Hot weather bushcrafting

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mousey

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Jun 15, 2010
2,210
254
42
NE Scotland
Really? Beer tends to make me lethargic and I'll want to sit and watch that tree swaying gently or listen to the birds chip, rather than run around doing camp activities!
 
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Gcckoka

Settler
Nov 13, 2015
818
99
Georgia
My summer bushcraft trips: wake up at home , close all door and windows , turn on the air conditioner get a cup of tea and scroll on bcuk whole day.
It's just too hot over here , 40C is not a joke.
The only thing I do outdoors in summer is backpacking in the mountains , it's always cool up there , I plan to hike to basecmap mt Kazbek this summer to kind of scout the area as for next year I plan to summit it.
 
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Toddy

Mod
Mod
Jan 21, 2005
38,937
4,570
S. Lanarkshire
The electric weather station in our garden registered 37.8C last week. It was not funny, it was beyond miserable.
You have my complete sympathy if those kinds of temperatures are your summer norm.

I've been getting up early and enjoying the long cool morning until the Sun gets above the tree tops, and then I'm quietly hiding indoors until it's almost over the trees to the west of us.

We have over eighteen hours of daylight just now, it's lovely, but I admit the brightest bit of those hours is curl up and quietly snooze :oops:

M
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
The trouble with beer is it's also a diuretic.
Yes, internet says so......

There used to be a time ehen the majority of Europeans only drank beer, ale, bitter and small beer.
Water was dangerous.
Yet they lived and survived. Prople did this for millenia.

Same with tea and coffee.

Personally I normally do not drink water. Tea, coffee, beer.
Youghurt, Kefir. One Pepsi, full fat, a day.
Not much wine, get acid reflux.
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
Turns out I didn't mishear ... temperature expected later today 32C, but the humidex takes it up to 44C ... ulp!
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Before Pasteur, wine and beer was clean water for millenia. Well water and cow dung went together.
Our village water is so close to snow-melt that adding something, anything, to it is an advantage.
It comes off a visible mountain across the valley from me, down a few thousand feet, into the treatment plant
and into the house pipes.

Alcohol is a diuretic if there's large quantities of it. As sole-source, you can practically ignore the fact.
The vasodilation concept with hypothermia is probably a greater risk in winter ( the brandy flask nonsense).
 

Billy-o

Native
Apr 19, 2018
1,981
975
Canada
... and the trying to drive your snowmobile off a 50' drop into that nice soft, sloping drift down there :lol:
 

Tony

White bear (Admin)
Admin
Apr 16, 2003
24,128
1
1,875
53
Wales
www.bushcraftuk.com
The last couple of weeks when I’ve been out I’ve tended to plan things around where the wind is blowing, I can generally cope with high temps if there’s a cooling breeze, around where I live it’s hilly but with the great weather there’s lots of vibrant country hedges that block the wind so the sun just pounds you.

I’ve also worn a hat more this year, I take it off when I’m walking through shade but when I’m in the sun I put it back on, it’s hot but does a great job of reducing glare and protecting from sunburn...
 
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Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Santaman, do you take vitamin/mineral supplements?

If I was you I would go to my GP and ask for the urine to be checked ( type Uristix).

Yes, you do ‘store’ excess water in certain heart problems. But in a dehydration scenario, the body has problems using it.
 

Broch

Life Member
Jan 18, 2009
7,975
7,755
Mid Wales
www.mont-hmg.co.uk
Part of my upbringing was in North Africa and in later years I've enjoyed both desert and some (but not enough :( ) tropical visits. We just planned our days differently. Get up very early to do anything physical. Move slowly if at all during the heat. Sit in the shade (ideally with a light breeze - but not too much to dehydrate you more) doing the more sedate tasks such as making bows, carving sticks, preparing food - but, again, slowly. Or, sleep.Then enjoy the evening cooler conditions with food and drink around a fire (it often gets quite cold).

I'll be adopting this attitude tomorrow when I've got a load of strimming to do :( then camping out in the wood :)
 

Janne

Sent off - Not allowed to play
Feb 10, 2016
12,330
2,293
Grand Cayman, Norway, Sweden
Everyday, I see workers working in the sun. 30 - 40 C.
Bodies fully covered. Head fully covered. As soon as they can ( lull in work) they go into shade.
They drink luke warm water plus a kind of alcohol free malt beverge called Malta ( other brands exist) .
Eat fruit and veg in the breks, soup, fruit and veg for lunch.
 

Robson Valley

Full Member
Nov 24, 2014
9,959
2,664
McBride, BC
Sweet lemonade and salty potato chips. It was just day work up to 35C.
All we ever bothered with on the tractors was a 4l plastic jug out of the freezer = drink as it melts.

I'll do my usual second year and third year university biochemistry lectures,
my colleague down the hall can fill you in with the human condition over 2 semesters of human physiology.
Hydrate as needed with quality liquid.
 

santaman2000

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Jan 15, 2011
16,909
1,114
67
Florida
That’s a good amount of water.

Have you had your urine checked?

And how do you mean dark, like brown or just yellow
Yes I get it checked every 3 months. I'm diabetic. However I've always drank that much even before I was diabetic (I grew up in the deep south and the accompanying climate) By "dark" I mean yellow. But darker yellow than what's normally recommended.
 

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