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Field Safety

Don’t Get Too Hot

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Over Heated while Hiking in the Summer Heat

  1. If you start to get hot, stop or at least slow down. Take a break in a cool shady spot. This includes plopping down in the middle of a creek and taking your shoes off and sticking your feet in the water!
  2. Hydrate and eat something with a little salt in it like some peanuts, pecans, pistachios, or walnuts and some sugar like M&Ms. Eat tiny amounts of your trail mix rather than eating a huge granola bar which will just sit there in your stomach like a grumpy cinder block.
  3. If you start to feel dizzy, exhausted, extremely sleepy, or nauseous — you need immediate help — time to ring up the park rangers or your pals. Signs of heat exhaustion include:
    • Profuse sweating
    • Feelings of tiredness or fatigue
    • Weakness in the body
    • Muscle cramps
    • Headaches
    • Nausea

 

Mt Airy Forest (4)

Be Safe and Hike Happy — no one likes a ticked off hiker. 😉

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Successful Summer Hikes

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I have seen many bad decisions made on the trail because of dehydration and over-exertion.

Don’t let this happen to you.

  1. Get up early — so you have enough time to eat and get to your destination before the crack of dawn has even though about showing itself.*
  2. Dress in light water wicking clothing and the hiking shoes that work for you. In hot weather, I hike in a pair of Teva sandals or my Keen mesh hiking shoes (yes, these are also affiliate links. I appreciate your support!) depending on the trail and how many sharp rocks I may encounter.
  3. Eat breakfast, skip the caffeine, have an OJ, and drink lots of water.
  4. Tell your keepers where you are going to be and what trails you are hiking.
  5. When you arrive at your hiking destination — park where you think there will be shade and if there is no shade — don’t forget to put up your sun-shield in your car and cover your steering wheel with a beach towel. It’s going to be hot in there when you get back. ((I usually pack a cooler full of ice with a few extra Nalgene bottles full of crushed ice, that way when I get back I have some nice cold water to drink.))
  6. Make sure your vehicle is locked and any valuables are well hidden (BTW — you should leave the valuables at home). If you do have valuable don’t go hiding them in the trunk while you are in the parking lot. You might as well paint a big target on your car. You never know who could be standing just a few feet into the woodline and watching the parking lot.
  7. Start your hike.
  8. Stay hydrated through out the hike.
  9. Take it easy hiking. Don’t go running through the woods.
  10. Enjoy your hike and that icy cold water when you get back to your car!

Hike early and get done before the big wallop of heat hits in the early afternoon hours. (Big wallop is a technical term, I just made up — you can use it to look super smart in front of all your friends. I give you permission that’s a $59 Value!)

* The crack on dawn occurs roughly one-half hour before the listed sunrise time. If you have great night vision or a really good flashlight and know the trail well, you could push this time a little further into the black and get hiking in the wee hours of the morning. NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) has an accurate sunrise/sunset calculator here.

Be Safe and Hike Happy — no one likes a ticked off hiker. 😉

Boone Co Cliffs (5)

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Hike Often. Live More.

Safe Hot Weather Hiking

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Hiking in Hot Weathercnc steps

When the weather turns deadly hot, if you’re not prepare you could find yourself in quite a pickle.

 

  1. Pack for your hike the night before and be ready to go in just s few minutes the next morning.
  2. Bring along lots of water. Whatever bottle or pack system works for you. Camelbak, Nalgene, Vapur, or Platypus. (The links to products are affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you extra to buy via these links but I get a small tiny microscopic percentage of the sale which helps me pay for fun things like hosting fees for this website. So, please do me a favor and purchase through my affiliate links. Thanks!)
  3. Pack at least one plastic water bottle of water. I’m not a fan of these plastic bottles but I have ran into so many people in distress on the trail, I started carrying at least one, to be able to help someone out without giving them my expensive water bottle and…um…my water.
  4. Here is some insight on how much water you need (straight from my book):

How much is enough?

