Hiking in this Hot weather

[bigcranky]

It was mid-90s here in Winston-Salem yesterday. It was below 70 at the Fox Creek trailhead yesterday after the first big thunderstorm came through. (Of course, it didn't get any cooler last night -- just plain hot and humid all night. I just lay there on my sleeping pad and dripped.)

I'm pretty sure it was Bob Peoples who introduced me to the concept of "ten before ten and five after five" for summer hiking -- that is, hike ten miles before 10:00am, and five more after 5:00pm.

Get up really early -- the first hint of light in the sky. Pack up quickly and hit the trail as soon as it's light enough to hike. Walk for 4-5 hours. Find a nice place to hole up during the heat of the day. A shelter is ideal -- shade, a table, and (usually) water nearby. But a shady spot or maybe a nice overlook is also good. Set up a tarp for shade if needed. Drink a lot of water, take nice nap, do any needed camp chores, and eat a large meal mid-day. Drink more water. Late in the afternoon eat a small meal and start hiking again. Hike for a few hours until you find a decent camp site and go to sleep.

The ne plus ultra of this technique is to do it in Shenandoah National Park. Take your afternoon breaks at the waysides or the picnic areas -- water, bathrooms, sometimes hot meals and cold drinks, nice shady spots to sit outside, and tourons from whom you can yogi yet more food. Paradise.

[garlic08]

One thing to keep in mind is that the hottest time of the day is NOT at local noon. That is when the direct sunlight is most intense, but in the same way that a pot does not start to boil the minute you put it over a flame, the air takes some time to heat up, too. So the hottest air temperature of the day is typically in the late afternoon. And the coolest time of day is not at midnight either--it's right before sunrise, because it takes time for the atmosphere to cool down.

You do need to account for direct radiation, for sure. If you're in direct sunlight at noon, it can feel hotter than the warmer air temperatures and longer shadows in the later afternoon.

[DavidNH]

There is no getting used to hot (100 degree) weather. Hike slow, hike in early morning or very late afternoon. Stay in shade much as possible. given the choice, I'd not hike at all in 95+ degrees.

David

[Egads]

The heat isn't so bad for us cyber hikers

[daddytwosticks]

Took a dayhike yesterday from Deep Gap NC to Dick's Creek Gap GA. The temperatures at that elevation were not too bad. It was so humid, the sweat was pouring off me. Soaking wet and sticky too...bla! Glad I was able to get a cool shower in an air-conditioned house post-hike. Oh yeah, didn't see the ferral cat at Plumborchard Shelter.

[Panzer1]

I find that when I'm on the trail in the heat of the summer that I just can't stop hiking because its the hottest part of the day. It all depends on how far I have left to hike for the day. If I still have a long way to go I have to keep hiking despite the heat. In reality you just can't stop because its hot.

Panzer

[Dogwood]

After spending much time working outdoors, in southern FL, AZ(Phoenix), many areas of CA(including San Diego), NV(Las Vegas in the summer), and in drier hotter areas of HI, in the landscaping industry, and doing a few desert hikes the two most important factors for me when working and hiking in hot weather are hydration and sleep. Hard to work or thru-hike in blazing temps w/ any consistent energy when you are tired or dehydrated. No new story - Hydration - is key to maintaing core temp. Pounding beers until 2 a.m. and then expecting to work or hike at 7 a.m. at your optimum level isn't likely to happen!

Also, get out of the heat when needed to cool down(listen to your body!, STOP!) and protect yourself by wearing a visored/wide brimmed HIGHLY BREATHABLE hat, maybe even hike with a sun umbrella. Wear light colored clothing. SLOW DOWN!

Really helps if you're not carrying excessive body wt either!

Hike early(start before 5 a.m.) if it's real hot. Nice to be already chunking down the miles out on the trail as the sun rises! GREAT part of any day, that even many hikers miss! Take a break somewear near the hottest part of the day, usually for me it's between 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Hike until after dark and/or get the headlamp out and do some night hiking. Great hiking out under the stars, especially in the desert, with liitle or no manmade light pollution!

Not only am I conscious of my water intake but also my food requirements. I want to eat enough to fuel my body and mind but still feel light on my feet. I try to avoid foods that are harder to assimilate or digest in high heat(no huge steaks, 1 lb spaghetti dinners, 2 double Big Macs w/ Supersized Fries, etc!). I don't want my body expending unnecessary amounts of energy digesting HUGE meals or hard-to-digest foods. Huge meals make folks feel lethargic. If one is more than, let's say a little chunky, consuming a huge meal and being over wt can be a deadly combination! I heard a AMA statistic that more folks suffer from heart attacks on Thanksgiving Day than any other day of the yr. NOW, factor in high heat and strenuous activity into that scenario and you get the picture!

Some foods actually assist us to stay cool. Everyone's probably heard the phrase "cool as a cucumber." That's because cucumbers actually help us stay cool! Several other foods also apply - radishes, mint(spearmint), berries, cantalope, watermelon, citrus, celery, spinach or lettuce leaves, etc. In HOT HOT HOT weather I'll carry a few radishes, some cut-up melon, a small orange, stalk of celery, blueberries, strawberries, small bag of spinach leaves, etc out to the trail to be readily eaten and to hepl me stay cool.

I have experienced mild to somewhat severe dehydration. That has taught me some good lessons, but what was just as fatiguing and disorienting was the condition I experienced known as hyponatremia.

