Bushwalk Australia

Forwarded to me for adding to this forum

I've realised over the past few years that maintaining my electrolyte levels on long days is extremely important or I feel very tired and get cramps. I use either of 2 ways to do this; 1) Eat salted nuts during the day (usually mixed salted nuts or cashews), or 2) add Gatorade to my water. Both seem to work fine, although on really long days (12+ hrs) I often use both. Then on arrival back at camp I am usually dehydrated and I find the best way to rehydrate is to make bouillon. I add 1 cube to 1L hot water and drink this. Sometimes I'll have 2 servings of this if I'm really dehydrated, and I also add a tablespoon of butter if I have any to make it taste better and help start to recharge my energy. eg. for the Becky-Chouinard route in the Bugaboos (17hr round trip) I had about 1-1.5L water/tea before I left camp, then 1L of water and 1L Gatorade on route + salted nuts, then 2-3L bouillon when I got back to camp. I find bouillon cubes are better than soup because they contain more salt and are way smaller and lighter.

Cocksy_86 wrote:i heart 30+ with high humidity. storms coming round every 1hr coolin me and everythin off. the cold really gets my morale down for some strange reason.

just need to monitor and regulate salt and fluid intake and outake(sp?). Staminade is the recommended treatment for heat cramps. And it tastes good too

You can use a poncho as a rain catchment with the hood feeding into a dry sack which can then be easily tipped into a camelbak or water bladder. It's a two person job. Or alternatively collect the water that's running down the path and treat it.

The storms of southeast Queensland in summer are a memory, like playing golf in the back yard and lightning striking across the road, or the time the clothes line got struck, or the time lightning missed me by about 18 inches, I was in the loungeroom when lightning came through the phone plug, looped in the room and found a power point. The memories of a typical summers afternoon / evening growing up on the southerstern outskirts of Brisbane. But these storms that circle about the region and seem to keep coming back an hour or so as they do seem to be localised to that area. We certainly don't get that in Tassie.

A handy electrolite supplement is a product called Hydralyte which can be bought from chemists. Comes in a 20 tablet container and mine were apple and blackcurrant flavour. 2 tablets placed in a gatoraid size bottle makes a refreshing drink as well as replacing essential salts etc.Works fine for me.

Yeh, I found that Staminade doesn't dissolve too well. So it's better off in a cup where you can stir it really well. I end up just doing a shot of Staminade powder straight into my mouth. It's really good. I'm not sure if it's healthy or not but I really like it. I'll have a look for those tablets Flyfisher.

flyfisher wrote:A handy electrolite supplement is a product called Hydralyte which can be bought from chemists. Comes in a 20 tablet container and mine were apple and blackcurrant flavour. 2 tablets placed in a gatoraid size bottle makes a refreshing drink as well as replacing essential salts etc.Works fine for me.

Thanks for the idea

flyfisher wrote:A handy electrolite supplement is a product called Hydralyte which can be bought from chemists. Comes in a 20 tablet container and mine were apple and blackcurrant flavour. 2 tablets placed in a gatoraid size bottle makes a refreshing drink as well as replacing essential salts etc.Works fine for me.

i agree that it works, really well, however im not big on the taste...

blue powerade powder is the go for me, at half reconmended streangth usually.

Cocksy_86 wrote:Yeh, I found that Staminade doesn't dissolve too well.

I find that you have to leave it for say 15 minutes and then it all dissolves.

Hi All,

Haven't read the responses on page 2

I find that about 34° is the limit for me. I've walked through the Brindabellas up and down the hills near Burrinjuck Dam wall on a 38° day - was very unpleasant.

As the body works at 37°C, it can't lose a lot of heat at higher temperatures.

Cheers,

eddie

edit: re the hydrolyte salts, I carry a few sachets as part of a leaders first aid kit (fluid replacement/diarrhoea treating.) It works well and dissolves easily.

Was going to do an overnighter in the Blue Mountains today..
Katoomba forecast 35 degree's, think i'll leave for for another day.

Chief wrote:Was going to do an overnighter in the Blue Mountains today..
Katoomba forecast 35 degree's, think i'll leave for for another day.

Sounds like a good decision Chief. Too *&%$#! hot to walk anywhere today IMHO.

The heat did get to one person near Wentworth Falls http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/paramedics-ke ... 1a4xm.html