8 ms·

"carrying along more than a liter or two of water is just plain realistic." Well if you say so! Also, I hike a ton, many miles up many mountains. 3 liters real

"carrying along more than a liter or two of water is just plain realistic." Well if you say so! Also, I hike a ton, many miles up many mountains. 3 liters really isn't that much weight at all, many camelbak style products support that volume, and will get you through a pretty long and arduous day. In my experience 12-15 miles in hot climates.

nzjixiv 8y ago
Is your comment meant to argue your quote? I cannot parse what you are trying to say. Beepbbooop
st26 8y ago
You lose between 1-2L/hr of moderate exercise. To stay fully hydrated and performing well, you would thus probably want to drink 5-10L ish on those hikes, leaning towards the high side if it's hot and arid. You certainly can get by with less, but that's not the point.
- def_true_false 8y ago
  You generally aren't cooling down through sweating alone, so those figures sound a little high. I can't really come up with anything that would make me drink 10L and still qualify as 'moderate exercise'.
- overcast 8y ago
  1-2L/hr is ridiculous. No one would be able take any reasonable hikes without bringing a burrow with them. 15 mile hike is roughly 4-5hrs across rough terrain. I've done tons of of them without any signs of dehydration.
handbanana 8y ago
I drink at least 4L of fluid on a normal day. For what you describe I'd probably double it.
- dorfsmay 8y ago
  But do you need that much? A lot of people drink out of habit, also a lot of drinks make you thirsty.
  - handbanana 8y ago
    I pace myself, I don't drink all of that at once, or quickly, and its not all water. Some of that fluid count is milk
- overcast 8y ago
  You're also probably spending half the day pissing it all out as well. You absolutely do not need 8 liters of water for anything I just described.
  - utkarshsinha 8y ago
    I suspect the sweating would factor in as well. I'd probably double the 8 liters just to be safe. Dehydration is real.
    - peterwwillis 8y ago
      I mean, this is a funny troll, but I hope nobody actually packs 16 liters of water for a one day hike. This is a recipe for hyponatremia, a rare yet serious condition of too low blood sodium levels from overhydration. I don't think most adults should need more than 3 liters of water for a day long hike if they are already properly hydrated. The idea is to hydrate for 24 hours before you exercise. Then during the exercise, you take small sips occasionally. After an hour, you may need to begin replacing lost electrolytes. You also want to drink more often at high elevation and in the cold. You can actually check how much water you'll need during exercise. Weigh yourself, exercise for an hour, and weigh again. The lost weight is the water you lost and need to replenish. In any case, you should be peeing every 2 to 4 hours. If the water is clear, you're hydrated. If the water is dark yellow, you're really not hydrated.
ada1981 8y ago
I assumed this was one of a handful of unfortunately placed typos.
newnewpdro 8y ago
I hike pretty often and unless it's extremely arid like in the desert, I'll usually just eat a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetables before setting off on a full day of hiking. It's far more pleasant to be unburdened by carrying things, and I'm more likely to mix in some trail running as well. What I've found is I can pretty trivially go a full day without any food or water, even when doing physical activity. It's just important to not start out already dehydrated, and a last meal full of moisture with enough bulk to take some time to digest doesn't seem to hurt.
- overcast 8y ago
  I'd be pretty god damn impressed if you can head out with nothing but fruit prior to an all day hike up a mountain. Especially in the middle of summer. That's some super human shit right there. Even if you could, you're providing yourself nothing in case of an emergency.
  - newnewpdro 8y ago
    Appropriate emergency preparedness levels is something to evaluate on a case by case basis. There are definitely scenarios where I won't head out without more stuff. But what I've found is day hikes in general where I'm expected back in civilization before dark don't require anything, and are a whole lot more enjoyable that way. Recently I was surprised by a pair of trail runners out in joshua tree national park who had appeared out of nowhere at the end of a ~4-mile spur. It was a young fit couple carrying nothing with them at all, not even water, and were turning right around to run straight back with the intention of running another 8-mile loop before dark, according to our brief conversation. They had done what my group of slow midwesterners carrying piles of food and water were taking all day to do in probably ~1 hour, simply by being unburdened and running it.
    - newman8r 8y ago
      what time of year did that happen in Joshua Tree? I lived there for a while and that sounds like a death wish if it was hot - but a lot of the year the temperature is pretty nice.

