The MacLehose Stage 3/4 hike hike this weekend was INTENSE... We started Stage 3 at 9:30, finished it in 2:20 hours, took a 25 mins rest, then started off to Stage 4. The first part of Stage 4 started at 220m with a quick ascent to 550m without rest, it was a VERY slow ascent for me as I felt my muscles getting sore and in the verge of cramping up, but I was able to make it to the top.
My downhill trek then took me 90 minutes versus 70 minutes for the rest of the team, but when it came time to trek uphill again, my legs just couldn't take it anymore (after another 3 hours have passed). One of them started to cramp, then the other followed, then I felt the left side of my stomach cramping as well. I was laying down while being in pain in more places than I could imagine and there was nothing I can do about it. Every time I thought it was over with, one of the legs will start again and the sequence continues... Although I had a friend with me, there was nothing he could do but sit there and cringe as he sees the cramps showing up at both my calves and thighs. During this painful time period a group of 9 people was passing by, they were kind enough to stop and gave me some energy gels and some gatorade. Regardless to say, I was unable to move, only thing I could do was roll and even that was painful.With 1.5 hours of trail in one direction and 1 hour towards the other, we had no choice but to call up 999 (kinda like 911) for assistance. Turns out because we're on a trail, they were unable to send vehicles up to my location, so the only option was to get a helicopter to come and pick me up. It took them about 30 minutes to reach my location, although I had been moved to a clearing (by 2 of the guys from that group while my friend carried my backpack and trekking poles), the helicopter was still way too big to land. Therefore, they sent down a paramedic, he outfitted me with 2 loops, strapped me in, and up we went. The lift up (probably about 40 to 50 ft up) was thrilling, with the views of the mountains around me, and the strong winds from the blades pushing down on us.
The moment they got me up to the chopper, they pulled me in, and I immediately laid down on my back as they started taking my vitals and plugged an IV into my forearm. It took less than 5 minutes to get to the Chai Wan hospital, they had a wheel chair waiting for me when I got off the chopper and I stayed in it until I was put onto a bed. The events at the hospital was nothing much to talk about so I'll just say that after 4 hours and 1.5 Litres of IV later, I walked (more like crawled) out of the ER ward and took the MTR home. What surprised me the most was the medical cost, admission into the ER was $100 HKD and a bed at the ward was $100 HKD, totaling only $26 USD (of which I can get reimbursed for by the insurance) for the hospital. The only thing I'm afraid of now is getting a bill for the chopper ride... which we'll have to see if I will be billed for it.
Medical assessment:1. Dehydration
2. Malnourished
3. Stupidity
Lessons learned:
1. Be hydrated the correct way (although I drank 3.5 Litres of water during the hike, I didn't drink anything with electrolytes)
2. Eat more carbs the day before such a long hike
3. Eat sugar candies and candy bars along the way to replenish sugar and salt levels because I sweat way too much
4. Take energy gels
5. KNOW YOUR LIMIT and DON'T BE STUPID
