I wish I didn't have to bother with this, but clearly I do. I'm still figuring out gluten and dairy free eating at home. And I'm still figuring out what works for me on the trail. Googling "gluten free backpacking" does lead to some information. I'm blogging here what is working for me so far mostly as a record for me to check back on.
First and foremost, the most important detail is READING LABELS. Because gluten is hiding in the most unlikely places.
Gluten free eating has surprisingly helped me in one place - protein levels. I substitute nut based foods for many formerly grain based foods. So now my snacks are higher in protein and fats than they used to be, and they stick with me much better than high carbohydrate snacks. I feel less hunger and have more energy than previously. And my blood sugar levels are less wobbly.
When I first discovered that gluten was my problem, I tried out many gluten free items from the store. And they were mostly snack foods. It was so nice to eat without getting sick! It wasn't so nice to gain a ton of weight. Eventually I got over it and stopped eating just because I could. I still like the gluten free cookies and pretzels, but I eat them infrequently, just as before I got sick I infrequently ate cookies or pretzels.
Most of the gluten free food I am eating now is naturally gluten free, not created with gluten substitutes. Vegetables, fruits, plain meats, oats (oats not being a problem for me, unlike the extremely sensitive folks), potatoes, rice, corn. I can and sometimes do eat less traditional starchy/grainy items such as amaranth or quinoa. But they weren't a big part of my diet before, and they haven't become a big part of my diet now. They just aren't that common.
Dairy free is much easier. Everybody is used to the idea of non-dairy. Alternative non-bovine dairy such as sheep or goat products are a little more out there, but they're available. There is a huge section of alternative milk at my grocery store. I can recall boxes of soy, rice, flax, hemp, almond, and coconut milks. I've probably forgotten a few. My favorite so far is Almond Breeze plain unsweetened almond milk. It's low calorie and not aggressively sweet as many of the "milk" products are. I don't know why they sweeten the stuff but I find it gross when they do.
For long distance backpacking, I have to consider what I can buy at gas stations and the Dollar General stores I am most likely to shop at. Not every town stop has a great Publix or Giant or Kroger. Not even most town stops have a real grocery store handy to the hostel or motel I'll be staying at. I can and will mail myself some things, but mostly I'll have to make do with what I find.
Gosh I'm long-winded. You've probably given up and quit reading by now. Too bad, because I'm just about to start listing actual useful products. Remember that you must read the labels! Sometimes they include wheat in weird places.
Breakfast:
Oatmeal, instant or regular Quaker Oats
Kind bars
Dried or freeze dried fruit
Coffee
Sugar, or stevia packets if I'm mailing from home
Dried honey crystals if mailing from home
Glutino breakfast bars if mailing from home
Smoothies, if mailing from home (Arbonne vanilla protein powder, freeze dried fruit)
Lunch:
Tuna packets
Spam packets
Manchego (sheep) cheese if mailing from home
Nut thins, any variety
Dried fruit
Scharr gluten free bread alternatives, if available
Peanut butter
Individually packaged jellies, if mailing from home
Individually packaged pickles
Celery from town
Glutino pretzels if mailing from home
Hard boiled eggs
Dinner:
Rice noodles
Instant Rice
Corn pasta (so far the spirals seem to cook the best)
Mashed potatoes - beware the additions in flavored packets
Spam Packets
Sausage (check the label!)
Gluten free individual soy or tamari packets if mailing from home
Frank's Red Hot
Any freeze dried, dried, or fresh vegetables I can find
Hot chocolate
Scotch, rum, tequila, schnapps, wine, cider packed in
Parmesan cheese seems to go down okay
Manchego cheese
Home-dehydrated spinach
Home-dehydrated spaghetti sauce
Pepperoni
Retort packaged Indian or Thai meals
Snacks:
Kind bars
Pro bars
Lara bars
Dried fruit, especially raisins, mango, apples
Some stores have freeze dried apples or pears individually packaged
Most chocolate / candy - M&Ms, gummy bears, jelly beans,
Individual packs of almonds
Individually packaged prunes
Gorp
Crystal Lite pure drink mix (contains electrolytes)
Nut thins
Corn based chips - Fritos, some Doritos, tortilla chips
Salsa
Potato based chips - Popchips, most potato chips
Some beef or turkey jerky - read the label! Plain is safest
Hard candies
Power gels
And anything else I can find in the store that is gluten and dairy free and I think I can keep down.
Hiker items that I need to NOT pick up out of habit:
Ramen noodles
Capellini noodles
Breakfast bars
Nido dry whole milk
Pretzels
Power bars
Luna bars
Cheese sticks, mozzarella or cheddar
Pringles
Cookies
Hostess products
Frozen pizzas in town
In town foods that I need to NOT eat out of habit:
Pizza
Burgers with buns or cheese
Any kind of sandwich
Most soups
Fried chicken
Chicken tenders / wings
French fries at most places
Ice cream
Soy sauce, and the associated sushi with fake crab / roe in it.
Most Chinese food
Pancakes, eggs at places that add stuff to make their eggs fluffy, waffles, french toast
Beer (oh god, the beer)
Any baked goods
Honestly in town will be tougher than on the trail. It's really, really hard to ignore fresh, hot food when you have hiker hunger. I'm remembering meals I've eaten in the past in town and I don't think any of them were both dairy or gluten free. Sigh. At least if there is cell signal in a town I can try googling the various eating establishments before I go there to see if there are some safe options for me.
