Healthy Hiking Happiness

One of the best all-around aerobic activities that anyone can engage in is hiking. Yes, going to the gym and pushin' the pedals, trampin' the treadmill or strainin' on the stair-stepper will definitely burn off unwanted body fat and do your body good. But a gym can't compete with nature, in my opinion. Just off the top of my head, here's three benefits of hiking over indoor aerobic activity:

1. Breathing crisp, fresh air is healthier than the intake of body-odor-sweat-laden gym air. Tastes better too!
2. Hiking stimulates & sharpens every physical sense.
3. Increases brain function.

Check out this excerpt from author John McKinney:

From William Wordsworth's poetry to the Boy Scout hiking merit badge pamphlet, tramping through the countryside has long been considered a tonic for good health.

"Walk out the door and find good health. There is no fever that a 10-mile hike can't cure," suggests Garrison Keillor, the wry host of National Public Radio's Prairie Home Companion.

Millions of Americans who like to hike believe that hiking contributes to good physical and mental health. And yet, until recently, nearly all evidence offered for the benefits of taking a hike was anecdotal, and very little hiking-specific scientific research supported that belief.

In 2004, Austrian researchers announced the results of an intriguing study demonstrating that different types of hiking have different influences on the fats and sugars in the blood. For the study, one group hiked up a ski resort mountain in the Alps and descended by cable car, while the other group rode the cable car up and hiked down. After two months of hiking, the groups switched hiking programs and repeated the experiment.

As expected, hiking uphill proved to be a great workout and provided measurable health benefits. Unexpectedly, researchers from the Vorarlberg Institute for Vascular Investigation and Treatment discovered that hiking downhill also has unique benefits.

Both uphill and downhill hiking reduced LDL ("bad") cholesterol. Only hiking uphill reduced triglyceride levels. The study's surprise finding was that hiking downhill was nearly twice as effective as uphill hiking at removing blood sugars and improving glucose tolerance. A second study of uphill/downhill hiking was conducted this summer, but results have yet to be announced.

Pretty interesting information. I always knew that hiking was great for the body, but Mr. McKinney breaks it down and shares info that I didn't know. For the rest of the article, go on over to Miller-McCune at http://www.miller-mccune.com/health/for-good-health-take-a-hike-796 .

Bay Circuit Trail

Ok, I've lived most of my life in New England. I try to keep up on hiking trail info close by where I live. So, I feel pretty foolish when I come across a site that speaks of the Bay Circuit Trail, or BCT for short. No, I don't remember hearing or reading about this trail anywhere, that is until today.

Stretching from the Kingston Bay on the south to Plum Island on the north, the BCT covers 200 miles of trail through 34 towns. How could I have not heard of this? Then again, I did not hear of the wolf sighting & shooting in October of '08.

Here's a short excerpt from http://www.baycircuit.org/ :

The Bay Circuit - An Original Bay State Concept: First proposed in 1929 as an outer "emerald necklace," linking parks, open spaces and waterways from Plum Island to Kingston Bay, the Bay Circuit idea - a precursor of today's national greenways movement - continues to take shape. Focused on a 200 mile corridor of 50 cities and towns, the Bay Circuit Trail connects the "jewels" of the "emerald necklace." Community by community, the dream of connecting more than 85 areas of protected land in a greenway around Boston is now becoming a reality.

At present, the entire trail isn't fully completed, and future meetings in selected towns are scheduled in 2009. Maps & guidebooks can be purchased from the Bay Circuit Alliance in Andover, MA. For more info click here.

Having grown up in this area, and knowing well many of the towns the BCT traverses, I think I know what to expect from walking this trail. Although much of it isn't difficult or the least bit challenging to someone who really enjoys hiking, still I'm excited to have finally learned about this local trail. Future days will find me scouting out and walking the BCT.

Here are some other links containing good info on the BCT below:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/02/19/bay_circuit_trail_gets_state_boost/

http://www.baycircuit.org/

~The Pilgrim.

Crude Book Review: Hunted By David Fletcher

A sense of utter despair sweeps over me. I begin to panic. What more can I do? Surely I've done enough? Everything has been against me on this expedition. This time, stuck in a hole in the sloping floor of the ramp, my best just has not been good enough. There are some situations that can never be won. But I'm never going to let go of my rope. I may have lost the battle. But I haven't lost my determination to hold onto my rope.

That's an excerpt from the book, Hunted: A True Story of Survival written by David Fletcher, and pretty much the heart of this incredible adventure. It's also my favorite passage from the book, as it truly defines the author's epic struggle.

