Any long distance hikers out there? I'm trying to plan an Appalachian Trail thru-hike (yes, I'm crazy.) and was wondering if anyone has any tips. No specific questions, yet, but I'd love to hear from anyone who has experience with backpacking, mail drops, and type 1.
In my younger days I was a hiker, mostly in Colorado and the Southwest. How long does the Appalachian Trail take? I've never done really long trips. My longest were the Baja coast of Mexico for 10 days and the Grand Canyon for 10 days. Did lots of little week long trips in the Rocky mountains and around Moab and Arches.
The best advice the obvious - expect the unexpected. Brings tons of extra glucose, food, back up insulin, test strips and a back up pump. Bring an alarm so you can wake up in the middle of the night and test if you don't have a CGM (for the first few nights when you're prone to lows). I usually would use very little insulin, almost none, for the first few days, and would still need to eat non-stop to keep my blood sugar up. Then my body would adjust and I could slowly increase my insulin rates and not have as many lows. Think it was as much from the excitement as from the exertion. =)
However I had a couple trips with unexpected highs, and never could identify the reason.
If you start feeling sick or vomiting for any reason my advice would be to hike out ASAP until you feel better. As a young teenager at camp I was on an overnight trip and got a stomach upset (in hindsight probably giardia). The vomiting, dehyration, hiking, and altitude put me on the verge of DKA really fast. I was only about a mile out when I started getting weak and delirious. If I'd been on my own I doubt I would have made it. Thankfully one of the guys carried me out that last mile.
That isn't likely, it happened to me only one trip out of many. Just prepare and you shouldn't have any problems.
Your trip sounds so cool! Hope you have a great time and tell us all about it.
i would suggest not trying to do it all in one hit. I got an uncle who hikes 2-4 weeks on the Appalaichan at least once a year, for quite a few years and I dont think hes even gotten a quarter of the way there
But some people do it, and I want to be one of them! I know a lot of people intend to thru-hike and don't make it the whole way (it is a 4-6 month hike, so... you know, a lot can happen in 4-6 months.) But some people do make it, and I guarantee none of the people who make it set out thinking, "I'm not gonna get the whole way."
jennagrant, do you have suggestions for keeping weight low? What glucose weighs the least?! What infusion sets are the least bulky?! So many things to think about (and I'm not starting for eleven months!). The whole trail is officially 2185.9 miles. Most thru-hikers take 4-6 months to do the whole thing. That said, most people resupply every 5-10 days, so the amount you took for a ten day trip is probably a similar amount to what I'll have at any one time.
My longest backpacking trip (I'm woefully inexperienced, but have lots of shorter trips planned in the next eleven months, and a much more experienced friend going with me) was four days in Moab, so multiple that x45, and you've got the AT (I'm totally insane.)
The DKA/sick advice is great - something I hadn't considered, and solid advice. Thanks!
I found a thread on whiteblazes.com that was on the same topic. Many suggested using pens rather than a pump. Same weight and no worries about adjusting basal rate or infusion site getting pulled out ot rubbed raw by continous 15 mile days. A frio wallet was suggested for keeping the pens cool. Just a few thoughts. I too want to do a thru hike of the AT but my life won’t allow it anytime soon. When i get the money and time worked out then i will start prepping specifically for a t1d hike.