Hiking the Flats in the Heat

So which do you think is tougher?  Hiking 8 miles in the mountains, 12 miles in the hills or 21 miles on flat gravel trail and beach?  Well, that really depends on conditions and temperature.  While it may seem that summiting a mountain might be more difficult, hiking flat trails over extreme distances and in hot humid conditions can be every bit the challenge.

And it was for me this past Thursday. I hit the trail at around 10:15 AM - with 3 liters of water and about 24 oz of Gatorade. I had pre-hydrated with 24 oz of water, a Met-Rx Protein Plus shot, and a coconut water recovery shot. Pre-hydration is really important when hiking long distances in the heat. Pre-hydration should actually begin several days vs. hours before starting the hike. 

I was carrying my Osprey Stratos 24 day pack. There was a nice breeze cutting across Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge as I started out. My goal was to make the North Carolina border in less than 4 hours - at 10.5 miles distant, that would allow an aggressive pace for the first 2 hours and several stops for photos, changing socks, and visiting the Ranger Station in False Cape State Park - about 4 miles in - the next 2 hours.

About 20 minutes or so into the hike, I spotted a deer in high brush just off to my right. He saw me and quickly darted into a copse of bushes. As I approached, he startled and quickly bounded out and I never saw him again.  He was most expert at hiding in those tall grasses. Other than the deer, I saw no other animals of the four-legged kind.  But I did encounter enough of the winged type - pelicans, osprey, terns and seagulls - all along the beach. The pelicans were somewhat amusing - they would only let me get so close and then would take off and land further down the beach - over and over again. I did see an osprey dive bomb to attempt to catch a fish - an amazing sight actually.  I once saw a bald eagle due the same thing in Maine.

I made the North Carolina border in 3.5 hours, which included a total of 20 minutes worth of stoppage.  Not too shabby.  On the return, I stayed on the beach longer - with a nice tailwind.  Even with the pre-hydrating, I ran out of water at the False Cape Landing trail back into the park. I found a shaded shelter and consumed the rest of my Gatorade and my 2nd apple.  I had another 2 miles to go to reach the Ranger station where I could refill my water bladder. Fortunately, most of it was shaded. I just kept the image of my devouring and  bathing in streams of fresh water strong in my mind, and just kept counting the miles.  When I arrived and found the water connection, it was as if water was the best thing in the world.  Ahhhh!!!  What an exciting experience that was. If the water had any unusual taste, I couldn't even tell; it tasted awesomely sweet to me. Funny thing about perspective.

Even with all of this refreshment and additional hydrating, the 4-mile trek back through Back Bay NWR still felt agonizing to me.  Maybe it was because there was no shade, or that it was still hot at 5 pm, or that I had had little sleep the night before, or that I had not hiked this kind of distance in several years - or a combination of all of these.  Fortunately, I saw no water moccasins (poisonous snakes) the entire day, so the trip back through the NWR, while a bit arduous because of heat, was relatively uneventful.

All I can say is that while I hurt for most of that day and the next, I was so glad that I hiked the 21-mile round trip to the state line and back. While hiking the flats of Back Bay NWR may not provide the same gorgeous views as ascending the mountains of Arizona, Colorado or Washington, it's always a genuine ecstasy to be out in nature's abundant riches - mountains, hills, flats, beach - it doesn't matter really.  The combination of personal challenge, solitude, inspiration discovery, and perspective provide me with all the fulfillment I require on the trail.

TAKE-AWAYS: 

1. Consider pre-hydrating at least 24 hours before a long hike, especially in the heat. 
2. Consume approximately 1 liter of fluid per hour of strenuous hiking.  Under normal circumstances, I typically consume 4 to 6 oz every 10 minutes. 
3. When hiking in the heat, be aware of symptoms of heat exhaustion: muscle cramping, feeling faint, weakness, cool, moist skin, profuse sweating, increased pulse rate.
4. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Never bite off more than you can chew.   
5. Determine what about a hike is important to you - view, photo ops, personal challenge (pace, distance, etc.), solitude, inspiration or discovery. Then be true to that.