I saw
that post, too, by Rosabella. She talks about swelling in her hands and face AFTER being at altitude for several days, and then it continues for more than a few days. She implies it continue for an entire trip, and Rosie does full JMT hikes.
Harvey Lankford made a good reply. Maybe he'll discuss it here as well.
I have always had my hands swell when hiking at altitude. I sort of thought it was due to the backpack straps cutting off some circulation, but that may not be it. At least with my hands, since I have started using hiking poles, so I am gripping the handles all the time, the swelling in the hands is not nearly as bad.
Last summer, after spending three days at 10,000' at Thousand Island Lake, my wife had swollen feet and hands at
the end of the trip. It took several days at home for the swelling to dissipate. I thought maybe it was due to her chronic kidney issues, but now Rosie's post makes it sound different.
My wife's experience is different from others, in that she rode in and out on horseback, and didn't do any serious hiking either. So it wasn't such a different environment from home --
except for the altitude.
