Enlyten SportStrips

We have stumbled upon, with the help of our nutritional consultant, a relatively new style of electrolyte replacement that just recently came to the market. The product is similar to the notorious Listerine Pocket Packs in that it is a cassette filled with little strips. The benefit of this style of dispenser is that it is compact and not messy like mixes can be. Also this is another version of electrolyte replacement that not only helps replace the salts that we lose during exercise, yet also helps provide a balanced electrolyte solution and not another sugary simple drink like a Gatorade or Powerade. The two king sport drinks, Gatorade and Powerade, while remaining very popular, contain way too much simple sugar (which can actually cause cramping or crashing) and do not contain a spectrum of electrolytes that we desperately need. The ultimate benefit of Enlyten strips is that they claim a greater efficiency than what we have found in Nuun or in Camelback's Elixir in that they actually bypass the GI tract. The GI tract can actually not absorb every bit of the electrolytes that are contained in our drinks causing us to waste some of the needed compounds. The idea of Enlyten is that the product goes directly into the bloodstream through the membranes of the cheek causing a much greater efficiency and more sudden intake of the electrolytes, therefore when we may have gotten behind on our electrolyte intake and we are bonking out or cramping one of these strips could theoretically help us faster than drinking a Nuun solution and waiting for the effect. While we have not tried these strips out yet, idea is fantastic, and we will blog more about how much they help us. They are being adopted by many professional athletes, and they have been tested at Duke in their sport's medicine department so I think they definitely will give us an edge. Although we are not scrapping the Nuun or Elixir products, because these products provide a greater spectrum than Enlyten, yet i think that these products combined with the Enlyten strips will give us multiple ways to insure a proper electrolyte balance.

Actual Mileage Blog Feature

I just want to point out a new blog feature that I have added to the upper right hand of the blog under our personal trip info. I have added a spreadsheet that Spencer and Ben made yesterday in Erwin. This spreadsheet contains the actual stops on the trail that we have made. Not only can you compare this to our initial itinerary that we had made on or before May 20th to see how much we have deviated from this plan, yet also it is neat to see how much we have accomplished and where we actually stayed. Finally, the best part about this feature is that we are able to look at the glass in a "half full" perspective and see how far we have gone instead of what we have left to do. I remind you all that are following along at home to check out this entry on google earth tracking, which can allow one to look at satellite imagery upon our actual stops on the trail contained within the spreadsheet.

Aspects of Proper Hydration

One of the major lessons that this trip has reinforced on us is the constant importance of good hydration when being active in the outdoors. During our initial time on the trail we noticed the typical sweat and salt loss that is known to all people who engage in tough endurance activity, or even those of us simply sweating in the heat. It is common sense that one must intake water to replace the water that is lost by sweating, yet most people also do not think about the water lost by breathing and urine production/waste. Simply put our intakes of water on the trail have been huge and maybe then not enough. We have attempted to intake around a liter per hour of hiking which is a lot of water. Having an intake of water close to this amount is astounding, and water and hydration are essential to preventing cramps, muscle recovery, and energy production. Unfortunately, when drinking such large amounts of water in a hot environment the other side of hydration rears its head. The aforementioned salt loss is the one major factor that we have tried to also gauge. Salt loss is a lot harder to get a handle on than water loss and I have never repeatedly strung together the extended endurance tests that we have encountered on this trip. We had initially planned to try out the tablets made by Nuun Hydration, and while we know that this sort of electrolyte replacement is important, we were not sure how many electrolytes we would need. We initially and usually most people place a huge importance on water intake, and also on sodium intake. While sodium is the most common electrolyte, we have realized the importance of intaking a spectrum of electrolytes, and we have realized that sugar filled sports drinks are not the best way to intake these beneficial compounds, and often these popular drinks like Gatorade do not provide a spectrum of electrolytes, yet only Sodium and/or potassium. The Nuun electrolyte replacement, or the Camelback Elixir are both broad spectrum electrolyte replacements. The are designed to prevent dehydration and other conditions in which the athlete intakes a lot of water yet not enough electrolytes. One such condition called Hyponatremia involves an imbalance of sodium and water in the body. This imbalance can be compounded by usage of Aspirin, Ibuprofen and other anti-inflammatory agents, which we are commonly taking for the dreaded "trail ache." The symptoms of this condition include nausea, muscle cramps, disorientation, slurred speech, confusion, and irrational behavior, and many of these symptoms have been experienced on the trail even with our plentiful intakes of water and represent instances of hyponatremia. Undoubtedly, we have decided that we must intake electrolytes and that with our daily active exercise times that range from 8-12 hours we need to intake these substances as if we are ultramarathoners. Although we have at times had an admirable intake of water, we have definitely not had the proper intake of electrolytes including sodium to accompany this water intake. The amount of salt loss and water loss experienced when hiking 20-30 miles in mountainous terrain is significantly higher than many other endurance activities. We are in effect aiming to perform almost a marathon every day for the rest of the summer. We know that the cramping and loss of performance combined with loopy behavior is at times dehydration, at times hyponatremia, and at other times low blood sugars from not enough or right dietary intakes, yet we have certainly learned the importance of electrolyte intakes for our trek and in endurance pursuits.

