Altitude sickness...
Not sure if this is the correct category but... Arrived 5 days ago. Alpine, AZ. 8100 ft. Didn't take long to crash and burn. Drowsiness, dizzyness and worst of all a heavy dark blanket of depressi...
Forum Discussion
Update...I've been here over two months now and it has not been a good time, I gotta say. I've talked to many locals who say it took them 6 months to feel normal. I won't be coming up this high again. Lots of anxiety and low-grade depression. No desire to hike or bike or do any of the things I was loving in Utah. It hits in waves but there's always this sensation of this oppressive pressure.
Also...I'm someone who really love solitude and silence but the silence here is military-grade. I finally realized it had a lot to do with the anxiety. It gets worse in the evening as it's getting dark. You don't realize until you're in a place like this that most silence isn't actually silence. Normally there are insect noises, birds chirping, little critters running around....I was watching a video about a quiet room they build in Salt Lake City that they say is so quiet that most people can't spend more than 45 minutes in it. I swear it's that quiet here. And it really does a number on you. They were saying that because there's no sound it feels claustrophobic -- "like a coffin". That's exactly it. Like you're on the dark side of the moon. I have no phobias and love solitude but this is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever experienced. I noticed it the very first night here. It's like one of those movies where the world is destroyed and there's just one guy walking around... I will never take the sound of insects in a field for granted again. It's like sea-sickness. My eyes can appreciate the beauty but my body is so constantly uncomfortable...you can't reconcile it.
I can't believe the difference in my experience here v. my last spot. I hiked there almost daily. I absolutely thrive at 3000 ft. 8000 ft is like a living death...never again. Not for anything. I'm glad for the experience though because I'm more aware now of the elevation factor. Waiting for a shipment for my business...then I'm outta here.
Just curious. Where is your thrive point? Think of the places you've loved the most, and have been the most active?
Also...I'm someone who really love solitude and silence but the silence here is military-grade. I finally realized it had a lot to do with the anxiety. It gets worse in the evening as it's getting dark. You don't realize until you're in a place like this that most silence isn't actually silence. Normally there are insect noises, birds chirping, little critters running around....I was watching a video about a quiet room they build in Salt Lake City that they say is so quiet that most people can't spend more than 45 minutes in it. I swear it's that quiet here. And it really does a number on you. They were saying that because there's no sound it feels claustrophobic -- "like a coffin". That's exactly it. Like you're on the dark side of the moon. I have no phobias and love solitude but this is the most uncomfortable thing I've ever experienced. I noticed it the very first night here. It's like one of those movies where the world is destroyed and there's just one guy walking around... I will never take the sound of insects in a field for granted again. It's like sea-sickness. My eyes can appreciate the beauty but my body is so constantly uncomfortable...you can't reconcile it.
I can't believe the difference in my experience here v. my last spot. I hiked there almost daily. I absolutely thrive at 3000 ft. 8000 ft is like a living death...never again. Not for anything. I'm glad for the experience though because I'm more aware now of the elevation factor. Waiting for a shipment for my business...then I'm outta here.
Just curious. Where is your thrive point? Think of the places you've loved the most, and have been the most active?
