Hot weather bushcrafting

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santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
Here's the proper way to eat a banana:

Lay the bananas on the bench and slice in long halves with the curve.
In the kitchen on the stove, mix a big knob of butter to melt with 2 knobs of brown sugar and 1/2 C dark rum.
Drink the other 1/2C rum that isn't in this recipe and add a heaping teaspoon cinnamon to the pot and stir.

Skins on. Cut faces down on the medium grill for 3-4 minutes then 3-4 minutes on the skin side.
Plate cut sides up and add a major scoop of vanilla ice cream and a big splash of rum sauce.

A fresh pineapple cut in 6 wedges works OK as do a bunch of halved, free-stone peaches.
Sounds like a variation of Bananas Foster

 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
The report on the olympic wrestlers (above) spoke of the benefit of increased blood volume produced by sodium citrate ... I suspect the wrestlers found the beer themselves.
Wrestlers aren't really a good reference though because they intentionally dehydrate before matches in order to qualify in a specific weight class.
 
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Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Drinking before thirsty is the only sensible way to stay ahead of the heat.
You're all gassed up and ready to go.

Nestle' Instant Lemon Ice Tea powder mix is good and cheap.
Mott's (Original) Clamato comes in a very good 1.89l plastic bottle that's freezer-proof.

Do not leave bags of oatmeal/chocolate chip cookies in the truck with the windows rolled up and 35C.
 
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Tonyuk

Settler
Nov 30, 2011
933
81
Scotland
Shorts and t-shirts.

Bit of suncream,

Plenty of water and take breaks in the shade now and then.

Don't over complicate it.

I loose my appetite in the heat so i normally have smaller meals, usually i'll make up something like a chicken salad wrap, cereal bar and packet or fruit & nut before leaving and that'll do me until it gets cooler in the evening.

Maybe some cereal and a tea/coffee for breakfast.
 
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Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
Wrestlers aren't really a good reference though because they intentionally dehydrate before matches in order to qualify in a specific weight class.

The other way of looking at that might be that they are perfect subjects for the study of rehydration :lol:

Anyway, did a bit more piecing together for a notional, cheap and convenient, dry-powder electrolyte recipe for camping/hiking etc. and it currently looks like this:

1/4 tsp salt substitute which is mainly made of Potassium Chloride
1/4 tsp baking soda for the Sodium .. baking soda, not baking powder
1 pinch of table salt for Sodium in a different form
1/8 tsp epsom salt for Magnesium (this also a laxative, so exercise caution when dosing)
1 tsp glucose

Stir it into a litre of water and drink up.

If it's available to you there and then, OJ for flavour or fresh lemon juice or lime juice will up the Potassium content.

I fully expect this will be refined over time as the errors start to show themselves. There are lots of other ways of getting these things from ready-made drinks, stock cubes, fruit and the like, but as a simple, affordable, no-headaches powder to put in your bag, a couple of doses of, this should do. It'll help, in any case.

Ideally, it could do with a bit of Calcium in there - maybe some Calcium Citrate, or perhaps a Tum. It turns out that Sodium Citrate as an ingredient may not be the good idea initially imagined, since it removes Calcium, apparently.

So, if you intend legging up a mountain in the warm weather and don't want to hike a big sticky bottle of Gatorade with you, this might be the thing. I still think leaving out the glucose and using the preparation to season a bag of hand-curated, fruit'n'nut trail mix might be the way to go :lol: The saltiness will encourage you to drink. In that regard, squash and pumpkin seeds are good for Magnesium and Phosphorus, dried apricots for Potassium. Jerky can be good for Sodium, depending on how its made.

It might be best to keep the glucose separate, in any case, and maybe take it along in a different form (or another slower-acting carbohydrate) as it will spike your bloodsugar. You may or may not want that The salts alone will then be easier to store and transport in traditional paper wraps. :)

Note that, as well as helping with mood, tiredness, executive and muscle function, all these things act in concert to retain water in the body. So, bear that in mind if you have any medical things going on
 
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Tonyuk

Settler
Nov 30, 2011
933
81
Scotland
I use dioralyte dissolved into a bottle of water if i feel a bit of heatstroke coming on. I've found that although it helps you still need to cool down and rest in some shade pretty quick, water will only do so much.

A bit of ibuprofen at the starts helps for me to.

You should be getting enough salts etc.. from your diet really.
 
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Tengu

Full Member
Jan 10, 2006
12,780
1,517
51
Wiltshire
I am feeling a little better, -maybe the touch of salt in my food is helping...I certainly am sweating terribly.

Or maybe I am getting used to this.

Its wonderful to hear the hot weather lovers moan about how miserable they are....
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
It is weird to read Brit media, about the horrible heat you have now.... All the warnings and so on.
It is no hotter than when you go on holiday to southern Europe, Turkey or further away......

Enjoy it, Autumn will be upon you soon...
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
What is it, early September there? :) Twenty two hours a day of carribean airconditioning is distorting your perception, Janne. :lol: It is July most places.
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
3 months is soon......
Enjoy the heat, sun!

Funny you say that about the time. We do not have a feeling of how the year passes here.
My year here:
Plastic X-mas tree up, booking flights to and from Norway - mid winter.
Just back from the Skrei fishing in Norway, jetlag gone and mango trees in bloom, booking tickets for early August hol. in Norway - Spring
To hot and humid to be outside in the sun, checking National Hurricane Center daily - Summer
Recovering from Jetlag after Norway, planning what to plant, - Autumn

This year I am screwed up, as no mango trees bloomed and we had an early Norway trip!

Without Ac I could not live here, I am a cold weather person!
 

mousey

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 15, 2010
2,210
254
42
NE Scotland
I'm actually really noticing the days get shorter, up where I am the longest days don't really stop just gets dusky for a couple of hours around 3 in the morning, but now it's pretty dark at 11.30 or so. Won't be long before the long nights! But I have been enjoying the heat this year - more so than previous hot summers.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
About the same state here at 53N. The days are shorter as I look to the sunrises.
Just about need the kitchen lights on at supper time, depending on cloud cover.
Still nice to go out, mid 20's up to 35C some afternoons.

White sky and visibility 2 miles in wildfire smoke today. Should hold the temperature down.
No bugs! Excellent times for camp-outs & cook fires, even if it's no more than a back yard adventure with grandchildren.
They were amazed to watch me light a camp fire with ferro & steel. Could not get enough of the sparks ( they're almost 5 yrs old).
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
This is why I like the Almanac (... also for the home hints) :) I get it every year. There's nothing as frustrating as the sun coming up a few minutes late and it is good to know things can be held to proper account. It doesn't have any details about animal migration times, so they just seem to be able to come and go as they please.
 

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