Walk Your Way Well with Niamh O’Sheehan

When it comes to hiking and hydration, you need to treat yourself like a camel. Load up your store before you go, fill your belly with water, and make sure you have plenty more to carry on the trail.
Now, you might be strutting up the hill thinking, “Sure, I don’t sweat that much, I don’t need to be lugging all this water.” Well, you are significantly mistaken! You absolutely cannot judge how much moisture you’re losing just by checking for sweat patches under your armpits. Every puff, pant, and heavy sigh you make as you haul yourself up that incline is spewing liquid right out of your mouth and into nature. You might be a light sweater, but you are losing a massive, sneaky amount of water just by breathing.
And as the weather gets hotter? We have to seriously up our game. On a normal, sitting-around-doing-nothing sort of day, we should be drinking 2 litres of water. “What? 2 litres of water, you say?” Yes, 2 litres! So, on a roasting hot hiking day, we need to significantly increase that amount to avoid dehydration, heatstroke, and doing a right bit of damage to our bodies.
To keep you upright and moving on those scorchers, here are three golden rules for hiking in the heat:
3 Key Ways to Stay Hydrated and Beat the Heat
Hydrate the Day Before: Don’t wait until you’re at the bottom of the mountain to start gulping down water. Your hydration strategy starts the day before. Drink plenty of water throughout the preceding day so your body’s reservoir is completely full before you even lace up your boots. If you wake up dehydrated, you’ll be playing a miserable game of catch-up all day long.
Get an Early Start: The midday sun takes no prisoners. The best way to manage your hydration and keep your core temperature down is to start your hike nice and early. Get up, get out, and get the hardest part of the climb done while the morning air is still cool. By the time the sun is properly splitting the stones, you should be on your way back down or relaxing in the shade.
Sip Steady and Replace Your Salts: Don’t chug a whole bottle of water at once and then ignore your thirst for an hour. Keep a steady drip going. Take small, frequent sips as you walk. Furthermore, all that puffing, panting, and sweating drains your body of essential electrolytes. Throw a pinch of salt or an electrolyte tablet into your water, or bring some salty snacks, to make sure your body actually absorbs the water you’re giving it.
Drink up, start early, and mind yourselves on the trails! The Walk Your Way Well hikes are on hold for the summer season. Too hot! See you in September. www.walkyourwaywell.com