Too Hot To Hike

[Mother Natures Son]

I took the advice for some on this list and went for a hike. It was 91F by the time I hit the trail. (South Central PA) The humidity was off the scale! I passed only one other hiker and he was felling the heat as well. Has anyone hike in weather like this?

[Old Hiker]

Central Florida. Nuff said.

[Slo-go'en]

I did the last 20 miles to DWG on a heat index advisory day - it was brutal! A couple of years later I started at DWG and hiked to Mass at the start of a 10 day heat wave in late July. At least that streach had a lake or pond to jump into every couple of days.

These days I try to avoid hiking in the summer. I much perfer the cooler spring and fall temps. I hope it cools down soon, I'm getting fat and lazy again. As soon as I can pinch an inch, I know it's been too long...

[The Solemates]

I must admit I am a 3 season hiker. Just so happens that my 3 seasons exclude summer, not winter. The summer is for water skiing.

[Roll Tide]

Move to Alabama, 90+ degrees and high humidity is normal from May to October! So 91 is not bad at all.

[Dogwood]

I must admit I'm too hot to hike too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39YUXIKrOFk

I'm too sexy for the AT. I'm too sexy for my trail runners. I'm too sexy for WB.

[Carbo]

Assuming all other bodily systems are in good shape, once you get soaked with sweat it's not bad. Just be careful to consume the electrolytes to replace those being flushed out with the heavy sweating.

[Mrs Baggins]

Yep. I have no problems with it at all . I take all the water that I can carry and I drink well and deeply. I'll be soaked thru with sweat at the end of the hike but that just makes that cold draft beer and a nice shower all that much better.

[slbirdnerd]

I bailed a couple miles into a weekend trip here in Ohio... I could have dealt with the heat (90), and possibly the humidity, but the gnats and skeeters were relentless! After picking several out of my nose and not being able to get one out of my eye, I went home. I was bummed out but I'll go back in a few weeks when it's cooler/less humid.

[Tuckahoe]

I didnt get out and hike. But I did get 20 miles on the bike in, which included a ride out to Busch Gardens (picked up some aluminum beer bottles to try making stoves).

[Gorgiewave]

I'm thinking of going from Delaware Water Gap to somewhere in Massachusetts in August next year. Is it likely to be hell?

[Gorgiewave]

PS: Does soaking oneself in water before setting off help much with heat and humidity?

[Praha4]

I feel your pain. I live in NW Florida and that is the hiking weather we deal with here for the majority of the year. My favorite place around here to hike is Torreya State Park along the banks of the Appalachicola River. Was over there 3 weeks ago in 93+ temps with high humidity, heat index well over 100, no breeze, swarms of mosquitos, flies and gnats. And as I finished up for the day I realized I would take the toughest trails in New England in the fall any day over Torreya in mid August. The heat/humidity sucks the life out of you, and frankly it can get dangerous with risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke if one is not careful.

[Praha4]

Gorgiewave: yes, that's the best way to try and help. When I went thru Army Airborne school at Ft Benning, GA in August 1975, we had daily temps in the 90s with high humidity. The school setup crude outdoor showers, and the student were run thru the showers in our fatigue uniforms every hour to keep us soaking wet. It helped with the heat, but during "Ground Week", when we spent every day learning PLF's (parachute landing falls) in the sawdust pits, it made for miserable rashes in uncomfortable locations. Wish we had some Body Glide back in those days, sure would have helped.

[Tuckahoe]

PS: Does soaking oneself in water before setting off help much with heat and humidity?

If you are capable of drying off it may. But the reality is that on humid days you are just going to be damp, and its not a comfortable damp.

[Gorgiewave]

If you are capable of drying off it may. But the reality is that on humid days you are just going to be damp, and its not a comfortable damp.

I'd rather be damp with cool water from a stream or lake and save as much water and salts from inside my body as possible.

I imagine at night it will be a different story.

[Tuckahoe]

You wont be cool but for a few moments. With humidity there is less cooling evaporation and you'll be hot wet and sticky.

[Jeff]

Sticky humid even here in Vermont. By the middle of the week lows at night in the 40's !!!

[Rasty]

You wont be cool but for a few moments. With humidity there is less cooling evaporation and you'll be hot wet and sticky.

