#154 Raven Rock Shelter to Pen Mar Co. Pk. MD - Day 79: MM1062.1 - MM1066.7
.....hiking without anger, rage, and fear is harder than hiking with them. When you're full of rage, there's a beast inside of you pushing you along.....
4/5/2023
I woke up this morning feeling a bit nauseous and and have been growing weaker as the day goes on. Yesterday’s heat and lack of water are the culprits.
Having experienced overheating a number of times in the past I am intimately familiar the signs. They say once you’ve suffered from heat exhaustion you become more sensitive to heat, that there may be medical consequences that can affect people the rest of their lives.
One episode occurred when I was power washing a house about a decade ago at a lady’s home across the street from Metzger’s Tavern, the tavern where (in my childhood experience four decades ago ) grown ups drove to the window with a truck bed full of kids to buy beer for themselves, and if they’d worked enough overtime to afford it, spicy chili and greasy cheeseburgers for the family. Some Metzger’s History
While power washing between the house under an unforgiving sun that day, the oven-like heat altered the way my body reacts to heat for the rest of my days.
Managing to maintain my composure, I finished the job and get home to a cool shower. Sitting in a daze on the couch for the rest of the day, I sipped water and Propel in rotation
Today, those signs are coupled with heart issues and troubles breathing under humid conditions. I think I’m in trouble here.
Know the signs of heat exhaustion [click here]
I walk out of the wilderness into Pen-Mar County Park in Highfield-Cascade, MD, near the Mason/Dixon Line, exhausted and a little confused, though I’ve gone less than seven miles. I came to the trail early in the year to avoid heat, but find myself in one of two freak heatwaves I’ll experience this spring.
The A.T. passes directly in front of a large Pavilion with stadium style seating, which overlooks a large valley floor.
All I want in this world right now is to sit in the shade and sip water.
A large group of chaperoned special needs adults meander around under the pavilion. Several of them congregate around me before I can unbuckle my pack. They begin talking one and two at a time, asking questions about where I’m going and what I’m doing.
I answer their questions one by one and listen to their stories, with a smile on my face, thought I’m getting more dizzy by the minute.
One lady says, ”I’m going to play a trick on my friend at Easter.” I ask what’s the trick. “I don’t know yet,” she says, then wanders off.
On man asks, ”Where are you headed?” I say, “New Hampshire.” He points in the right direction and says, “You need to go that way,” then he wanders off.
On and on the back and forth goes until they lose interest in me. Their chaperone thanks me for my time and patience. I tell her it was my pleasure. It really was a pleasure - I just wish I didn’t feel like crap so I could have been more in tune with them. I did my best.