nzjixiv 8y ago

Is your comment meant to argue your quote? I cannot parse what you are trying to say. Beepbbooop

st26 8y ago

You lose between 1-2L/hr of moderate exercise. To stay fully hydrated and performing well, you would thus probably want to drink 5-10L ish on those hikes, leaning towards the high side if it's hot and arid. You certainly can get by with less, but that's not the point.

def_true_false 8y ago
You generally aren't cooling down through sweating alone, so those figures sound a little high. I can't really come up with anything that would make me drink 10L and still qualify as 'moderate exercise'.
overcast 8y ago
1-2L/hr is ridiculous. No one would be able take any reasonable hikes without bringing a burrow with them. 15 mile hike is roughly 4-5hrs across rough terrain. I've done tons of of them without any signs of dehydration.

handbanana 8y ago

I drink at least 4L of fluid on a normal day. For what you describe I'd probably double it.

dorfsmay 8y ago
But do you need that much? A lot of people drink out of habit, also a lot of drinks make you thirsty.
- handbanana 8y ago
  I pace myself, I don't drink all of that at once, or quickly, and its not all water. Some of that fluid count is milk
overcast 8y ago
You're also probably spending half the day pissing it all out as well. You absolutely do not need 8 liters of water for anything I just described.
- utkarshsinha 8y ago
  I suspect the sweating would factor in as well. I'd probably double the 8 liters just to be safe. Dehydration is real.
  - peterwwillis 8y ago
    I mean, this is a funny troll, but I hope nobody actually packs 16 liters of water for a one day hike. This is a recipe for hyponatremia, a rare yet serious condition of too low blood sodium levels from overhydration. I don't think most adults should need more than 3 liters of water for a day long hike if they are already properly hydrated. The idea is to hydrate for 24 hours before you exercise. Then during the exercise, you take small sips occasionally. After an hour, you may need to begin replacing lost electrolytes. You also want to drink more often at high elevation and in the cold. You can actually check how much water you'll need during exercise. Weigh yourself, exercise for an hour, and weigh again. The lost weight is the water you lost and need to replenish. In any case, you should be peeing every 2 to 4 hours. If the water is clear, you're hydrated. If the water is dark yellow, you're really not hydrated.

ada1981 8y ago

I assumed this was one of a handful of unfortunately placed typos.

newnewpdro 8y ago

I hike pretty often and unless it's extremely arid like in the desert, I'll usually just eat a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetables before setting off on a full day of hiking. It's far more pleasant to be unburdened by carrying things, and I'm more likely to mix in some trail running as well. What I've found is I can pretty trivially go a full day without any food or water, even when doing physical activity. It's just important to not start out already dehydrated, and a last meal full of moisture with enough bulk to take some time to digest doesn't seem to hurt.

overcast 8y ago
I'd be pretty god damn impressed if you can head out with nothing but fruit prior to an all day hike up a mountain. Especially in the middle of summer. That's some super human shit right there. Even if you could, you're providing yourself nothing in case of an emergency.
- newnewpdro 8y ago
  Appropriate emergency preparedness levels is something to evaluate on a case by case basis. There are definitely scenarios where I won't head out without more stuff. But what I've found is day hikes in general where I'm expected back in civilization before dark don't require anything, and are a whole lot more enjoyable that way. Recently I was surprised by a pair of trail runners out in joshua tree national park who had appeared out of nowhere at the end of a ~4-mile spur. It was a young fit couple carrying nothing with them at all, not even water, and were turning right around to run straight back with the intention of running another 8-mile loop before dark, according to our brief conversation. They had done what my group of slow midwesterners carrying piles of food and water were taking all day to do in probably ~1 hour, simply by being unburdened and running it.
  - newman8r 8y ago
    what time of year did that happen in Joshua Tree? I lived there for a while and that sounds like a death wish if it was hot - but a lot of the year the temperature is pretty nice.