Do you feel bad? Go Hiking!
Yesterday I was feeling like I had a slight tickle in my throat, which was most likely congestion of some sort. Other than that I was feeling pretty good.
I woke up at 6 am and was at the trailhead ready for a beautiful hike at 7:45 am. Nothing had changed with my health but the congestion was still there. It wasn’t a full-on cough, but a slight tickle in my throat. At least that’s how I would describe it.
It was a great hike in the snow in the Rocky Mountains at Mount Falcon, near Indian Hills, Colorado. The only issue was that the sky was mostly over cast, but it was still a gorgeous day.
I felt great on the hike but as soon as I climbed into my truck, and turned on the engine, my head started burning up, the same way you would feel if you had a full on fever.
I was burning up and chilled all the way home and all evening. I headed to bed early and didn’t set my alarm as I was hoping some rest would help.
I started sweating around 11 pm and I don’t think I stopped sweating until 3 am. I have learned through life experiences and some advice that sweating at night typically means your fever has broke.
I woke up feeling pretty much back to normal, except for a sore throat.
I decided to get my butt out of bed and head to work. I had to make a quick stop at Lowe’s and I started talking the cashier when checking out and I told here what had happened since my hike yesterday.
She’s the one that told me, “if you feel bad, take a hike.”
I thought that was a cool saying but I have to caution anyone who reads this that doing physical activity while feeling bad or after recovering from an illness, can make your illness worse or cause a relapse.
What I’m mostly referring to here is if you feel down emotionally, or have some congestion or a cold, that doesn’t mean you have to stay inside by a nice warm fire, even though that sounds pretty awesome right about now.
I was following Body for Life many years ago and one of the things Bill Phillips said once was that you don’t have to stop working out just because you have a cold. You may not feel like working out but you don’t have to lie around on the couch or in bed.
I hope no one takes this as medical advice because I am an engineer and not a doctor or nurse, but I believe there is some truth that you can get up and do things but just make sure you are dressed appropriately and don’t exhaust yourself.
I guess the next best thing to do if you’re not feeling well, besides reading a book in front of a fire, is to take a scenic drive and at least see something beautiful.
I would love to hear your thoughts or Comments on this or send me an Email.
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I’ll do just that! Feel bad, go hiking. Being in contact with nature has always transformed me, renewed me, made me more energetic. I understand we must be careful when we’re recovering from an illness. But hiking helps in many cases. Even thought you’re not a doctor or a nurse, I know your suggestion works. I have my own experience. Thank you very much for this post. It has encouraged me.
Hey Ann. I’m glad I could encourage you some today. Sometimes we get so busy that we forget to schedule some time for ourselves or our family and friends in the outdoors. It takes effort to get away some times.
Rick
Hey, I love the Rocky Mountains at Mount Falcon. Cool place to hike and take pictures. I agree with you, we should stay at home when were terribly sick, but there are some colds or annoying headaches that just go away when we’re in contact with nature. Good, I’d like to go back to Mount Falcon soon.
There are so many great trail in that area. One of my challenges is to break away from that location and explore other areas around Colorado.
Rick
I love your tag line, feel bad go hiking! I will have to start doing that from now on. Lately, life has been very challenging for me and I keep thinking about it too much. It is time for me to just let go and go hiking and fixing things one step at a time without fear of doing it too much. I wish I had the pleasure of hiking in Colorado. For now I have to go to Central Park or Bear mountain for now. Thanks!
I lived in Oklahoma for 33 years and was only able to go hiking in Colorado once a year but we recently moved to Colorado and now I get out at least once each week if not twice.
I would encourage you to look at websites or apps like AllTrails and talk to people in your local outdoor stores to see where the easiest and best places you can get away to are.
I think it’s important to get outside, get the exercise in and slow down a little, even if you’re walking fast. Enjoying the scenery and the smells in nature can do us all a lot of good.
Rick
Hiking is really a task that affects every part of the body and helps to formulate it for the better. This is really great to see here and considering how effective this has becomes, I fancy this a lot. Thumbs up to you for sharing. Hiking can help to exercise every part of the body there by reaching what ordinary routine workout would not have done.
I agree and it also lifts your spirit when you can see majestic mountain views.
Rick
This article really resonated with me. I have always looked to go to nature when stressed or anxious and it has become a very trendy thing to talk about currently. In the UK there isn’t much to hike other than forest trails and hilltops but even the brisk walks help calm and center me. I also believe that there is something valuable specifically to a child’s development. I have personally noticed a huge behavior change in my son when we do things like hiking and rock climbing- he tends to slow down for a few days afterwards.
I’m glad you mention your son and how getting outdoors really helps him.
I grew up in the mountains of Oregon and Washington and we never had a lot of money but were always able to do things for free in the outdoors.
I remember getting bored once and my dad had a cure for that. He gave me a hammer, nails and a hand saw and pointed me towards a scrap pile of wood and told me to build a tree fort. That was so fun but I realized I should never tell my dad I was bored again.
Things like that and personally watching my two children love doing things in the outdoors really brings me back to what you’re saying about your son.
My kids came up with a rule on their own when hiking. No technology is allowed, unless your taking pictures. They realize how much fun it can be getting away from technology, even though they would probably deny saying that.
Rick