I spent this weekend car camping and hiking over in the Methow Valley area. We were hoping to find some places to hike where we could go some place cool and avoid snow. Yesterday, we managed to make it up to the fabulous Twisp Pass. We had to slog through a little bit of snow to get there, but the views of Stiletto Peak and down into Dagger Lake made it all worthwhile.
On Friday, we did a hike right out of our campground to Driveway Butte. This was a steep trip up to an old lookout site with some great views. About 1/3 of the way up, I hit the wall. I started to feel really fatigued and was breathing pretty heavily. No amount of rest-stepping could make me feel any better. I started to lag quite a bit behind the rest of my friends. We finally hit a fairly level part and I was able to keep to keep going, but every time I hit the slightest hill, I started to feel very poorly again. The final up to the old lookout was just awful—I haven’t felt that used up in ages. I made it to the top, but found myself suffering from a case of exercise-induced asthma that was no fun. Going downhill back to the trailhead was easier, but I was pretty used up by the time I got done.
My hike from Friday reminded me of an issue that I’d like to talk about this week and that is knowing “when to say when” on a hike. This means that you recognize when you’ve reached your limit and are able to stop yourself from doing something you’ll regret. In hiking this may mean several things—maybe you’re feeling extremely fatigued on the hike in, or maybe you’re uncomfortable with the terrain, or maybe you’ve got an injury that is paining you and you need to stop. Whatever the reason is, you need to recognize when you’ve pushed your body or psyche too hard and you need to stop and rest and perhaps not go any further.
On your CHS and other non-course Mountaineer trips, hike leaders watch participants for obvious signs of fatigue or injury, but sometimes we can’t tell when a hiker has had enough or when he or she is uncomfortable with a situation. All hikers must be able to take responsibility for their own well-being and speak up. If you need to stop and rest, then say so. If you know you’re not feeling well enough to continue to the destination then you need to voice that too. And if you’re getting blisters or you’re uncomfortable walking on snow or are uncomfortable with heights, then it’s you’re responsibility to let your hike leader know.
As I mentioned in our first class, long-distance day hiking involves some element of being able to endure being uncomfortable—sometimes extremely so. Your feet and muscles may hurt as you hike; you may get headaches or feel poorly. You may have to deal with blisters, sunburn, insect bites and other maladies. Most of this stuff just comes with the sport; but as you become more experienced with walking longer distances, you will know what you can put up with and when it’s just too much to go on. I respect a hiker who knows their limits and can speak up when they’re in pain either physically or mentally. Please think about this as you hike with us this summer.
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