'The opposite of dehydration is a condition known as hyponatremia. No, it doesn't mean "drowning"; it actually means "low sodium" and is sometimes referred to as water intoxication. Drinking too much water in too short a time overwhelms the kidneys and can cause a sudden drop in blood sodium levels. Sodium is one of the body's electrolytes (the others are potassium, chloride and bicarbonate). A drop in sodium leads to water entering the brain, causing it to swell. Results include lethargy, disorientation, confusion, seizures, coma and death.

Hyponatremia typically occurs in hot weather when people engage in strenuous activities, sweat a great deal, and then drink gallons of plain water. The answer for people like marathon runners who sweat profusely is a sports drink that will replace the lost electrolytes. *An alternative is a quart of water to which you add a half teaspoon each of salt and baking soda. *Hyponatremia will not happen to people who spread their normal intake of water over the course of a day.'

I mix my trail water w/ Emergen-C packets w/ MSM. alpha-Lipoic acid, vitamins, and electrolytes. Has worked for me.

[ASUGrad]

We've been getting some fairly mild evenings (post 5PM) because of storm activity. Today will be the high of about 88. Then we go back to 83 for a high. You need to keep potassium and sodium coming with your water. But we aren't seeing 90's yet in SW Va

[Sierra Echo]

We've been getting some fairly mild evenings (post 5PM) because of storm activity. Today will be the high of about 88. Then we go back to 83 for a high. You need to keep potassium and sodium coming with your water. But we aren't seeing 90's yet in SW Va

88 sounds nice! Our high today is 95 with a heat index of 107.
I'm really glad I'm not working today~!

[Egads]

Heat index is already 106 in Atl at 11:45 AM

[sbhikes]

I don't find that the heat really bothers me that much, at least out here in the West. I don't have much experience with humidity. The few times I've been in the East I really enjoyed the humidity. I loved standing on the subway in New York with my skin shiny from sweat. I wish it would get that way where I live.

I agree it is hard to stop for the heat of the day. When you stop, it seems hotter to me. It is hard to find any good shade at the hot part of the day. If the shade isn't cool, it'll feel hotter to stop because you won't have any air movement against your skin. At least when you are walking you get some air movement. So I usually just keep on walking. I also wear a good hat, long sleeves and pants. It seems like it would be hotter (and maybe it is hotter in humid places, I don't know) but when my sweat builds up in my long sleeved shirt and I feel a small breeze, it feels cold and good. I can also dunk my long sleeves and pants in a creek and get cool that way. The clothing forms a microclimate near your skin. You don't see desert people in other parts of the world wearing tank tops and shorts.

I've started keeping a log of how often it is colder where I live than Fairbanks Alaska. So far, Fairbanks is warmer. Much warmer. So I kind of envy you all complaining about the heat. Oh well, I guess I'll put on my down jacket and walk to work now.

[Skyline]

10 before 10, 5 after 5 = 15 mile day.

Stay hydrated and stay wet, wear appropriate clothing as another post identified--it will make the untolerable barely tolerable.

[Luddite]

After hiking in the southwest in the middle of summer last year I will never feel hot ever again in the east.

I really don't find humidity to be a problem. I live in S. Florida, its probably 80% humidity today.

[dsquid]

I got hit by dehydration in Vermont this past weekend. It was in the upper 80's and humid, and despite the fact that I pounded a couple liters of water, I definitely in retrospect should've been drinking more. I pulled into camp feeling very sluggish and even a bit disoriented. The last 4 miles were basically an ORDEAL.

I hit the spring, and after putting a cold, wet bandana on my head, filtered some water and drank another 2 liters straight away. I felt 100% better almost immediately. Lesson learned - carry more water than you need and drink more than you have thirst for. I've heard this a million times - now I've learned it firsthand.

[medicjimr]

Just pacing your self , Hydrating yourself If I let the weather dictate when and when I can't hike I would never get out.

[Cookerhiker]

I don't find that the heat really bothers me that much, at least out here in the West. I don't have much experience with humidity. The few times I've been in the East I really enjoyed the humidity. I loved standing on the subway in New York with my skin shiny from sweat. I wish it would get that way where I live.....

You can have the Eastern humidity - take it please!

[Sierra Echo]

Northern humidity is nowhere as bad as Southern humidity.
Although I would say in NYC it could get really hot with all that heat backing the concrete.

[Panzer1]

tomorrow will be the 5th day in a row of 90 degrees of higher.

Panzer
(staying inside today)

[Praha4]

I've recently done 13 mile hikes on the fairly easy hills at Torreya State Park in northwest Florida in daytime temps in mid 90s with high humidity ... it is bad, especially with swarming mosquitos along the cypress swamps.... the humidity takes as much out of a hiker as hiking the AT in north GA, NC and TN in the springtime. Best way to try to stay cool is soak your shirt and a bandana in cool water at every spring/stream and stay wet while you hike. The high humidity does not allow the human body to cool itself by sweating, hence more danger of heat exhaustion in those conditions. The entire east coast is stuck in a miserable heat wave of late, temps in the 90s up the east coast. Give me the pacific northwest, Seattle still getting the 60s and 70s in June.

[njordan2]

I drink a lot of water in this weather and make sure I eat enough salty foods. The last part is pretty easy considering what most of us eat on the trail. Also be sure to eat foods with high mineral contents for dinner, such as nuts, beans and tubers.

Start hiking early in the day and put the most miles in before noon. When I hit the trail the other day, the radio said it was 78degrees at 5:30am!

For example, earlier this week in Shenandoah, I drank 8 liters, (over two gallons), of water in one day. This was just the comfortable amount of water to drink that day; I never got thirsty. So with that kind of hydration, you can see what I mean by keeping your mineral quantity up.