5/9 & 10/'12, ONF: 30.5 Miles, Heatstroke, Headache, and Bugs from Hades

[ShadowAlpha]

Thank you for sharing your story. And glad you are ok. During summer months I will carry pedialyte ice pops. Perfe t size to drink when you need to recharge.

I was in sunrise last week visiting a friend. Made the dumb mistake of going to a flea market outside in parking lot at 1pm. Needless to say I had a headache in about 30 mins. And only days before that I was walki.g all over st thomas & st. Martin. Big diff was there was a breeze & pro half thehumidity.
Then we drove thru ocala on turnpike. There is a lot of nothing horses & cows there eh?

[FLRider]

Gees, 'rider!! Sounds horrible and scary!! But not a failure!!! I admire how you have honestly and critically analyzed your experience and formulated new strategies for future hikes. You're a smarter, better hiker for it. Really glad you're okay!!!

It wasn't exactly my finest day ever. Still, in the sense of it being a learning experience, it was worth it. I probably wouldn't have said that at the time, but I think it's true nonetheless.

It sure could have gone a lot worse than it did. Fortune, or God, or a greater power, or whatever your beliefs are, smiled on me that day; the trick, though, is making sure that I avoid situations where that has to happen for me to come home okay. Never plan a trip where everything has to go right. Make sure you have some fudge factor built into your plans; otherwise, when--not if, but when, because it will happen eventually--those plans go awry, you can still walk out of the woods.

Thank you for sharing your story. And glad you are ok. During summer months I will carry pedialyte ice pops. Perfe t size to drink when you need to recharge.

I was in sunrise last week visiting a friend. Made the dumb mistake of going to a flea market outside in parking lot at 1pm. Needless to say I had a headache in about 30 mins. And only days before that I was walki.g all over st thomas & st. Martin. Big diff was there was a breeze & pro half thehumidity.
Then we drove thru ocala on turnpike. There is a lot of nothing horses & cows there eh?

Not a problem.

It sure is hot down here in FL from April to October. The trick is to just drink water. As much water as possible. Until you think you're turning into Aquaman. Seriously.

Yeah, I-75 doesn't exactly have the greatest views through this section of Florida. The horse farms on the surface roads (well, I guess all of the roads here are "surface" roads, but I mean the non-Interstate highways) are very pretty, though. Especially along US 441 and US 27; I've ridden both on the bike, and they're beautiful. Otherwise, no, Ocala doesn't really have much to offer aside from cheap gas compared to everywhere else on 75.

Hrm...pedialyte, you say? How much potassium is in those?

I have issues where my body absorbs it too readily. Found that one out from my dad; he started taking blood pressure regulation medication a few years back. One of the things that docs do when they put someone on the particular meds he's on is give them a potassium supplement, 'cause the blood pressure meds also cause the body to not absorb potassium easily.

Well, his blood work came back, and the docs decided to not put him on a supplement; it turns out that his back spasm problems (which he's had for most of his adult life) were due to overabsorbtion of potassium. I'd had some of the same problems at work and after long effort out in the sun, and I'd tried drinking OJ to bring up my potassium levels while I drank water to keep my hydration levels up. Well, after he told me that, I cut back on the OJ. Sure enough, the muscle spasms stopped. Go figure.

Anyway, point is, if Pedialyte has a lot of potassium, I probably shouldn't be drinking it--especially if I'm dehydrated to begin with.

[FireInMyBones]

Thank you for sharing your story. And glad you are ok. During summer months I will carry pedialyte ice pops. Perfe t size to drink when you need to recharge.

I may have to take a look at those pops when I'm at CVS later. I wonder what the weight is...