Trail Magic, Trail Names, and Hydration update

In addition to what Spencer just posted, i thought I'd add that we are very grateful for our rather unexpected "trail magic" here in Erwin. We were fully prepared to stay at Uncle Johnny's and continue on our way but were really happy to hear about an offer for a place to stay, etc.

Which brings me to my next thought, if anyone out there reading this happens to live along the AT or has any family or friends that live along the AT that wouldn't mind a few "healthy" smelling college students dropping by for a laundry/shower/meal/sleep recharge, please post a comment on here. Anywhere along the AT from Erwin, TN to Katahdin, ME would be great!

Today Spence and I finally ended up owning our trail names. After running into a Southbound thru-hiker named Rambo Ron that started up north in July 2006 and hasn't stopped yet, i came to the realization that I can use Ben in my name and a little alliteration isn't all that bad. So i began to think of something that would fit using the letter 'B' and the gray bandanna on my head that I've been wearing for the last few hundred miles came to mind. Since it is pretty much taboo to give yourself a trail name i told Spence I had one in mind and if he guessed it, it would stick. Well he did and Bandanna Ben is here to stay. Spencer is going to stick the the trail name Warpzilla that was coined during the GA trip with Troop 215 in 2005. He was always hiking so darn fast that we said it was Warp Godzilla pace, which shortened becomes Warpzilla quite nicely. We've come 338 miles in the last 2 and a half weeks and now we finally have the quintessential Trail Names.

And lastly, the hydration update. On our day up and over Clingman's Dome in the Smokies, water sources were really dry overall and we had a tough time getting enough water early on. We decided to try and ration our water to make it past the Dome and to hopefully a better source on the other side. As we were descending we both noticed a tightening on the same spot on our right leg just above the knee. Long story short, we have attributed this cramping due to improper hydration because our bodies are sweating so much salts during the day that water simply isn't able to replenish it. We hope to remedy this in the future by drinking gatorade and other electrolyte filled sports drinks as we hike and not only water. We will keep the blog updated on the progress of our hydration efforts. So far it has been one of our toughest challenges.

All in all, a great trip so far. We realize that we are a few days behind our planned itinerary but we are making the most miles we safely can and hope to continue to do so. Thanks for all your words and support, they really keep us going.

-Bandanna Ben

Erwin, TN

We have been shown great hospitality by the Honrath Family who lives literally right next door to Uncle Johnny's Hostel (located just off the trail). We were planning to stay at Uncle Johnny's tonite but graciously accepted the invite to enjoy a home cooked meal, shower, and laundry at the Honrath's home, now that's a nice end to a 27 mile day. As far as all you Troop 215ers keeping in touch out there, we were at Uncle Johnny's camping on the 2004 AT summer trip. That trip started at Sam's Gap, where Ben and I reenacted the Troop beginning photo to the best of our ability. Leg cramps crept in towards the end of today and only had ourselves to blame for definitely not drinking enough water. Hydration, or lack there of, is most definitely the cause of our cramps. We are going to begin to drink more than water throughout the day i.e. elixir (by camelbak) and Gatorade mix. The electrolytes in these mixes ought to give us the extra replacement that we have been missing. Also, in the Damascus, VA drop (and every other drop from here on out) Garrett has placed Nuun electrolyte tablets. Well, time for a shower, then a Spaghetti dinner! That's all for now, maybe some pictures later tonite...stay tuned.

Trail Update 6/4/07 (Spencer + Ben)

We have just now made it to Hot Springs, NC at about 1:30 this Afternoon. We were recently in Cosby, TN being resupplied by the Chappell family and Chris (my roommates). They rented out a cabin for the night and we got an excellent meal, a shower, and some time in the hot tub. It was hard to get back on the trail. Sunday morning we headed back to the trail at Davenport Gap and we stayed the night at Roaring Forks Shelter. Ben and I have had some trouble with our right quadriceps. Ever since day two in the Smoky Mountains, a sharp, painful cramp has developed every afternoon in the same spot for both of us. We thought maybe it was because we went 28.5 miles that day, but is has been a recurring pain ever since. Mileage in the afternoon has been excruciating, but we have pushed on as best we could. So we are getting jobs in Hot Springs for a while...just kidding. However, mileage will be dropped down below expected levels until we can figure something else out, as we are weary of taking another unplanned zero day. The Bluff Mountain Outfitters (in Hot Springs) was kind enough to let us use their computer to blog and check e-mail. We are planning to hit Erwin, TN on Thursday. More to come, hopefully some pictures soon. Thank you for everyone that has been commenting, posting, and reading the blog.

Trail Update 06/03/07

I talked with Spencer and Ben this morning. They made it through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. They are leaving from Davenport Gap today and will continue northward to the Walnut Mountain Shelter. The Smoky mountains are some of the tougher stretches on the trail and contain the highest elevations and some ridiculous climbs. The highest point on the trail is Clingman's Dome on the TN/NC border that tops out at 6643' which is only 41 feet shorter than the highest peak east of the Mississippi river, North Carolina's Mt. Mitchell. My hat goes off to them; they said they did 29 miles a few days ago in a constant rain, which was around a 12 hour day of hiking. They have almost caught back up with the original itinerary. We had intended on making it where they are this morning last night so we are only a night off of the original schedule.