It's been about three weeks since I got off the trail, so I've had some time to reflect on what I did right and what I did wrong. I only made it 210 miles, about half of what I wanted to do but I still spent two weeks on the trail and I learned a ton about backpacking and myself.
1) More than anything, I wish I'd taken better care of myself. I got so focused on "making the miles" that I ignored what my body was telling me. When you hit your 40s, your mind still thinks you're a youngster but the fact is, you're not. As a result, I pushed myself too hard and learned the hard way that my body isn't as resilient as it used to be. As the days wore on, my legs started hurting terribly and my energy level sagged. My legs would hurt so bad at night I couldn't sleep. It wasn't soreness, it was cramping that would get so bad my legs would jerk and jump involuntarily. Looking back on it, I'm sure it's from a combination of dehydration, vitamin and mineral deficiency, and loss of salt. Unfortunately, I wasn't equipped to deal with this problem. I brought Gatorade mix and had salty snacks but I didn't bring any supplements. Since returning, I've read how some hikers take magnesium supplements. I'll definitely be doing that next time and I will be religious about taking them alongside a multivitamin.
I'm sure I was dehydrated on most days. This is a tricky one because I think it's inevitable that you will deal with some dehydration. The water sources in Oregon can be very far apart and there's nothing you can do about it but carry lots of water and drink sparingly. But the dehydration is probably the main reason I had no appetite on the trail. I'd heard lots of stories about how ravenous backpackers get but I never felt that way. For me, it was a challenge to eat every bite of my dinner. After a while, I would force myself to eat everything because I knew I needed the energy but it could take an hour to eat a meal. I firmly believe that had I been drinking more water this wouldn't have been a problem. I suppose a solution would be to eat dinner at a water source so I can drink a bunch of water before and after eating. Lesson learned.
I also wish I'd tried to keep myself cleaner. At a minimum, I wish I'd done a nightly wipe down of my private parts. I think this would have made me a lot more comfortable and happy on the trail. I also wish I'd rinsed my shirt and socks more often. Even though this wouldn't have accomplished much from a hygiene perspective, it would have lifted my spirits a little to not stink so bad.
2) I wish I'd carried a bit less weight. This goes for me, personally and my backpack. I lost weight before the trip but was still about 25 pounds overweight. Being overweight makes a huge impact on your feet, ankles, knees, and hips. Consider that it boosted my max carried weight to 65 pounds! I used nearly everything in my backpack and was glad to have everything I brought. But next time, I would leave behind a few things. I brought camp shoes (Tevas) and I did use them but I don't think I really needed them. They were nice for wading into water sources but I could have gone barefoot and washed my feet off at the same time. I also brought a small paperback. I never touched it. I was always too tired for it. Sometimes writing in my journal was more effort than I wanted to make, so hauling a book turned out to be dumb. Next time, I think I would also try to trim weight by taking a lighter sleeping bag and pad. I may also go stoveless.
3) I wish I'd taken more photos. For me, I actually did pretty OK in this regard but looking back on my photos, I keep thinking "why did I take so few?" For whatever reason, I don't normally think to pull my camera out constantly. Sometimes it's because I think "well that looks nice but I bet it won't show up in a photo." You know what? So what if it doesn't turn out. But if I'd taken the damn picture, maybe it would have! The drive home with my friend was one disaster after another (a future post perhaps) and I wish I'd taken some photos to document what an insane couple of days it turned out to be.
But overall, I'm pretty pleased with how I did on the trail. I had fun and I survived.
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