I better make myself a list of safe town foods. To wit:
Fruit
Plain veggies
Plain burgers
Salads, oil and vinegar (but not malt vinegar)
French fries at some places
Plain chicken or turkey - maybe fried if I pull the skin off?
Go to a store and look for non-dairy ice creams, popsicles
Eggs, veggie omelets
Chinese buffets might have some stuff you can have, like spring rolls with rice paper wrappers, plain white rice, some sushi, fried plantain. If you luck into Mongolian you can make it safely.
Steak
Chipotle is safe
rice & beans
Sigh.
Showing posts with label gluten. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gluten. Show all posts
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Links to all the gluten free products I prefer
It's been four months since I went on a gluten free, cow dairy free diet. I specify cow dairy because I can eat goat and sheep cheese just fine. I know that some people go gluten free because it's trendy, or because they think they'll lose weight. I did it because I was sick as hell, and nothing had worked to make me better. The doc tested me for celiac disease, which caused me to go read up on celiac disease. And that's when I found out that even if you don't have celiac disease (or do have it but test negative) you can still have a bad reaction to gluten. So I girded my wallet and tried it.
I felt better, but not 100%, so on a hunch I stopped having milk or cow cheese. And then I felt nearly 100% better. Except when I screwed up and ate something containing gluten or cow milk. Which really reinforced the fact that those two things were causing me trouble.
My initial symptoms were primarily gut pain (at times so intense that I thought perhaps an ER visit was in order) and pretty amazing bloating. Like, several months pregnant level bloating. I had to stop wearing most of my pants because during the day I'd swell up so much that not only did the pants not fit anymore, but there was a five inch gap at the top of the zipper. The bloating was uncomfortable, as you might imagine.
The gastroenterologist I was sent to was completely effing useless. After his tests (including upper endoscopy) failed to reveal anything at all, he just looked at me and said there was nothing he could do. "I can't treat pain", he said. I said that I had tried cutting out gluten and that I felt much better as long as I avoided it. And he told me not to avoid gluten! The fact that it appeared to be the source of my pain was beside the point. The tests had shown no gluten problems, so I had no gluten problems. He said, quoted to the best of my memory, "It's very difficult to avoid all gluten in your diet. You probably shouldn't do that."
I don't care if there are toothy alien heads protruding from beneath my sternum, I will not be going back to that doctor.
Four months is not a long time to heal an overstressed gut, IMHO. I feel much better, but I don't think I'm all the way better. I did try eating a roll a few weeks ago, to see what would happen. I was fine. So a week later I ate another roll - and this time I felt bad. So it would appear that at this point I can tolerate a small amount of gluten, very infrequently. I hope that in the future I can tolerate more, but I'm not counting on it.
I'd heard of gluten intolerance prior to getting sick, of course. It was always one of those "oh please no, not me" sort of conditions. I ranked it right up there with cancer. Fortunately, I don't have cancer (as far as I know) but I do have a gluten intolerance. I think I'm dealing with it reasonably well. I've found several good substitutions for every-day items in my diet. Poor JD, who previously had to deal with my fat intolerance and occasional dairy intolerance, has dealt admirably with cooking for my new gluten intolerance.
I'm going to list some of the things I've found that I really like, just in case you have gluten (and/or dairy) intolerance and could use some tips. Keep in mind that it's only been 4 months so I'm not up on gluten information like somebody with lifetime celiac disease would be. But so far these things have been making my life better.
Almond Breeze original unsweetened almond milk - so much tastier than soy or rice milk. Also I see that they have an almond coconut version and I'm thinking thai chicken coconut soup. Mmmm.
Feel Good Foods has several delicious varieties of dumplings and egg rolls for when I get a dim sum craving. Not the same as going out for dim sum (no pork buns!) but still pretty dang good. They're frozen so you can buy them and stash them in the freezer until you get the craving.
Against the Grain Gourmet sells utterly amazing rolls that are an improvement on wheat rolls. JD wanted one of my gluten free rolls for Thanksgiving rather than a crusty french roll. That's how good they are.
Schar gluten free pizza crusts - not as good as going out for a good brick oven pizza, but as good as most frozen pizzas in a box. You have to provide the toppings. Which works for me, because of my dairy issue. I've been using Manchego cheese, made from sheep's milk, instead of cow cheese. That includes on pizza, sandwiches, and omelets. And plain as a snack. Schar also makes a variety of pretty good cookies.
San-j gluten free tamari - regular soy sauce has wheat in it! Who knew? So I started using this wheat free tamari sauce. There are gluten free soy sauces out there as well. You have to read the label. But this means we can cook asian food at home, and I got some little packets to take to restaurants with me. Sushi is tricky, btw. The dressing on the salad is suspect. The miso soup is suspect. The freaking fake crab in the California rolls is full of wheat. Plain fish is safe. Anything marinated (including my favorite gourd strip rolls) is not. The fish eggs aren't safe - some have soy in them. The eel isn't safe because of the sauce. Basically I can have tuna and cucumber rolls. Don't even think about anything with a tempura coating.
