Off Trail...
This is mostly from memory four years later, so forgive me if I got some details wrong.
The day started okay, although I had trouble sleeping and was feeling sweaty.
All day I felt tired and didn't have much energy.
By the time Tim met us, we had discussed my options, and I decided to get off the trail and head into Mammoth and see a doctor and figure out what to do next. I'll miss some of the trail, but then get on where ever Mighty Mouse and Share Bear are when I'm better.
Time had ridden his motorcycle to Tuolomne Meadows, so I caught the shuttle bus back to Mammoth.
Tim took me to the hospital and I got checked out. I had an infection and the doctor prescribed antibiotics for a week and time to heal.
The infection that I got was basically from chafing. In this case, I suspect a new pair of pants I got back in Lone Pine that seemed to fit fine, but should have been baggier to allow better ventilation to sweaty areas. Chafing in hikers seems to be from salt crystals from dried sweat abrading the skin as we walk. Even though I cleaned up every night with wet wipes, it wasn't enough.
Chafed skin is susceptible to infection, and I got an infection in the crack of my ass that developed into a sizable cyst under the skin. My body was trying to fight it off, but combine that with hiking all day and I was just wearing down and not doing a good job of fighting the infection.
So, I was feverish and also it was uncomfortable to walk. It was a good idea to get off the trail at this point.
Thankfully, Tim was still in Mammoth, staying at my cousin Jody's condo, so I was able to vegetate on the couch feeling miserable for a couple days.
And yes, the cyst ruptured and drained the next day. Messy and gross, but least it got the puss from the infection out.
This is mostly from memory four and five years later, so forgive me if I got some details wrong.
The day started okay, although I had trouble sleeping and was feeling sweaty.
All day I felt tired and didn't have much energy.
By the time Tim met us, I was really dragging and feeling out of sorts. We had discussed my options, and I decided to get off the trail and head into Mammoth and see a doctor and figure out what to do next. I'll miss some of the trail, but then get on where ever Mighty Mouse and Share Bear are when I'm better.
Time had ridden his motorcycle to Tuolomne Meadows, so I caught the shuttle bus back to Mammoth, and Tim met me at the bus stop with the 4Runner.
Tim took me to the hospital and I got checked out. I had an infection and the doctor prescribed a week long course of antibiotics and time to heal, possibly a couple weeks.
The infection that I got was basically from chafing. In this case, I suspect a new pair of pants I got back in Lone Pine that seemed to fit fine, but should have been baggier to allow better ventilation to sweaty areas. Maybe I needed to be wearing a kilt for extra air circulation.
Chafing in hikers seems to be from salt crystals from dried sweat abrading the skin as we walk. Even though I cleaned up every night with wet wipes, it wasn't enough.
Chafed skin is susceptible to infection, and I got an infection in the crack of my ass that developed into a sizable cyst under the skin. My body was trying to fight it off, but combine that with hiking all day and I was just wearing down and not doing a good job of fighting the infection.
So, I was feverish and also it was uncomfortable to walk (and not so great sitting down either). It was a good idea to get off the trail at this point.
Thankfully, Tim was still in Mammoth, staying at my cousin Jody's condo, so I was able to vegetate on the couch feeling miserable for a couple days.
And yes, the cyst ruptured and drained the next day. Messy and gross, but least it got the puss from the infection out. I'm certainly glad that didn't happen while hiking on the trail.
So, PCT posts will be sparse for a bit. If I have some note on a particular day I may post something, but at least for a couple days I was mostly confined to the condo.
Photos from today: https://www.b-photo.com/Travel/PCT-2016-Day-by-Day/July/July-13/
Mighty Mouse's blog for the day: http://www.timandgerri.com/blog---2016/day-86-14-july-mile-93170-94830
No comments:
Post a Comment