Whether you hike, camp, bike or go
bird watching there is a single subject
you must be ready to deal with this
time of year and it is dealing with the
heat.
We have been lucky this year when it
comes to being hot – but we are
definitely having Michigan weather, so
even though it is comfortable today,
the day after tomorrow could be an
entirely different story.
Of course your main concern when
doing anything in the heat is to remain
hydrated. This may seem like a no-
brainier, but you would be surprised
just how fast you loose fluids from your
body and when you do, a whole new
set of problems begin.
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When you are out in the heat it is time to
begin hitting the bottle, the water bottle
that is. Staying hydrated is the single
most important thing a person can do to
remain healthy in the summer heat. If you
need more than water a sports drink will
do fine, but stay away from sugary drinks,
those containing alcohol and those with
caffeine.
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As we all know, the primary way you loose fluids is through the perspiration
your body uses to help cool it self. When you are doing any sort of physical
activity in the heat the amount of sweat produced can be truly impressive. In
an 8-hour period, a person can produce 4 to 6 liters of sweat. Think about this;
a large soda bottle is 2 liters and you can loose the equivalent of 2 or 3 of
these in an 8-hour period. But not only do you loose “water”, your body is also
drained of electrolytes like sodium, which is why sweat is salty.
If you drink only large amounts of water while you are exercising your body
could then go into a mode of conserving salts the body needs, causing a
person to void very dilute urine and then a vicious cycle begins.
Rule number 1 - Drink plenty of the proper fluids.
By proper I mean water or one of the sport drinks on the market, not beer,
pop, coffee or iced tea, all of which will cause you to void more fluids through
urination.
When you choose a sport drink make sure the sugar content is no greater
than 2.5 grams per 100 ml of water. Sport drinks with high sugar
concentrations slow gastric emptying and delay delivering the fluids your body
needs, and the same happens with pop.
I am one of those people who routinely soak through their clothing when I
exercise in just about any environment above the freezing point and because
of I this worry about my electrolyte levels dropping. The way I work to maintain
a proper balance when I am backpacking when the temperature is high is to
carry a powdered version of a sport drink. I can then make up a liter of it when
I fill my water bottles switching off between water and sport drink when I take a
break. You can also make a home made mixture of 1 teaspoon of salt to a
gallon of water or very simply eat some salty snacks during the day to replace
the salt you loose.
One word of caution for backpackers who use water purification tablets to
treat their water, do not add any type of drink mix to the water before the
treatment time period has passed. Citric acid in many of the mixes can
neutralize the compounds used to purify the water. Once the time period has
passed it is safe to add the drink mix.
Rule number 2 – Protect yourself from the heat.
Sitting or walking in the shade is fine but sometimes you need to be out in the
sun. On a trip my wife and I took a few weeks ago we spent more than a few
hours sitting in tall field grass watching and photographing monarch
butterflies. It was 90 degrees with very little wind to cool us and we were fine.
Each of us wore light colored shirts to reflect the sun and protect our skin
along with wide brimmed hats to protect our heads and shade our eyes. Don’t
get me wrong it was hot and both of us were perspiring as we sat drinking
water and eating a wonderful trail mix that provided the salts we needed.
Rule number 3 – Try to limit activity in the hottest part of the day.
When I am on the trail I often leave camp early, take a rather long lunch break
and then I head back out on the trail when the mid-day heat has subsided.
This way I am doing the least physical activity during the hottest part of the day
just like the rest of the natural world. My wife and I do the same when we are
out observing birds and other wildlife in the summer or during our daily
workout, it only makes sense.
And finally rule number 4- Know your limits.
Face it there are times when the smart thing to do is nothing, just sit and wait
for the heat to subside. If you are on the trail, find some shade and take a long
break and back off on the number of miles you plan on making that day. If you
feel like you are trying to do too much then you probably are. When this
happens it is time to stop because if you don’t, at the least you will pay for it
the next day and at the most you could end up extremely ill. And after all the
whole reason you are out in the wilds is to find some peace and enjoy the
natural world.
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