Hiking in Hot Weather
When the weather turns deadly hot, if you’re not prepare you could find yourself in quite a pickle.
- Pack for your hike the night before and be ready to go in just s few minutes the next morning.
- 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!)
- 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.
- 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.
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