Hike day interrupted by illness

January 24, 2023. Delayed due to illness

The day started out fine with a little walk around the historic center to get some coffee. I always enjoy seeing the city wake up, the parents getting their kids to school and other workers. It’s cold here in the early morning, so people are bundled up. Today it was a little warmer, 40 degrees F.

I decided for the hotel breakfast, but there was very little cooked at 8:15. There were some sad looking and cold tamales there and I tried one. Kind of sweet and tasteless. It might have been my bad move of the day, as did not know how a GI illness would strike a few hours later.

I caught an Uber to the trailhead of a recommended mountain trail, that started at the edge of the city. It follows the old water works and pipes coming down off the mountain. As I started, I noticed I felt a little under the weather, but it was easy to ignore. Probably nothing. I was eager to get up onto the mountain and experience hiking that was similar to the Camino de Santiago. I had made a decían to bring only one little bottle of water. Not a great decision either.

It was a beautiful cool day with a slight breeze. I wore all three layers, of smartwool and windbreaker, and then began to strip them off. After a mile the trail became unmarked, there were no benches or signs, and became very rocky and steep. Alice would say “Let’s Rock and Roll”. That memory tickled me.

After 2 miles I got to a a flat top to the hill and continued on past a settlement with no roads. Everyone was riding a horse.

Finally, I arrived at the little lake or water resevoir at the top and stopped for a rest. I was getting warm and I made a decision to drink no more than half at the half-way point.

It was as I walked down the hill that my stomach started to feel bloated and slightly nauseated. There were little cramping sensations. I needed to get down and back to my hotel

I wasn’t sure I’d make it back. Hurry, hurry, I thought. I ran upstairs and got very sick, both up and down. The vomiting returned several times. I was weak and too weak to contact the front desk. The phone number did not work and there was no phone in the room I startee to try to drink a little water. Eventually I got enough strength to get down to the front desk and they had electrolyte rehydration liquid — exactly what I needed. Over the next two hours I overcame the initial hesitancy of drinking anything, and then drank two full bottles. My strength started to return. The worst was over and I was thankful for having gotten back all right. It could have been much worse.