Very hot days are the best time for a cotton t-shirt soaked in a stream.

[Nooga]

I hate hiking in the heat. A wet bandana wrapped around the neck helps some....
The heat in PA kicked my ass last year!

[lostagain]

Well, I live in Texas. right now (7:04pm CST) it's 101* outside. So, no. I don't hike in the heat as it's pretty dangerous. At least not weekend long hikes. A few hours for exercise, but that's early in the morning.

[johnnybgood]

I've been hiking all summer. Need to stay hydrated , keeping electrolytes replenished and take more short breaks.

When a water source comes along use it as a way to soak a bandanna or hat for wearing.

[Dogwood]

I switch to HOT weather hiking mode making adjustments. I hike in HOT(100* + temps) weather but prefer doing it in HOT DRY rather than HOT HUMID weather. Life goes on which to me means the hike goes on. When the day time temps regularly hit the 90s I switch to night time mode and avoid hiking between 11a.m.-12p.m. to 4 p.m. Hydrate, keep electrolytes up, get the proper sleep, cool your body temp when possible(wide brimmed sun hat, long sleeved desert type shirt, light wt breathable desert pants, etc), take breaks, etc

[Drybones]

Move to Alabama, 90+ degrees and high humidity is normal from May to October! So 91 is not bad at all.

For me 91 is too hot to car camp, 80 is just about my limit...I'm a wus.

[Ewker]

When a water source comes along use it as a way to soak a bandanna or hat for wearing.

With all the rain we have had you would think the water sources would be flowing. Yesterday we passed quite a few that had dried up already.

[Feral Bill]

Avoid mid day. Nap instead.

[The Cleaner]

I went out last Friday for 2 nights to do a much needed clean up at Jerry's Cabin shelter. It was only 74* at the campground where I started. The trail is actually a jeep road and crosses a creek 6 times. Instead of carrying a lot of water I took my filter and just stopped several times and drank filtered creek water mixed with a powdered drink mix. At the last creek crossing the temp was 66* but the humidity was at the wicked level. After hiking only 3 hours I was totally soaked in sweat, even my underware was wet. I camped at an overlook near the end of the trail/jeep road and there was a good spring there. I had a great time got the shelter cleaned up by 2pm Saturday and had only met a few day hikers. About 5pm a single section hiker showed up so I stayed at the shelter due to forecast heavy rain which did arrive after midnight.Got up on Sunday and hiked to Jones Meadow and called Hemlock Hollow for a shuttle. I got caught in 2 heavy showers and wearing my raincoat felt like a sauna suit. I was going to hike all the way to Allen Gap but my iphone radar app showed more showers moving. I was already soaked again and had accomplished the total clean up at the shelter. Got down to HH about 2:30 and got home by 3pm. The worst thing that happened was a nice case of "junk rot" due to hiking several hours soaked in sweat. Here's a few pics for those interested.237772377823779237802378123782

[jimmyjam]

Yep it's been too hot too buggy for me.makes it hard to sleep at night. so i stopped hiking until mid september or so.

[Another Kevin]

I went out last Friday for 2 nights to do a much needed clean up at Jerry's Cabin shelter.

Yuuuck! Thanks for trashing out!

[Marmaduke]

On a whim Friday night I decided to go to Shenandoah, leaving Ohio at around 8pm. Finally ended up set up at camp (in the last available campsite) and on the trail by 2pm......... The higher you climb in SNP, the hotter it seems to get....... the opposite of the Long Trail which I just got off of recently. I think in SNP, it's like you're climbing a stairwell to the sun. :)

[Slo-go'en]

Hopefully we'll soon be complaining it's too cold to hike :) Around here it goes from too frigg'en hot to too frigg'en cold too frigg'en fast! There's only a few days in between when it's really nice and those couple of days should be arriving real soon now.

[The Solemates]

Hopefully we'll soon be complaining it's too cold to hike :) Around here it goes from too frigg'en hot to too frigg'en cold too frigg'en fast! There's only a few days in between when it's really nice and those couple of days should be arriving real soon now.

it gets too hot there?
http://www.weather.com/weather/wxclimatology/monthly/graph/03593