hi all,
Anyone here into backpacking? I started getting into it before I got sick, and now that I've had all my surgeries I am trying to get back into it. Wondering if anyone has any advice/tips. I'm going on a 2 day, 20 mile trip this weekend and a little nervous about hiking out that far but figured ill give it a shot
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Bring plenty of electrolyte beverages.
Well, I've done a 15+ mile day hike in the Adirondacks just fine, but I drank enough and ate minimally. Make sure you have a squeeze bottle for water to wash, you especially need to keep clean when you don't have a chance to soak. Try not to eat for as many hours before sleep as possible , I know that will be hard when the normal pattern is to make camp and then eat and sleep.
Be careful with trail mix!! A fellow j-poucher overdid it on a hike and ended up with an obstruction. Stick to food you know you can digest well and most of all HAVE FUN.
@Jaypea posted:Be careful with trail mix!! A fellow j-poucher overdid it on a hike and ended up with an obstruction.
Triple yikes!!!!!!!! The last place one needs to have an obstruction is on a hike in the woods, far away from civilization. I hope your friend made it back OK!
@Jaypea posted:Be careful with trail mix!! A fellow j-poucher overdid it on a hike and ended up with an obstruction. Stick to food you know you can digest well and most of all HAVE FUN.
THAT IS MAD SCARY!!! I hope they are okay! we definitely gotta take it easy especially with exercise.
She was absolutely fine. The obstruction developed the evening she arrived home so after a ride to the ER, and NGT and some bowel rest she went home much wiser about the next time.
@Jaypea posted:She was absolutely fine. The obstruction developed the evening she arrived home so after a ride to the ER, and NGT and some bowel rest she went home much wiser about the next time.
I was thinking, it must have been hard for her to find a restroom with having lots of BMS, hopefully they had restrooms on the hike. But in conclusion, that is great to hear that she is okay! I appreciate you sharing that story, that will help us all be careful in the future. I recently learned on here that we have to be careful when it comes to exercise as well as too much can cause hernias, obstructions, etc. I am glad to learn a lot on here!
Has anyone had issues with gas? That has been my biggest issue so far im not sure if it has to do with all of the miles of hiking up and down, over rocks etc with weight on my back but it has been such a pain to deal with. Had to stop so many times just to let air out
I'd say no to the excess gas from exercise, but I do get excess gas from foods. So maybe you want to keep a food diary to see if it's food related?
Sometimes I'm confident enough to pass gas without precautions. You may be able to learn this valuable skill by focusing on the sensation vs the outcome. If I can't tell it's just gas, I don't risk it.
Some of us, sometimes, produce a wet explosion while pooping. This worried me enough on a bicycle tour in Thailand that I wasn’t willing to risk using an Asian squat toilet, because I was concerned about inadvertently spraying poop on my shoes. I spent an uncomfortable afternoon (it was an all-day bike trip), but It was also empowering, since I was able to delay toilet use until I returned to the more familiar toilet at my hotel. Since backpacking doesn’t offer toilets, at least in most areas, it’s worth thinking through how your pooping is likely to go, and what extra preparations might be useful.
Ha ha Scott, I totally agree! I scrape a nice big hole, then balance in a deep squat that positions my feet out of the way. Then, like a fox (or dog), I have to bury it.
Also it helps to have an extra squirty water bottle, you can get a good rinse. I also find that a nice coating of vaseline before I leave helps with avoiding skin damage, aka butt burn.
Hey everyone! I am new here and stumbled across this post when trying to Google wag bags and j pouches. I just started backpacking this summer and some of the trails I am looking at require wag bags, which is fine but I am not sure how to use them with a pouch. Also with water treatments what does everyone use? I have been using the drops but think they mess up my system a bit (or it could be dehydrated food) I really want to get good enough to do a thru hike eventually but I am concerned with these issues. Thanks!