Well, one simple physiological fact should convince you to err on the side of excess when deciding how much water to pack: A hiker working hard in 90-degree heat needs approximately 10 quarts of fluid per day. That’s 2.5 gallons—12 large water bottles or 16 small ones. In other words, pack along one or two bottles even for short hikes.Some hikers and backpackers hit the trail prepared to purify water found along the route. This method, while less dangerous than drinking it untreated, comes with risks. Purifiers with ceramic filters are the safest. Many hikers pack along the slightly distasteful tetraglycine-hydroperiodide tablets to debug water (sold under the names Potable Aqua, Coughlan’s, and others).Probably the most common waterborne “bug” that hikers face is Giardia, which may not hit until one to four weeks after ingestion. It will have you living in the bathroom, passing noxious rotten-egg gas, vomiting, and shivering with chills. Other parasites to worry about include E. coli and Cryptosporidium, both of which are harder to kill than Giardia.For most people, the pleasures of hiking make carrying water a relatively minor price to pay to remain healthy. If you’re tempted to drink “found water,” do so only if you understand the risks involved. Better yet, hydrate prior to your hike, carry (and drink) 6 ounces of water for every mile you plan to hike, and hydrate after the hike.

Mary Gray (30)

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6P Axiom: Hiking in Hot Weather

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cnc stepsThe weather has turned deadly hot and if you don’t prepare well you could find yourself in quite a pickle.

When I was writing the book and on deadline, I hiked in all kinds of weather — snow, sleet, rain and in temperatures ranging from Arctic Blasts to Deep Jungle. (I made that last one up). The reason I hiked in all this crappy weather was because if you wait for the perfect idyllic hiking weather, you’ll hike about 5 days out of 365 and when your book is on deadline — you have to get it done the weather doesn’t matter!

So, back to hiking in the heat.

  1. Pack for your hike the night before and be ready to go in just s few minutes the next morning.
  2. Bring along lots of water. Whatever bottle or pack system works for you. Camelbak, Nalgene, Vapur, or Platypus. (The links to products are affiliate links. It doesn’t cost you extra to buy via these links but I get a small tiny microscopic percentage of the sale which helps me pay for fun things like hosting fees for this website. So, please do me a favor and purchase through my affiliate links. Thanks!)
  3. I also pack at least one disposable water bottle of water. I’m not a fan of these plastic bottles but I have ran into so many people in distress on the trail, I started carrying at least one, to be able to help someone out without giving them my expensive water bottle and…um…my water.
  4. Here is some insight on how much water you need (straight from my book): How much is enough? Well, one simple physiological fact should convince you to err on the side of excess when deciding how much water to pack: A hiker working hard in 90-degree heat needs approximately 10 quarts of fluid per day. That’s 2.5 gallons—12 large water bottles or 16 small ones. In other words, pack along one or two bottles even for short hikes.Some hikers and backpackers hit the trail prepared to purify water found along the route. This method, while less dangerous than drinking it untreated, comes with risks. Purifiers with ceramic filters are the safest. Many hikers pack along the slightly distasteful tetraglycine-hydroperiodide tablets to debug water (sold under the names Potable Aqua, Coughlan’s, and others).Probably the most common waterborne “bug” that hikers face is Giardia, which may not hit until one to four weeks after ingestion. It will have you living in the bathroom, passing noxious rotten-egg gas, vomiting, and shivering with chills. Other parasites to worry about include E. coli and Cryptosporidium, both of which are harder to kill than Giardia.For most people, the pleasures of hiking make carrying water a relatively minor price to pay to remain healthy. If you’re tempted to drink “found water,” do so only if you understand the risks involved. Better yet, hydrate prior to your hike, carry (and drink) 6 ounces of water for every mile you plan to hike, and hydrate after the hike.Mary Gray (30)
  5. Get up early — so you have enough time to eat and get to your destination before the crack of dawn has even though about showing itself.*
  6. Dress in light water wicking clothing and the hiking shoes that work for you. In hot weather, I hike in a pair of Teva sandals or my Keen mesh hiking shoes (yes, these are also affiliate links. I appreciate your support!) depending on the trail and how many sharp rocks I may encounter.
  7. Eat breakfast, skip the caffeine, have an OJ, and drink lots of water.
  8. Tell your keepers where you are going to be and what trails you are hiking.
  9. When you arrive at your hiking destination — park where you think there will be shade and if there is no shade — don’t forget to put up your sun-shield in your car and cover your steering wheel with a beach towel. It’s going to be hot in there when you get back. ((I usually pack a cooler full of ice with a few extra Nalgene bottles full of crushed ice, that way when I get back I have some nice cold water to drink.))
  10. Make sure your vehicle is locked and any valuables are well hidden (BTW — you should leave the valuables at home).
  11. Start your hike.
  12. Stay hydrated through out the hike.
  13. Take it easy hiking. Don’t go running through the woods.
  14. Enjoy your hike and that icy cold water when you get back to your car!

