Mike here.

This HAPE was a new experience for me. Ascent was better than 2 years ago, but not what I'd call fast. We stayed about an hour on the summit, about 1/2 hour longer than last time. I was thoroughly hydrated (peeing) and fueled along the way.

But on the descent, I began experiencing a harder time breathing. The brief inclines before Trail Crest had me pausing every 30-40 feet sucking air.

From Trail Crest to Trail Camp, members of our party noticed what they suspected was fatigue as I'd catch a toe now and then and slide out on gravel I think three times.

Trail Camp to Outpost Camp was the worst. I was so exhausted and short of breath that in the last mile I began hallucinating. I saw a stone that appeared to have indian drawings on it. Only a couple hundred yards from my tent, I saw what appeared to be a rock with writing all over it (writing on the rock, or writing on the wall?).

I wasn't coughing much, but suspected that my shortness of breath was due to fluid in my lungs. I tried to take a deep breath, but estimate I had about 50% of my lung capacity. I was so exhausted, I didn't want to eat dinner, but did when others suggested that I'd feel worse in the morning if I didn't eat that night.

I was in my sleeping bag at 8:30.

At one point, I woke feeling like I was suffocating. I coughed and out came a mouthful of phlegm; not an amount I'd coughed up with past respiratory infections, but a FULL mouth. I rolled to my shoulder and began to doze off when the same thing happened again. I spent the night rotating quarter turns and coughed out what I estimate to have been at least 6 ounces.

Come morning, I felt much better. If the previous night I estimate I had 50% lung capacity, in the morning I estimate I had 85-90%. I ate a "normal" breakfast and we headed down the hill, rather uneventful.

We ate lunch in Lone Pine and discussed on the way home that I needed to get checked out to be sure I hadn't done other damage.

My wife and I went directly to Loma Linda University Medical Center where my blood work showed a very elevated creatine kinase and an elevated troponin: markers for heart damage.

Admit to cardiac ICU.

EKGs were all clean, but troponin continued to rise. Angiogram showed unrestricted flow in my cardiac arteries, but the echocardiogram showed "sluggish" pumping (45%). Released a day later with follow up clinic in a week.

NEXT TIME
I was scolded by team members who didn't know how compromised my lungs were. This was selfish and dangerous on my part. It's one thing to have a sense of what's going on and take control; but team members need to be informed and involved. I should have told them very clearly how bad I felt, what I suspected, and what I thought to be needed (rest/recovery). They, of course, would have their own ideas which could well have proven smarter considering my mental state upon arriving at camp.

A hiker is not 100% independent of the group. A hiker is a member of a team, and the team has a right to play a role in decisions about any member. When you experience anything abnormal, and many people experience some degree of AMS, you owe it to your team members to let them know exactly what you're feeling and how much.

-mike