Thanks for all the replies so far!
Akichow~
So Diamox can cause electrolyte problems - excessive peeing? That should be fun, since I'm already on a mild HBP med that's a diuretic. We're carrying Vitalyte, but eight days worth is pretty heavy. There's a more concentrated chew or tablet or something, isn't there, that might help with that?
(By the way, what's a girl to do, above treeline, on a crowded popular trail? Does any shred of modesty I might have left at that point just go out the windows up there?
)
(caplen)
Diamox is a diuretic. I don't go crazy with the electrolytes ... by keeping the Diamox dosage as low as possible, I often avoid this problem. But it does occur, and when it does, I drink a pint of Cytomax and, within an hour, I seem fine (also worked for my friend). I also carry Nuun tablets and tend to use one tablet a day prophylactically. If you compare the ingredients for Nuun and Cytomax, the electrolyte replacement is pretty similar if memory serves. The extra sugar in Cytomax probably gives me a little boost, which can feel good at that point....
People are often strung far apart on the switchbacks going up the backside of Whitney, so you can find privacy there. Don't expect to find any privacy from the JMT junction to the lower part of the Whitney summit plateau. Once you hit the summit plateau, it is not hard to find a place with reasonable privacy. Or you can do what I did on Shasta ... and use
this device. Takes practice, and I don't recommend it, except as a last resort if you are planning to travel for hours at a time through truly exposed terrain....