In a nutshell, the book documents British climber David Fletcher's account of a solo expedition into the remote Hayes mountains of Alaska. When Fletcher mistakenly kills a grizzly bear cub, his adventure becomes one that can only be compared to that of Captain Ahab's battle with the great whale. The mother grizzly literally stalks Fletcher over the next several days in his pursuit to complete his goal, that of climbing Mount Hess. In the end, it's kill or be killed.

This book has easily become one of my all-time favorites. Any personal adventure story grabs my attention, but this one had me engaged from start to finish. It would even make a great movie. You've got climbing & a battle with a 1200 pound bear. Get this book!

~The Pilgrim.

Hypothermia

On April 28 of '08, I finished up my hiking day of 14.7 miles on the AT and made camp at the Hogback Ridge Shelter in Tennessee. It was a small shelter, sleeping 6 (we crammed 7) with water nearby. It was chilly in the morning, around 2 pm or so the sun came out for a bit, but overall was cloudy & chilly most of the day. I slept in the shelter between a couple of my AT buddies, Aboman & Slightly. Big Red, Thought Criminal & a couple of bearded guys (don't remember your names, guys, sorry)were in the shelter. 1/2Ounce was in his tent closeby.

That night turned out to be the coldest night for me on the trail. The wind was blowing & howling, and at times, sounded like a turbine in the trees. With the wind, cold & being pinned between Abo & Slight, sleep was pretty elusive. Slight was curled in a fetal position, his knees digging into my back. Abo's feet were at my head, or my head was at his feet. Either way, he was kicking me in the head during the cold, wind-roaring night. Those two can snore, too! Yeah, it was a tough night for everyone, especially for Big Red.

Big Red is a tall, red-headed girl from somewhere. Sorry, Red, forget where it is you're from. She's a strong hiker & a strong talker. About 7 am, as I was trying to delay the inevitable morning nature call, I heard some rustling about in the shelter to my left. Looking up, I noticed Abo, Slight & TC leaning over and tending to Red. Seems during the night she wasn't warm enough, became hypothermic, and at this point in the morning, wasn't coherent. She was shivering, mumbling & not looking good. TC got next to her, climbing into 2 sleeping bags that Abo & Slight had zipped together. Abo & Slight started heating up some water, making hot water bottles to put into the bags with Red & TC.

At this point, knowing that at least one hiker was in danger, a few of us started bangin' on the tents surrounding the shelter. 1/2 Ounce was ok, as it seems he can sleep through anything safely. A couple ladies, at least one of which was a nurse, were fine, and another young kid named Oops was sound asleep in his tent, fine as well. The 2 bearded guys in the shelter were also good.

1/2 Ounce & I gathered wood for a fire as the others were tending to Red. After a couple hours, Red was able to stand up on her own and walk over to the fire. Another hour later, Red was ready to hit the trail again. The characters of Slightly, Aboman & Thought Criminal did something I'll never forget, save someone's life. I was proud to have witnessed their diligence & teamwork in pulling Red back from the grips of hypothermia. It was awesome!

Several of us encouraged Red to stop at Erwin, TN a take a nero. For those of you who don't know, a nero is a term meaning near-zero. It's a day where you only hike a couple miles or less, maybe 3 or less, I'm not quite sure. But the 29th was predicted to be colder than the night that Red narrowly survived, so 1/2 Ounce, Red & I hiked another 2.4 miles to Sam's Gap on US Rte 23, hitched a ride into Erwin TN from a couple guys that just happened to be hiking south to Hogback Ridge Shelter. They were posting flyers around town and at nearby shelters for Trail Magic that was taking place at Sam's Gap in another couple days. One of the guys was also digging up some wild ramps to take back with him. Thanks again guys for the ride into Erwin! We 3 stayed at the Super 8 Motel that night.

Hypothermia is a scary thing, though pretty subtle in its approach. Did you know that most hypothermia cases happen in temperatures between 30 & 50 degrees F? Many people out for a day hike don't realize how quickly it can start to affect them. When out hiking on a cool day, remember to dress in loose-fitting layers. Individual layers can be removed as you warm up and put back on as you grow colder. Don't be so proud to think that you can take whatever nature throws at you. Learn how to detect & protect yourself from hypothermia.

For more info on hypothermia, check out these links:

http://www.safety.com/articles/hypothermia-facts.html

http://www.adventuresportsonline.com/skihypo.htm

http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/winter/faq.asp

~The Pilgrim.