Hydration while Hiking

When I first moved to Seattle, I learned that this is a place for "outdoor people."  You know the type... people who like to do activities outside for fun.  Hiking, fishing, skiing, snow shoeing, biking, boating, camping, backpacking, rock climbing... basically a lot of things I wasn't really into.  Prior to moving here, I ran outside or went for walks and I have always loved to kayak, but mostly my outdoor activities were barbecueing and sitting by a pool.  Eager to fit in and make friends in the PNW, I accepted an invitation from a coworker to hike at Mount Rainier.  We had probably walked about two miles when I said... "Ummm.... I don't think I've ever actually hiked before."

"What do ya mean?" she asked. "Well," I replied, "Connecticut doesn't really have high mountains.  I can see we are still headed away from the car and have probably already walked two miles, but my previous hikes would never have surpassed maybe 3 miles and were a lot flatter.  I'm not sure if I'm well enough prepared for what we're going to do today." She did the smartest thing you could possibly do in that moment.  She asked what was in my backpack.  What was my water situation? I had two 20-oz plastic bottles in my backpack, both mostly frozen still.  Did I mention it was August and at least 70 degrees in direct sunlight?  What else was I carrying?  I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple, an extra pair of socks, and a long sleeve shirt.  That was it. 

Mt. Rainier August 2016

I ran out of water.  I ran out of food.  And my phone said we walked about 12 miles that day. By the time we got to the car, my legs felt like brick walls and you can imagine how my feet did walking that much in an old pair of NIKE Shox tennis shoes.  But the view!

Since that first hike in August 2016, I have regularly fallen into the trap of agreeing to hike with this same friend.  If it sounds like I'm blaming her, I'm not. I really love going.  I've seen some really incredible places and made a great friend along the way... I just tend to hit a wall of physical misery somewhere around 10 miles of walking and she does an awesome job of finding us 12 mile hikes.  We recently went to the Olympic Peninsula and did the Dungeness Spit hike... my phone says we walked 14 miles that day. I feel like I keep falling for the same trick... or I keep asking for it!

Every time we go for a hike, I think I get better with my preparation.  I no longer wear all cotton.  I now have a Camelbak Backpack that can carry multiple liters of water.  (This same hiking friend got it for me, isn't she the best?!)  I carry sunscreen so I can re-apply.  I carry nail clippers and band aids and a small amount of medical stuff in case there is a need for it.  There is a lot more food on every outing, also.  As a physical therapist, I really should have known the importance of hydration and nutrition on this amount of physical exertion as well as for recovery, but I really didn't know how under prepared I had been.

Recently I was chatting with some of my current coworkers discussing the basic things you should have when you hike.  I don't really feel the need to carry fire starting materials or shelter when I go for a day hike, because I don't plan to spend the night in the wilderness, but some websites recommend you prepare to be stuck out there and carry these types of things. Also, I have an irrational fear of getting lost and a terrible sense of direction, so I should probably prepare better for this type of situation. If you're curious to know more about the basic essentials you should bring hiking or camping, REI has a post about it, here, and I'm sure they'll sell you all the equipment listed so that you can have the safest hiking or camping experience ever!

But today the focus is hydration.  Water is essential for our survival.  This scientific paper was really interesting and explains a lot about the importance of hydration.  Water makes up our blood, helps regulate our body temperature, serves to transport nutrients and wastes, and is an essential component of cellular processes.  The paper states "during challenging athletic events, it is not uncommon for an athlete to lose 6-10% of their body weight... decrements in performance can occur with as little as 2% loss of body weight" Running out of water while hiking or exercising can be scary because drinking water found in nature can make you really sick.  I don't know all the rules, I just know that when I ran out, my friend wouldn't let me drink from the lake because of the risk of bacterial infections which lead to serious tummy aches... and other gastrointestinal issues that I'll spare you the details of.  Just know that if you drink water in the wild, you could end up feeling really miserable.  Fortunately she had enough water to share to finish our hike.  But how much should you bring when you have to carry it and it can be super heavy? 

I read several websites and articles looking for the recommendations.  Most of what I found says a half liter for every hour you plan to be out walking.  More water if it's hot, if you're going on a steep incline/heavy exertion hike, you're not a regularly trained hiker, you sweat a lot, or you tend to drink a lot of water in general. 

If you're thirsty, you're already probably a bit dehydrated and need to drink.  In fact, the paper  listed above describes the need to drink before you reach this point, even when not thirsty, while being active.  There are recommendations of consuming water every 20 minutes, but again, this really varies based on exertion level, fitness level, temperature, and sweating.  Still, dehydration and heat stresses can become medical emergencies if they're not properly handled.  Conversely, you can drink too much water without sufficient salt which is also a medical problem.

You can actually find out a more specific amount of water you should consume by weighing yourself, exercising while measuring your water intake, and then re-weighing yourself.  The Seattle Storm go through this every season in order to try to determine how much fluid replacement players might need for optimal recovery after practice and games.  Fluid replacement is important with exercise of all types, but for today, I'll just try to be safer while hiking and be prepared as much as I can be for the conditions I'm expecting.  There are so many other important reasons to consider hydration.  In the clinic, we discuss drinking more water with patients experiencing post concussion syndrome and chronic pain a lot, also headaches, and anyone experiencing dizziness.  In general, we probably all need to drink more water, particularly when we're active.  Let's hope the summer sunshine is here to stay in Seattle, and here's to a summer filled with gorgeous hikes!