How much water do you drink?

[Webfoot]

Continuing a topic that arose in another thread, and so as not to further derail that one.

In the context of hiking on a hot day I find I drink about half a liter per mile. I wonder how much other people drink. (Drink, not carry, though that is interesting too.)

I never carry more than 16 ounces. But I camel up before I start. If it's a hot day I'll refill half way, so I'll start with 16 ounces, drink 16 ounces at the refill point, and then carry another 16 ounces - so 48 ounces total.

The rule for climbing Cascade volcanoes was always 2 quarts - 64 ounces total.

If you drink more, at some point, you just pee more. I figure if my pee is clear to light yellow I'm good.

First, I drink when I'm thirsty.

Second, I drink 16 ounces during an 8 hour day if it's cool, 48 ounces if it's hot. Even if I don't seem thirsty I'll make sure and drink that much.

Third, as an over-all check, look at pee color. Occasionally my pee will get medium yellow and I know I need to drink more. Rarely, I screw up and my pee is dark yellow.

If you drink a lot, your metabolism will convert lots of water to pee. If you drink less, your metabolism will shift to water conservation. Nothing unhealthy about getting into that zone, unless you have abnormal health, like diabetes or something.

A liter and an apple is usually all I ever take. But if it's a hot day, I will choose a hike with a reliable water supply to get more. Quite often I choose such a hike and carry no water. If there are frequent water sources, I just drink when they are handy. If you carry lots of water on a hot day, the water gets hot - not very refreshing. Most creeks will have cooler water.

Knowing that retired jerry hikes much farther than I do it seems he is consuming far less water. This is interesting as I am not urinating often as a result, so I must be sweating it out. His final paragraph as quoted above surprises me as it runs contrary to what I've read about hydration and sports performance. Usually the "wisdom" seems to be to stay fully hydrated for peak performance, i.e. not putting your body in water conservation mode. I intend to refresh my memory on the subject and post again.

In the meantime I would like to know how much other people drink while hiking, especially on a hot day, and what their average intensity level (% of personal max) is when hiking.

[retired jerry]

good topic

I am not at peak performance, more of a moderate level, 10 miles per day

Most people drink more than I, I am at the lower end of the curve, in my opinion

[Guy]

On a winter hike I'll drink next to nothing often taking a flask of hot tea and no water. Now in this hot weather is when I'm drinking the most. Last week I did the South Sister climb I drank 64 ounces in total. 32 of water and 32 of Gatorade. Drinking another 32 of Gatorade when I got back to the car.

I drank the same amount when I did the Herman Creek - PCT loop a couple of weeks ago too. I do always carry a sawyer filter in case of emergencies but rearly use it, sometimes I'll use to drink cold stream water rather than my bottled water that is no longer cold.

[Don Nelsen]

Water consumption on a hike is on a sliding scale for me and it is most contingent on time rather than mileage. The other factors are humidity, temperature, air movement and effort. I very rarely use a regular pack, just a small fanny pack and it can hold at most three 20 oz. bottles of whatever, usually Gatorade. My hikes usually include a fair amount of EG and tend to be in the 8 to 16 mile range, rarely more, and that amount of fluid works pretty well provided the time is in the 4 to 8 hour range. If hiking alone, I usually hike at 90 to even 100% of my ability most of the time. Even on a hot (80+) day, about 10 oz./hour works pretty well. (I have on occasion hiked in extreme temperatures in Arizona and more than double that isn't enough!) On occasion, when the conditions warrant, I will start out with the 60 oz. of fluid in my fanny pack and carry another container to drink from on the first few miles of the hike. Sometimes even a 32 oz. bottle but usually just another 20 oz. bottle of grape juice, Gatorade or just water to supplement. I usually "camel up" (who said that?), by drinking plenty on the trip to the TH. In cold weather, I concur with Guy's finding that very little is required and sometimes in cold weather I hike for 4 or 5 hours and drink nothing.

We are all different and have different requirement for hydration though there are a lot of similarities. As I have grown older, I have found that I am more sensitive to dehydration so am more careful about it than I was in the past. The penalty for me not getting enough hydration is muscle cramps, usually on the night following the hike. These can be very painful and this makes me much more careful than in the past when I seemed to be immune to just about everything.

I hike a lot, 105 days so far this year so have pretty much dialed in what I need when I head out. I usually get it right but sometimes err and sometimes it hurts. If I were to make any recommendations it would be to take more than you think you need, drink before you feel thirsty and be aware of those factors that cause dehydration: Temperature, humidity, effort and wind.

dn

[Webfoot]

Don, thanks for the extensive description. retired jerry said "camel up" and that may be a missing piece in my preparation, as I usually drink a little right before starting but maybe not enough or soon enough.

[Chip Down]

I've considered logging my consumption. Probably less than I should. I always start with at least a litre in my belly ("camel up" ) but it's hard to know what happens after that, because of filling up along the way (dipping into a stream, or melting snow, rarely results in a known quantity). I'd have to really get neurotic to keep track, but it's probably not a bad idea to do so. From the discussion above, I gather I drink more than many hikers, which surprises me. Funny, I think I paradoxically drink less when water is abundant, but when it's scarce I make a point of filling up at every opportunity. A bit counter-intuitive, but that's human nature I suppose.

One of my criteria when I return from a hike is to evaluate what I carried that I didn't need, and what I needed that I didn't carry. My regrets typically involve water, crampons, axe. Food and clothing can be bulky, but they're generally light and easy to pack. If I get back to my car with a full water bottle, I feel like an idiot for packing extra weight.

Of course, on an easy hike (e.g. Defiance) I'm inclined to toss in a sixer as well.

[Webfoot]

Of course, on an easy hike (e.g. Defiance) I'm inclined to toss in a sixer as well.

Braggart!