HAFE

The Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City was another highlight of my year, added to greatly by the presence of the awesome trio from Celtic--Kurt, Brian, and Bill. (Celtic, an advertising and public relations firm, designed and maintains this site. Check them out at www.celticinc.com). The people with problems who stopped by the first aid station were as I suspected (see the previous post), and dehydration was especially rampant, a reminder to keep your urine clear or lightly yellow in color.
Someone asked about intestinal gas at higher altitudes. High Altitude Flatus Expulsions (HAFE) is a real and discomforting, though rarely serious, problem for those arriving at upper elevations of Earth. Air in your tummy expands like air trapped in a plastic bag. The products Beano and Gas-X have been shown to help alleviate the discomfort. You and your tentmate might both appreciate the alleviation.

Outdoor Retailer

I leave in a few days for the Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, my 34th stint in the First Aid Station. After thousands of OR patients, most of them non-serious, I know what I'll see: People forgetting some of the basics of a healthy life. They'll wear pretty shoes that rub them the wrong way, they'll dehydrate, they'll fail to get enough rest, and they'll eat way too much and/or something strange to their digestive systems. But, on the other helping hand, it's sort of like job security for me.
I'll be signing free copies of my new book (Knots You Need, totally non-medical) on Aug 8 at 4PM and Aug 9 at 5PM. If you can't drop by, you can always order (and pay for) a copy (www.globepequot.com), and if you do, I thank you.