Rice noodles are a safe replacement for wheat pasta, and I like how they taste.
Kinnikinnick gluten free donuts are not a replacement for a glazed yeast donut, but they keep me from feeling sad on donut day at work. If cake donuts are your favorite, they're fine.
I have yet to find a variety of Nut Thins crackers that I don't like.
Popchips are safe to eat and lower calorie, which is a nice bonus. Plus I like the taste. They're expensive in single servings so last time JD bought a big bag and repackaged them into single servings in sandwich size zipper bags. Mmm.
I'm sorry that I have to tell you that Dr. Lucy's Chocolate Chip Cookies are really, really good, because you might develop an addiction to them the way I have. I have to keep them on a shelf way up high and out of my line of sight. They're that good. I haven't tried any of the other varieties of cookies. I'm scared.
Glutino makes a variety of gluten free products, of which by far the best are the pretzel sticks. Although to be fair I haven't tried everything else they make. But the pretzel sticks are excellent.
Van's gluten free waffles are pretty good toaster waffles. They're sort of Eggo-y. I haven't tried all the flavors.
Udi's white sandwich bread is sort of like french bread, but in sandwich form. I.e. I love it. I've always preferred french bread to sandwich bread, so this is the perfect amalgamation.
There are several restaurants that are gluten-free friendly. Either they have a separate gluten free menu, or they note the gluten free items on the menu. Some of the ones I enjoy are P.F. Chang's,
Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, and Chipotle. Also I was amazed and pleased to see that my cafeteria at work has started labeling some of their offerings as gluten free. I have sent them a couple of comments and they have been very responsive.
There are a couple of cuisines which work pretty well for me. I can safely buy a variety of Indian and Thai frozen dinners which by nature have no gluten ingredients. Papadums are often gluten free. Mexican food may or may not be safe, depending on where you get it. Taco Bell has virtually nothing gluten free on the menu. But if the restaurant's main starches are corn, rice, and beans, I'm golden.
Beer is pretty much out, but there are a few alternatives. Anheuser-Busch makes Redbridge Beer, which so far is the most beery tasting gluten free beer I've tried. Most of the other gluten free beers are brewed with rice and sorghum, and they end up with a bit of a sour flavor to them. It's not horrible, but it doesn't keep me coming back for more. However new gluten free beers are being brewed all the time, and I intend to keep trying them. :) Wine is fine, as is hard cider. Gluten intolerance has not kept me from being a lush. It hasn't even kept me from having beer with my crab in summer. It has, however, interfered with my enjoyment of sig-beer. I miss having a good porter with my pals.
Of course, there are plenty of foods that don't have gluten in them, even though it seems like it's in everything sometimes. Fruit, plain meats, plain vegetables, corn, oats (for me - some celiacs have issues), lentils, rice, potato, quinoa, beans, chocolate, cheeses.. there's a whole lot of gluten free food out there. It's just that things get mixed together, and then they're not gluten free anymore. Sadly for me. Even corn cereal (like Corn Chex) or rice cereal (like Rice Krispies) are not necessarily gluten free. I'm reading labels very intently these days.
I really hope that you don't have to deal with this issue, but if you do then I hope my links above are helpful. Bon appetit!
I felt better, but not 100%, so on a hunch I stopped having milk or cow cheese. And then I felt nearly 100% better. Except when I screwed up and ate something containing gluten or cow milk. Which really reinforced the fact that those two things were causing me trouble.
My initial symptoms were primarily gut pain (at times so intense that I thought perhaps an ER visit was in order) and pretty amazing bloating. Like, several months pregnant level bloating. I had to stop wearing most of my pants because during the day I'd swell up so much that not only did the pants not fit anymore, but there was a five inch gap at the top of the zipper. The bloating was uncomfortable, as you might imagine.
The gastroenterologist I was sent to was completely effing useless. After his tests (including upper endoscopy) failed to reveal anything at all, he just looked at me and said there was nothing he could do. "I can't treat pain", he said. I said that I had tried cutting out gluten and that I felt much better as long as I avoided it. And he told me not to avoid gluten! The fact that it appeared to be the source of my pain was beside the point. The tests had shown no gluten problems, so I had no gluten problems. He said, quoted to the best of my memory, "It's very difficult to avoid all gluten in your diet. You probably shouldn't do that."
I don't care if there are toothy alien heads protruding from beneath my sternum, I will not be going back to that doctor.
Four months is not a long time to heal an overstressed gut, IMHO. I feel much better, but I don't think I'm all the way better. I did try eating a roll a few weeks ago, to see what would happen. I was fine. So a week later I ate another roll - and this time I felt bad. So it would appear that at this point I can tolerate a small amount of gluten, very infrequently. I hope that in the future I can tolerate more, but I'm not counting on it.
I'd heard of gluten intolerance prior to getting sick, of course. It was always one of those "oh please no, not me" sort of conditions. I ranked it right up there with cancer. Fortunately, I don't have cancer (as far as I know) but I do have a gluten intolerance. I think I'm dealing with it reasonably well. I've found several good substitutions for every-day items in my diet. Poor JD, who previously had to deal with my fat intolerance and occasional dairy intolerance, has dealt admirably with cooking for my new gluten intolerance.