Over Heated

  1. If you start to get hot, stop or at least slow down. Take a break in a cool shady spot. This includes plopping down in the middle of a creek and taking your shoes off and sticking your feet in the water!
  2. Hydrate and eat something with a little salt in it like some peanuts, pecans, pistachios, or walnuts and some sugar like M&Ms. Eat tiny amounts of your trail mix rather than eating a huge granola bar which will just sit there like a cinder block.
  3. If you start to feel dizzy, exhausted, extremely sleepy, or nauseous — you need immediate help — time to ring up the park rangers or your pals. Signs of heat exhaustion include:
    • Profuse sweating
    • Feelings of tiredness or fatigue
    • Weakness in the body
    • Muscle cramps
    • Headaches
    • Nausea

I have seen many bad decisions made on the trail because of dehydration and over-exertion. Don’t let this happen to you.

Hike early and get done before the big wallop of heat hits in the early afternoon hours. (Big wallop is a technical term, I just made up — you can use it to look super smart in front of all your friends. I give you permission that’s a $59 Value!)

* The crack on dawn occurs roughly one-half hour before the listed sunrise time. If you have great night vision or a really good flashlight and know the trail well, you could push this time a little further into the black and get hiking in the wee hours of the morning. NOAA (National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration) has an accurate sunrise/sunset calculator here.

Be Safe and Hike Happy — no one likes a ticked off hiker. 😉

Boone Co Cliffs (5)

Sign-up for me little ole newsletter by clicking below.

Hike Often. Live More.

Ticks

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While researching the first edition of 60 Hikes within 60 Miles Cincinnati, I hiked at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Indiana. It was a beautiful sunny day at the beginning of spring. I had on the hiking gear and had used a DEET bug spray.

The trail was the East River Trail which is no longer maintained. I meandered back a long lane and then took the trail into a young woods. The trail exited the cool woods and I found myself walking through a field of tall grasses warmed by the sun. Redbuds were just at the point of considering the possibility of flowering.

It had rained for several days prior to my journey and the ground squished and burbled with every step.

At one point, I recall looking down at my pant leg and thinking, “Wow! I got a lot of mud on me.”

If I’m near mud, I typically find a way of getting on my pants, shirt, face, hands, arms, etc. without really trying. Then, I realized with great horror that the mud was shiny and worse still – it was moving.

TICKS!

Thousands and thousands of ticks. Ticks that apparently didn’t give a damn about DEET.

I screamed and took off running.

I ran screaming before finally reluctantly realizing that I wouldn’t be able to outrun the ticks that were still making their slow and methodical journey up my pant legs.

I fumbled out a credit card out of my wallet and hurriedly scrapped swathes and mounds of ticks off my legs as I was run hiking and cursing.

The trail reentered the woods and there was a small square bench and in the middle of the bench was a 4 x 4 wood pole with hooks.

I debated for all of a second:

  • Trail literally in the middle of nowhere
  • Trail was not officially open because of the earlier rain
  • Ticks still crawling up my legs

A decision was made!

I stripped. I shed my clothes and began picking ticks off of my pants, shirt, boots, socks, bra….you get the idea. I figured if anyone else was hiking, they would be doing the exact same thing I was doing and we would swear each other to eternal secrecy.

About 30 minutes later, I felt confident that the majority of the ticks were not on me or my clothing. I redressed and continued the hike continually freaking out whenever I felt anything touch my skin. I checked my navel, head, inside and outside of my ears just shy of a million times.

When I got back to the car, I changed all my clothes and put the hiking clothes and boots into a black trash bag and gave serious consideration to setting it on fire but then decided maybe that was a bit extreme.

Heading to our hotel (and quietly thanking God we had opted for a hotel), I was constantly checking for ticks. The kids made fun of me but were also grossed out. Hubby just sighed.

After taking a LONG HOT shower, I dumped the bag of clothing into the tub. I was grossed out and surprised to see ticks heading for the warm walls of the bathtub.

I’m happy to report, I killed all of the ticks – a bit zealously.

Here is some more scientific info on ticks: