they sadly went out of business long ago from overexpansion of their stores. Thankfully I found new manufactuers in Silver City. Hello Hyperlite! Very helpful young woman showed me their product line at the fair and I went nuts when I saw they had this product.Ultralight backpacker umbrellas were a novelty then but are a thing now.
New shoes to be sure. Have gone through so many pairs of Salomon XD hikers over the years as they are among the few shoes in the old days at REI that a toe box wide enough for my feet and didn't result in bunions. Thinking about switching to a new brand because not happy with the thickness of soles but now sure. My email in box is filled with promotions that are tempting.
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