I'm going to list some of the things I've found that I really like, just in case you have gluten (and/or dairy) intolerance and could use some tips. Keep in mind that it's only been 4 months so I'm not up on gluten information like somebody with lifetime celiac disease would be. But so far these things have been making my life better.
Almond Breeze original unsweetened almond milk - so much tastier than soy or rice milk. Also I see that they have an almond coconut version and I'm thinking thai chicken coconut soup. Mmmm.
Feel Good Foods has several delicious varieties of dumplings and egg rolls for when I get a dim sum craving. Not the same as going out for dim sum (no pork buns!) but still pretty dang good. They're frozen so you can buy them and stash them in the freezer until you get the craving.
Against the Grain Gourmet sells utterly amazing rolls that are an improvement on wheat rolls. JD wanted one of my gluten free rolls for Thanksgiving rather than a crusty french roll. That's how good they are.
Schar gluten free pizza crusts - not as good as going out for a good brick oven pizza, but as good as most frozen pizzas in a box. You have to provide the toppings. Which works for me, because of my dairy issue. I've been using Manchego cheese, made from sheep's milk, instead of cow cheese. That includes on pizza, sandwiches, and omelets. And plain as a snack. Schar also makes a variety of pretty good cookies.
San-j gluten free tamari - regular soy sauce has wheat in it! Who knew? So I started using this wheat free tamari sauce. There are gluten free soy sauces out there as well. You have to read the label. But this means we can cook asian food at home, and I got some little packets to take to restaurants with me. Sushi is tricky, btw. The dressing on the salad is suspect. The miso soup is suspect. The freaking fake crab in the California rolls is full of wheat. Plain fish is safe. Anything marinated (including my favorite gourd strip rolls) is not. The fish eggs aren't safe - some have soy in them. The eel isn't safe because of the sauce. Basically I can have tuna and cucumber rolls. Don't even think about anything with a tempura coating.
Rice noodles are a safe replacement for wheat pasta, and I like how they taste.
Kinnikinnick gluten free donuts are not a replacement for a glazed yeast donut, but they keep me from feeling sad on donut day at work. If cake donuts are your favorite, they're fine.
I have yet to find a variety of Nut Thins crackers that I don't like.
Popchips are safe to eat and lower calorie, which is a nice bonus. Plus I like the taste. They're expensive in single servings so last time JD bought a big bag and repackaged them into single servings in sandwich size zipper bags. Mmm.
I'm sorry that I have to tell you that Dr. Lucy's Chocolate Chip Cookies are really, really good, because you might develop an addiction to them the way I have. I have to keep them on a shelf way up high and out of my line of sight. They're that good. I haven't tried any of the other varieties of cookies. I'm scared.
Glutino makes a variety of gluten free products, of which by far the best are the pretzel sticks. Although to be fair I haven't tried everything else they make. But the pretzel sticks are excellent.
Van's gluten free waffles are pretty good toaster waffles. They're sort of Eggo-y. I haven't tried all the flavors.
Udi's white sandwich bread is sort of like french bread, but in sandwich form. I.e. I love it. I've always preferred french bread to sandwich bread, so this is the perfect amalgamation.
There are several restaurants that are gluten-free friendly. Either they have a separate gluten free menu, or they note the gluten free items on the menu. Some of the ones I enjoy are P.F. Chang's,
Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, and Chipotle. Also I was amazed and pleased to see that my cafeteria at work has started labeling some of their offerings as gluten free. I have sent them a couple of comments and they have been very responsive.
There are a couple of cuisines which work pretty well for me. I can safely buy a variety of Indian and Thai frozen dinners which by nature have no gluten ingredients. Papadums are often gluten free. Mexican food may or may not be safe, depending on where you get it. Taco Bell has virtually nothing gluten free on the menu. But if the restaurant's main starches are corn, rice, and beans, I'm golden.
Beer is pretty much out, but there are a few alternatives. Anheuser-Busch makes Redbridge Beer, which so far is the most beery tasting gluten free beer I've tried. Most of the other gluten free beers are brewed with rice and sorghum, and they end up with a bit of a sour flavor to them. It's not horrible, but it doesn't keep me coming back for more. However new gluten free beers are being brewed all the time, and I intend to keep trying them. :) Wine is fine, as is hard cider. Gluten intolerance has not kept me from being a lush. It hasn't even kept me from having beer with my crab in summer. It has, however, interfered with my enjoyment of sig-beer. I miss having a good porter with my pals.
Of course, there are plenty of foods that don't have gluten in them, even though it seems like it's in everything sometimes. Fruit, plain meats, plain vegetables, corn, oats (for me - some celiacs have issues), lentils, rice, potato, quinoa, beans, chocolate, cheeses.. there's a whole lot of gluten free food out there. It's just that things get mixed together, and then they're not gluten free anymore. Sadly for me. Even corn cereal (like Corn Chex) or rice cereal (like Rice Krispies) are not necessarily gluten free. I'm reading labels very intently these days.
I really hope that you don't have to deal with this issue, but if you do then I hope my links above are helpful. Bon appetit!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Dietary experimentation
I have big news. Big, big news.
I ate a roll.
You probably expected something more grandiose, like "I got a new job!" or "Andy contracted fatal acne". But to me it's big. I've been living gluten free, with a few accidental exceptions, for four months. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a lifetime change, or if a few months off might heal me up enough to be able to handle it again.
