kypaddler,

You've got a good idea there with the paddle in the pool. Not a bad way to go if you can't actually get out on the water, and have a pool at your disposal.

Jimbo also has a good point about being able to haul yourself or a group member out of the park, if the unthinkable were to happen. In that kind of situation, you'd really be thanking yourself or your buddies for staying in fighting trim! If I went down somewhere, most of my friends wouldn't be able to get me very far. I'd probably make better time crawling on my own.

A related story:

A few years ago, my friend Thad and I went hiking out in the ND badlands. Neither of us were in very good shape at the time, and to make a long story short, we ran out of useable water and due to the 85+ degree heat (Easter weekend!) we decided to hike back to the truck after the sun went down. Earlier that day I had strained my quad going down a steep hill, and soon after we started the hike back, I strained the other one crossing a dry stream bed.

We had taken a shortcut on the way out, by basically glissading down a 600-foot bluff face, and there was no way we'd be able to do it going the other way, so we had to try and find the real trail on the way back. Easier said then done in the dark, with no moon, and when the real trail and the maze of bison trails are nearly impossible to tell apart. Each step of the way (around 4 1/2 miles) was excruciating, and we ended up backtracking more than a few times when we followed the wrong trail. I remember a few moments where we were a half-step away from killing each other over disagreements on which was the right trail.

We made it back to the truck a few hours before sunrise, and thankfully, we had several gallons of water stashed away that we were unable to take with us on the way in. It took a few days before I could walk again without pain, and it took almost a year before my friend and I made plans to take another hiking trip together - this time much better prepared. He's still one of the only guys I ever go on trips with, but lately he's been tied down with his IT career, so hence my foray into the world of solo.

It was a humbling experience, and a valuable lesson, but simply being in better shape would have allowed for a much better (and much safer) trip to begin with. A few hours every other day is a small investment in one's overall health, not to mention in pulling off the trip of the year.

Another $0.03