Contact Lenses - Appalachian Trail

imported
#1

I’m planning a GA -> ME thru hike for 2002 and I was wondering if anyone had experience with wearing contact lenses on the trail. My vision is pretty bad and I’ve been wearing contacts exclusively for over 10 years so I really want to avoid wearing glasses if possible, but I’m not sure if eye health or anything else could be a problem. I have to take out my current lenses every night, but I could go with the kind you can leave in for 2 weeks straight.

Obviously I’d need to keep my soaking lenses in my sleeping bag at night to prevent them from freezing when it’s cold, but are there other considerations???

Cajun

#2

Lasik…an easy, if not somewhat costly solution. I did that 3 years ago and love it. Runs a few k’s. But if that’s not possible, consider disposable lenses. There are daily disposables by Acuvue and Ciba that can be tossed after the end of the day. Probably run you $300-400 for 6 months. There are a ton of “2-week” disposables, meant to be worn on either a daily wear or extended wear basis. They usually last a couple of weeks if you’re going extended wear. Using them as daily wear becomes problomatic as you try to get your hands clean and avoid dropping your lenses in the dirt. It’s also not fun to put in ice cold lenses. Some people are fine wearing them overnight, others find them uncomfortable after a while. It depends on your eyes, whether they’re dry or not, the protein in the tears, etc. You tend to get a build up on the lenses over time that affects the comfort. Ciba also has a new lens meant to be worn a month at a time. Check with your optometrist about the options (hopefully one who’s up on the lastest lenses. If you have any questions on that, ask me, I do this for a living. Depending on when you’re starting, I’d recommend wearing glasses through the Smokies and maybe over Roan. While the cl solutions have a higher salinity than plain water, if it’s cold enough, they’ll freeze. You may also have problems with the dry, cold air, not to mention the wind.
Like I said…Lasik! :slight_smile:

Bramble

#3

Use the week-long wear ones. Keep an extra set in your personal bag and then bounce or mail-drop the rest. If you are lucky, your eye doctor will think that what you are doing is cool and give you a bunch of freebies.

windex

#4

Hey Windex…they come in colors now too in case you really want to confuse others on the trail. (hey, didn’t you have green eyes last week?)

Bramble

#5

Thanks guys, I’ll have to get some extended wear lenses.

BTW, I tried to have Lasik done last year, but at the last minute I was told that I wasn’t a good candidate for it since my cornea is relatively thin and my pupils are relatively large. Too big a chance for halos or other complications. But I know several people that have had it and they all have 20/20 now, anyone else who might read this should definitely look into it, it’s worth every penny.

Windex, what do you mean by ‘bounce’?

Cajun

#6

Some hikers use a “bounce box” or supply box on the AT. We put all the hard to find consumables like contacts, solution, water filter cartridges, beer, tp in it. Cost a extra bunch in postage but some thngs are just easier to mail ahead and have later. Like vitamin I. Put a 500 count bottle in there and your good for a few days. Extra film and medicines.

Bushwhack

#7

i used daily wear contacts that i needed to take out every night. i found some great contact solution by alcon called 3 in 1 NO RUB. i was able to get sample sizes and carried that. i cleaned my hands using a purel no rinse rub gel before handling my contacts. believe it or not, i had a great contact summer, never ripped or lost a contact. it can be a pain, but i couldn’t afford lasik so went the traditional route.

yellow