When I went hiking with DeLee a couple of weeks ago, I accidentally ate beef jerky which had been marinated in soy sauce. I stopped as soon as I realized what I had done, then waited. And no pain. So this past Monday, I bought a wheat roll to eat with my lunch.
Man, that was a good roll.
I waited nervously all afternoon for the stab of massive pain. And it never showed up.
So, that was nice.
I'm planning another experiment next week. Perhaps soy sauce. I'm not jumping back into the world of gluten too vigorously, because it hurt too much for that. But it would be nice to be able to be less careful than I am right now.
Beer. Right there, beer, is a thing it would be nice to be less careful with. Some of the gluten free beers aren't awful, but none of them are fantastic. And you know I like me the fancy beers. It's porter time of year. You really need a good porter when you make chili. It brings out the deliciousness. (I mean, you put the beer in the chili when it's cooking. But drinking it is also nice.)
Am seriously hoping to be able to report in another week or so that I ate another gluten thing and I still felt fine.
Oh, gluten. I hardly knew ye. And I'd like to get back in touch.
I ate a roll.
You probably expected something more grandiose, like "I got a new job!" or "Andy contracted fatal acne". But to me it's big. I've been living gluten free, with a few accidental exceptions, for four months. I wasn't sure if this was going to be a lifetime change, or if a few months off might heal me up enough to be able to handle it again.
When I went hiking with DeLee a couple of weeks ago, I accidentally ate beef jerky which had been marinated in soy sauce. I stopped as soon as I realized what I had done, then waited. And no pain. So this past Monday, I bought a wheat roll to eat with my lunch.
Man, that was a good roll.
I waited nervously all afternoon for the stab of massive pain. And it never showed up.
So, that was nice.
I'm planning another experiment next week. Perhaps soy sauce. I'm not jumping back into the world of gluten too vigorously, because it hurt too much for that. But it would be nice to be able to be less careful than I am right now.
Beer. Right there, beer, is a thing it would be nice to be less careful with. Some of the gluten free beers aren't awful, but none of them are fantastic. And you know I like me the fancy beers. It's porter time of year. You really need a good porter when you make chili. It brings out the deliciousness. (I mean, you put the beer in the chili when it's cooking. But drinking it is also nice.)
Am seriously hoping to be able to report in another week or so that I ate another gluten thing and I still felt fine.
Oh, gluten. I hardly knew ye. And I'd like to get back in touch.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Scheduled my next thruhike
I decided to thruhike again! Not that this is probably a big surprise to anybody who ever met me. Unfortunately, I'm not doing it anytime soon. Starting date is set for March 1, 2020. Only 2694 more days! Unless I lost my job, in which case I would go ASAP. But for some reason my job has been oddly stable despite the economy, and as far as I know I'm in no danger of losing it any time soon.
More's the pity.
Probably the only people who can empathize are the former thruhikers or multiple offenders, but I'm thinking about things I'd do differently. (Note to self: Look up post about things you'd do differently, written immediately following last thru.) Like I'd hike the approach trail. I never had the patience for it before. I think I will by 2020, though. I want to take the trail more deliberately. I know it probably didn't seem like I was in a mad rush the first time, but I was going as quickly as I could. I'd rather give myself an unlimited window to finish so I could go just as slowly as I wanted.
Sometimes the terrain sets its own limits on you. You can't stop if there's no water and no place to lay your aching bones. But other than that, limitless.
What else? Well, ideally I'd find some other slowpoke to hang out with. Company is nice. My lowest days on the trail have been about loneliness, not about weather or my feet or the fact that I'm sick of all my dinners. I do like my alone time, but it is really nice to see a friendly face. I realize that some people never spend a night alone on the trail, but that has not been my experience. AT ALL.
I think I'd explore the towns a little more. One of the awesome parts about thruhiking is getting to see small town America. I loved meeting people all up and down the trail, and visiting the businesses along it too. Maine showed me that Whoopie Pies are in fact good. (I had doubts based on our honeymoon trip to Freeport.) Pennsylvania had such a unique run down Germanic feel. I want to see it more. Again.
I'd love to fix all my health problems before my next trip, but that seems wildly unlikely. The cards dealt to me involve defective digestion and degenerative disk disease. I work around them as much as I can. I really seriously hope that I can eat wheat products again in the future, because A) they're really hard to avoid, and b) I want pizza.
I might be able to lose weight, but I've been working on that for all of my adult life and then some, and it doesn't appear to have made any difference. Perhaps I should just buy a voluminous scarf and go with the babushka look. Perhaps adopt an accent.
Oooh, you know what's good about planning so far in advance? SO MUCH GEAR. I'm certain that everything I have now will be worn out by then. I'll have to buy all new ultralight stuff! Eeee! Although if I lost my job that would be less exciting.
Oh that reminds me. Today was Eddy's 90,000 mile service. It took him nearly 10 years to get there so more things needed to be replaced than if it had only taken a year. Still, it's going to cost more than he's worth. Sigh. But still less than a new car, and he's still plenty driveable. Sooner or later I should do something about the marks where he was shot, though. That's a little more trashy than called for, even in a ten year old car.
More's the pity.
