Hang on Sloopy

“Has anyone heard about the death of former Buckeye and Viking Kory Stringer's death today? He died of heat stroke due to practcing in heat indexes over 100. Has anyone ever had any experience with heat exhuastion on the trail? If so, what did you do?”

“I got weak, dizzy, got a headache and muscle cramps and threw up.”

“I was backpacking last summer and the heat index was over 120. I came across a creek about the time everything was turning green ( I knew I was about ready to pass out) so I lay in the creek for about 2 hours. I had been drinking water constantly but apparently that was not enough. I felt better after that.”

“OH YEAH,
Last Oct in Sendona, AZ the temp. is still in the high 90's. Hubby and I were hiking on a trail that was only about 4 miles long. I was in the lead and set the pace a little faster than normal to keep ahead of a noisy hiking club that was coming up in the rear.

The trail dead ended with no place to sit and no shade. We had seen a rattlesnake on the way in and I was hesitant to sit on any rocks. I ran out of water on the way out and hubby was sharing his.

This was scarey to me, I got the shakes, I couldn't walk straight, my skin was hot to the touch, cramps, sick to my stomach, all the symtoms. This scared hubby too.

When we got to the car and drove to the first Circle K, he went in and bought 2 bottle of cold water - one to drink and the other to pour over my head. Which I did right in the parking lot.

Never again, I carry no less than 100 oz. of water and so does hubby. I learned my lesson.”

“Heat Exaustion? I have seen it many times. Symptoms: 1.Victim's face is pale with cold sweat on the forehead and the whole body may feel cold and clammy from persperation. 2. Shallow breathing 3. Nausea and vomiting 4. Dilated Pupils 5. Headache and dizzyness. Treatment: move the victim to a cool shady spot and place him on his back and elevate his feet. Loosen clothing. Fan him and apply cool , wet cloths. It is important to sip water and not guzzle it when someone has heat exaustion. The water can shock the system and cause you to just puke it back out worstening the situation. The worst thing about heat exaustion is that if it is not treated quickly it can develop into heat stroke and that is a life and death situation.

Heat exaustion usually doesn't kill people it does though when it goes too far untreated and becomes heat stroke.”

“Years ago on one of my first canyon hikes I quit sweating. It was April but it was sooo hot in Surprise Valley. The boyfriend did just what humanpackmule suggests which amounts to TLC. I was OK but I did not perspire like I should for several years after that.”

“Yep, that dang Canyon again. About ten years ago, came down South Kaibab the last week in August and had to flop in Bright Angel Creek for an hour or more 'til the nausea and slight dizziness went away.”

“MaryPhyl you are very lucky you had someone with you. One of the the big signs of heat stroke is when you stop sweating basically your body's cooling system is overloaded and just quits, heat stroke does kill.”

“I did a trail with a group once. This older lady was with the group (I'm talking late fifties early sixties, but in great shape) she purposely cut back on her water intake because she didn't want to make alot of pee stops and especially get out of her bag that night.

Later that night she got sick and had the symptoms of dehydration we got some water in her and she was better the next morning. I didn't know it could sneak up to you later in the day.”

“Sloopy hang on

My heart goes out to Stringer's family, friends and collegues.”

“Oh how sad--and unnecessary.”

“Hang on foaks, September is only 30 days away. And October 60 days.”

“COME ON FALL/WINTER!!
D@mn the Summer!”

“Today's paper said Stringer vomited 4 times during practice but kept on going. I guess a 335+ lb mountain of a man would feel invincible. It's a real shame as he left a wife and 3 year old kid behind.


My early warning sign is a headache. You should drink enough water so you have to pee often and it's nearly clear. If not - drink more.

When you stop sweating, you're in serious trouble - that's heat stroke.”

“poor dude. his poor body. if only he felt that he could listen to what his body was telling him.”

“I was hiking a section in the Kisatchie Wilderness area in Louisiana last summer (pretty freakin bright, I know). Anyway, I was carrying about 2 liters of water with me on this hike which was only about 6 miles. I drank up all of my water, which was HOT and still had about 2 miles to go. I turned into a dizzy blonde. . .he he and almost passed out on the trail. God, I kept thinking about a nice huge 32 oz coke loaded with ice. I made it to the end of the trail and to my car. I got the car started and woke up about 1/2 hour later. After I regained consciousness, I drove back home in a cold sweat. It was quite unnerving.”

“OK gang, you guys are scaring me. Out of twleve posters 7 have had it or been on a trip where someone got it.

How many of you have read anything on basic first aide in the woods? If you haven't get off your duff this weekend and get a copy of a hiking book that covers it, read it and commit it to memory.

Please don't take this as an attack or anything but knowing how to protect youself in case of medical emergencies on the trail is FAR more important than worring about how much your gear weighs. First aid knowledge can save someones life, maybe your own.”

“Or better yet, take a Red Cross or similar course. Medical emergencies don't only happen on the trail.”

“Good point.”

“Well, they say if it does not kill you....
I bet those seven have been ever so careful--I know I am.
I have described portions of that trip on many threads. We did all the standard stupid newbie tricks in the bag. Our packs were crazy heavy and we did not have a good map. These things caused us to be hiking in the heat of the day.
There was no shade to hide in either.
Even so, I remember the trip fondly. The scenery was magnificent and we had the place all to ourselves. We proved to ourselves that we could do it. Of course I made many changes before the next trip.”

“GORP has some good, basic first aid info:
GORP First Aid


Disclaimer:This does not constitute an endorsement. Medicine is an evolving feild and this information may be outdated.”

“I learned First Aid in the Army and then later in the Boy Scouts as a leader. They both taught the same thing about heat injuries. Prevention. How? Water, Water, and more Water. Tired? you should rest, even if the group don't want to. Thirsty? you waited to long to drink something.
Keep this simple phrase in mind.
" If you are thirsty, it is to late! "”

“I had heat exhaustion while doing a 7 day bicycle trip. I had a heat stroke in the Army.

Interesting little story. We pararchuted into a dirt airfield in Arkansas,played Army games all night and were supposed to be picked up at 7am the next day. We all carried 6 qts of h2o which went quickly. In the morn we were informed that our aircraft had been delayed at a field in Oklahoma so we would have to wait. Since our airlift out would have completed our "tactical" portion of the mission we were told to keep on all of our equipment (helmets,harness,sleeves rolled down,harness,pack etc...)on. It got hot REALLY hot! We had no water so I got my I.V out ( we all carried them as part of our first aid kits). I didnt feel like getting needled so I decided (with the approval of my medic) to drink it. So I poured some kool-aid powder in it to mask the flavor. That was the last I drank for 6-8 hours. I went through the nauseau and headaches and stuff. Then I got very tired and stopped swaeting. I didnt feel too bad at that point,just tired. We finally got some water. I drank a quart felt HORRIBLE. Around 6pm our plane arrived. I have never been that bad since. Course I drink water and gatorade like crazy now!”

“Humanpackmule, my wife and i had taken a CPR course earlier and are signed up for a red cross basic first aid course for October. We're looking forward to it.

Every now and then something happens that makes you wish you had taken to time to learn more about first aid. Everyone here knows what will happen if someone has something serious happen to them while ten or twelve miles out. It could be a long time before help gets there.”

“I have never had heat exhaustion. Good genes?”

“bacpac -

I thought you knew better than to wear jeans while hiking.

Cotton Kills!”