Camping and Diabetes

I just got back yesterday from a wonderful two weeks off, a lot of which was spent camping.  Ryan and I spent three days in Slave Lake with the dogs enjoying the sunshine and a lot of time swimming in the lake.  The dogs thought it was the best time of their life and us humans had fun too.  After a few days at home and an appointment with my new Endo (post to follow), we headed off to British Columbia for nine days of camping.  Spent the first two nights just outside of Revelstoke and spent our time relaxing, staying up too late, mini-hikes and a great canoe trip on the Columbia River.  Our next stop was Vernon and we stayed at a Provincial Park on Lake Okanagan.  I just love this area, it is too beautiful for words.  The weather was hot!!  We spent our days hiking, swimming, suntanning, playing tennis, Ryan went golfing, cooking delicious campfire food, visiting Kelowna, having picnics and of course going to some wineries.  Every morning we were up at a good time and had lots to do.  On the way home we stopped in Radium for two nights and Ryan went golfing while I hit the spa for a massage and salt scrub.  Sleeping in a tent trailer for eight nights takes a toll on the body!

Preparing for a long camping trip can be quite time intensive.  You have to pack clothes for all kinds of weather, food and so on.  Then you add diabetic supplies into the mix.  Since I knew the weather was going to be hot, I made sure I kept my insulin in the cooler as much as possible to keep it from spoiling.  I brought along extra insulin pens and a whole stack of needles and strips, just in case.  I was armed with glucose and granola bars in case of lows and had my waterproof medical ID bracelet with me.  Although it took a bit of extra planning, it really was not a big deal and I managed to keep all my supplies safe.

I have to say that my blood sugars loved being on vacation.  My sugars were perfect the entire time.  I had one high of 14 when I had misjudged the carbs in a meal, but other than that they stayed happily in range.  I experienced a few mild lows, but nothing too serious at all.  I ate healthy so I am sure that helped, but I did indulge in some drinks and suffered no ill effect.  I put it down to being stress free and relatively active most of the time.  Now if only I could find out a way to be on vacation all the time!  We already have out next one booked, San Francisco in September :)