Probably the only people who can empathize are the former thruhikers or multiple offenders, but I'm thinking about things I'd do differently. (Note to self: Look up post about things you'd do differently, written immediately following last thru.) Like I'd hike the approach trail. I never had the patience for it before. I think I will by 2020, though. I want to take the trail more deliberately. I know it probably didn't seem like I was in a mad rush the first time, but I was going as quickly as I could. I'd rather give myself an unlimited window to finish so I could go just as slowly as I wanted.
Sometimes the terrain sets its own limits on you. You can't stop if there's no water and no place to lay your aching bones. But other than that, limitless.
What else? Well, ideally I'd find some other slowpoke to hang out with. Company is nice. My lowest days on the trail have been about loneliness, not about weather or my feet or the fact that I'm sick of all my dinners. I do like my alone time, but it is really nice to see a friendly face. I realize that some people never spend a night alone on the trail, but that has not been my experience. AT ALL.
I think I'd explore the towns a little more. One of the awesome parts about thruhiking is getting to see small town America. I loved meeting people all up and down the trail, and visiting the businesses along it too. Maine showed me that Whoopie Pies are in fact good. (I had doubts based on our honeymoon trip to Freeport.) Pennsylvania had such a unique run down Germanic feel. I want to see it more. Again.
I'd love to fix all my health problems before my next trip, but that seems wildly unlikely. The cards dealt to me involve defective digestion and degenerative disk disease. I work around them as much as I can. I really seriously hope that I can eat wheat products again in the future, because A) they're really hard to avoid, and b) I want pizza.
I might be able to lose weight, but I've been working on that for all of my adult life and then some, and it doesn't appear to have made any difference. Perhaps I should just buy a voluminous scarf and go with the babushka look. Perhaps adopt an accent.
Oooh, you know what's good about planning so far in advance? SO MUCH GEAR. I'm certain that everything I have now will be worn out by then. I'll have to buy all new ultralight stuff! Eeee! Although if I lost my job that would be less exciting.
Oh that reminds me. Today was Eddy's 90,000 mile service. It took him nearly 10 years to get there so more things needed to be replaced than if it had only taken a year. Still, it's going to cost more than he's worth. Sigh. But still less than a new car, and he's still plenty driveable. Sooner or later I should do something about the marks where he was shot, though. That's a little more trashy than called for, even in a ten year old car.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Trip report: Southern Shenandoah
My latest hike started in a hurry on Friday night. I flew out to the barn to hold Pluto for our new farrier. Pluto was startled by something behind him and managed to put his full weight on the farrier's already broken toes. I was mortified. I offered her advil, but basically there isn't much you can do for that kind of pain other than cuss. Which she did.
Then I drove to DeLee's. We ate something, then started to leave. At the last minute I mentioned that it would be nice to have walkie talkies for the drive, since we would be in two cars. She couldn't find hers, so we stopped at the REI on the way out of the neighborhood and bought a new set. I was so glad we did, it was much nicer to be able to communicate than to have a four hour drive without speaking. It was super, super helpful to be able to talk about when we wanted to stop to visit a rest area, or comment on traffic, or the like.
A couple of hours in, I started getting a lot of text messages. I could hear the phone buzzing, but at 70 mph, in the dark, I was not able to read them. (Which would have been illegal anyway.) When I finally got the chance to pull over at Woodstock, VA, I found that my dad was in the emergency room. We went to the McDonald's and called around, trying to find out what was going on. Finally we decided to drive the hour on to Waynesboro for the night, as Dad seemed to be stable.
Later texts and calls revealed that he was doing all right and they had sorted out his problems, and Mom and Dad were joking about it. Thus reassured, at midnight or 1 AM, DeLee and I hit the sack in our motel room. Not the restful start one hopes for.
In the morning, breakfast didn't sit right with DeLee, and it vacated the premises quickly. DeLee was very subtle. I doubt the other diners even noticed. DeLee is a trooper, and so we still packed up and got on the road. By the time we got in the park, shuttled the cars around, and started hiking, it was after noon. Oy.
The weather was beautiful and hikers were scarce. Our parking spot was supposed to have a nearby trail leading up to the AT, but that trail seemed to have disappeared several years ago. We bushwhacked up a mountain until we found the trail, then started north. I think we saw four hikers all day. So we were considerably surprised when we got to the shelter and found it full and surrounded by tents. There were boy scouts everywhere. They were in good spirits and a little rowdy, but they settled down and were amazingly silent all night.
We had managed to find a spot in the shelter, which was especially nice around 5 AM when it started to pour. I love not packing up a wet tent.
The forecasted all day rain didn't appear. It was misty and damp, and cold, but not solidly raining. We had a beautiful morning's hike, but it was hard to stay warm on rest breaks. At lunch we couldn't find a great windbreak, but we did find a downed log in a very brushy area. We set up leaning on the log, and it wasn't bad. I immediately made us hot drinks using my fabulous Jetboil stove. Even with that we started to get a bit chilled as we finished lunch. We packed up and got hiking again, but when I looked at DeLee her lips were blue. I checked her frequently over the next few minutes until her lips turned pink again.
Shortly after her lips turned pink, her lunch turned against her. She held it down, but she felt awful. Her steps slowed. She still walked, but I was stopping and waiting for her frequently. Within less than a mile, she wasn't generating enough heat to stay warm and became hypothermic. The trail crosses Skyline drive frequently where we were, so at the next road crossing we stopped. We both dug into our packs for fleece to put on, and we stuck our thumbs out. German tourists stopped and offered us a ride. We had cars stationed in both directions, so we didn't care which way they were going. (Weirdly, this is the second time that German tourists have rescued me in Shenandoah. Another couple gave me and Mel a ride when I hurt my foot a decade or more ago.)
Back at Eddy, my car, we turned around and drove back to DeLee's car. I was starting to run low on gas, so we stopped at Loft Mountain Wayside for gas and hot chocolate. Then we headed out of the park, looking for a motel. DeLee was still feeling shaky and wasn't up to driving the several hours home.
In Harrisonburg, we checked into a motel. I was ravenous. DeLee only wanted a hot shower and a nap. I read the literature about local restaurants, but soon the call of a soft bed overrode my stomach. I fell asleep too.
After a couple of hours of rest, DeLee was feeling a lot better. The nap didn't hurt me any, either. We got up and drove over to the Outback Steakhouse, where we had delicious food. Our server turned out to be from DC, so it was fun to chat with him. I brought D-Ribose to dinner with me for both me and DeLee, to help with after-hike soreness.
So our two night trip turned into a one night trip, but one that avoided potentially serious hypothermia in really dangerous conditions. It was about 40 and raining when we left the park. It was likely 30 degrees that night. Had we kept going DeLee would have been in deep trouble, and the likelihood is that I would have been hypothermic as well. Instead, we met some nice people, had a delicious dinner, and slept at a nice motel. That's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Although I wasn't the one to get hypothermic this time, I usually am. I wasn't expecting it from DeLee, as she is usually more resistant to cold than me. I thought we had planned well enough to avoid hypothermia, but DeLee's icky feelings were something I hadn't accounted for. If the park had more water available in that section I would have set up camp for us and gotten her some hot food and beverages immediately rather than having her drive her car when she didn't feel well. But, we didn't have enough water so that wasn't a good option.
Oddly, I felt great for pretty much all of the trip, paternal medical drama aside. I was surprised at how good I felt. A little over a month ago I was still too sick to walk all the way around Greenbelt Park. Last week I walked around the park with a lightly loaded pack and still felt pretty tired. So why was I feeling so much energy this weekend? My stomach didn't complain, my legs didn't complain, and I felt like I had boundless energy. Today, the day after the hike, my legs have barely any of the typical post-hike ache. My shoulders don't hurt from the pack. I surprised JD by not wanting a nap. Weird, huh? My only supposition is it's the wheat, or lack thereof. When I was reading up on celiac disease, prior to my (negative) test, I read about an athlete who stopped eating wheat for other reasons and was surprised to find herself with faster racing times. She supposed that she had been held back by wheat, or its effects on her body, before without noticing. Perhaps the same is true for me.
I'm definitely still sensitive to the stuff, as I have accidentally "glutened" myself several times, and felt awful. Last time was earlier this week when I had sushi. I thought I was so smart with my wheat-free tamari sauce instead of soy sauce, but I was caught by either the artificial crab in the California roll, or the spicy sauce on the spicy tuna rolls. Within hours my guts hurt like they were being stabbed. If I'm able to go back on wheat at all, it looks like it will be a while. Sigh. But I'm learning to live without it, and learning what to avoid out in the restaurant world. (Turns out IHOP puts pancake mix in their eggs to make them fluffy. Who knew?)
Lactose isn't so bad. If I'm willing to swell up and look pregnant for a few hours, I can have some dairy. Which I did last night, on my loaded baked potato. I got my pregnant look on, and I enjoyed the hell out of that potato. But it only lasted a few hours and then I was back to normal. Being glutened takes two days to resolve - much less fun.
To sum up, and as notes to my future self: maybe skip the trip in bad hypothermia weather. But walkie talkies are fantastic.
Then I drove to DeLee's. We ate something, then started to leave. At the last minute I mentioned that it would be nice to have walkie talkies for the drive, since we would be in two cars. She couldn't find hers, so we stopped at the REI on the way out of the neighborhood and bought a new set. I was so glad we did, it was much nicer to be able to communicate than to have a four hour drive without speaking. It was super, super helpful to be able to talk about when we wanted to stop to visit a rest area, or comment on traffic, or the like.
A couple of hours in, I started getting a lot of text messages. I could hear the phone buzzing, but at 70 mph, in the dark, I was not able to read them. (Which would have been illegal anyway.) When I finally got the chance to pull over at Woodstock, VA, I found that my dad was in the emergency room. We went to the McDonald's and called around, trying to find out what was going on. Finally we decided to drive the hour on to Waynesboro for the night, as Dad seemed to be stable.
Later texts and calls revealed that he was doing all right and they had sorted out his problems, and Mom and Dad were joking about it. Thus reassured, at midnight or 1 AM, DeLee and I hit the sack in our motel room. Not the restful start one hopes for.
In the morning, breakfast didn't sit right with DeLee, and it vacated the premises quickly. DeLee was very subtle. I doubt the other diners even noticed. DeLee is a trooper, and so we still packed up and got on the road. By the time we got in the park, shuttled the cars around, and started hiking, it was after noon. Oy.
The weather was beautiful and hikers were scarce. Our parking spot was supposed to have a nearby trail leading up to the AT, but that trail seemed to have disappeared several years ago. We bushwhacked up a mountain until we found the trail, then started north. I think we saw four hikers all day. So we were considerably surprised when we got to the shelter and found it full and surrounded by tents. There were boy scouts everywhere. They were in good spirits and a little rowdy, but they settled down and were amazingly silent all night.
We had managed to find a spot in the shelter, which was especially nice around 5 AM when it started to pour. I love not packing up a wet tent.
The forecasted all day rain didn't appear. It was misty and damp, and cold, but not solidly raining. We had a beautiful morning's hike, but it was hard to stay warm on rest breaks. At lunch we couldn't find a great windbreak, but we did find a downed log in a very brushy area. We set up leaning on the log, and it wasn't bad. I immediately made us hot drinks using my fabulous Jetboil stove. Even with that we started to get a bit chilled as we finished lunch. We packed up and got hiking again, but when I looked at DeLee her lips were blue. I checked her frequently over the next few minutes until her lips turned pink again.
Shortly after her lips turned pink, her lunch turned against her. She held it down, but she felt awful. Her steps slowed. She still walked, but I was stopping and waiting for her frequently. Within less than a mile, she wasn't generating enough heat to stay warm and became hypothermic. The trail crosses Skyline drive frequently where we were, so at the next road crossing we stopped. We both dug into our packs for fleece to put on, and we stuck our thumbs out. German tourists stopped and offered us a ride. We had cars stationed in both directions, so we didn't care which way they were going. (Weirdly, this is the second time that German tourists have rescued me in Shenandoah. Another couple gave me and Mel a ride when I hurt my foot a decade or more ago.)
Back at Eddy, my car, we turned around and drove back to DeLee's car. I was starting to run low on gas, so we stopped at Loft Mountain Wayside for gas and hot chocolate. Then we headed out of the park, looking for a motel. DeLee was still feeling shaky and wasn't up to driving the several hours home.
In Harrisonburg, we checked into a motel. I was ravenous. DeLee only wanted a hot shower and a nap. I read the literature about local restaurants, but soon the call of a soft bed overrode my stomach. I fell asleep too.
After a couple of hours of rest, DeLee was feeling a lot better. The nap didn't hurt me any, either. We got up and drove over to the Outback Steakhouse, where we had delicious food. Our server turned out to be from DC, so it was fun to chat with him. I brought D-Ribose to dinner with me for both me and DeLee, to help with after-hike soreness.
So our two night trip turned into a one night trip, but one that avoided potentially serious hypothermia in really dangerous conditions. It was about 40 and raining when we left the park. It was likely 30 degrees that night. Had we kept going DeLee would have been in deep trouble, and the likelihood is that I would have been hypothermic as well. Instead, we met some nice people, had a delicious dinner, and slept at a nice motel. That's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Although I wasn't the one to get hypothermic this time, I usually am. I wasn't expecting it from DeLee, as she is usually more resistant to cold than me. I thought we had planned well enough to avoid hypothermia, but DeLee's icky feelings were something I hadn't accounted for. If the park had more water available in that section I would have set up camp for us and gotten her some hot food and beverages immediately rather than having her drive her car when she didn't feel well. But, we didn't have enough water so that wasn't a good option.
Oddly, I felt great for pretty much all of the trip, paternal medical drama aside. I was surprised at how good I felt. A little over a month ago I was still too sick to walk all the way around Greenbelt Park. Last week I walked around the park with a lightly loaded pack and still felt pretty tired. So why was I feeling so much energy this weekend? My stomach didn't complain, my legs didn't complain, and I felt like I had boundless energy. Today, the day after the hike, my legs have barely any of the typical post-hike ache. My shoulders don't hurt from the pack. I surprised JD by not wanting a nap. Weird, huh? My only supposition is it's the wheat, or lack thereof. When I was reading up on celiac disease, prior to my (negative) test, I read about an athlete who stopped eating wheat for other reasons and was surprised to find herself with faster racing times. She supposed that she had been held back by wheat, or its effects on her body, before without noticing. Perhaps the same is true for me.
I'm definitely still sensitive to the stuff, as I have accidentally "glutened" myself several times, and felt awful. Last time was earlier this week when I had sushi. I thought I was so smart with my wheat-free tamari sauce instead of soy sauce, but I was caught by either the artificial crab in the California roll, or the spicy sauce on the spicy tuna rolls. Within hours my guts hurt like they were being stabbed. If I'm able to go back on wheat at all, it looks like it will be a while. Sigh. But I'm learning to live without it, and learning what to avoid out in the restaurant world. (Turns out IHOP puts pancake mix in their eggs to make them fluffy. Who knew?)
Lactose isn't so bad. If I'm willing to swell up and look pregnant for a few hours, I can have some dairy. Which I did last night, on my loaded baked potato. I got my pregnant look on, and I enjoyed the hell out of that potato. But it only lasted a few hours and then I was back to normal. Being glutened takes two days to resolve - much less fun.
To sum up, and as notes to my future self: maybe skip the trip in bad hypothermia weather. But walkie talkies are fantastic.
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