How Heat Affects Your Body.

Hiking on hot days stresses your body. High exertion and temperatures boost your core body temp, and your heart beats quickly to circulate blood next to your skin’s surface to cool you down. This robs your muscles of the blood they need, so your heart needs to crank even harder to keep them firing. If the humidity is high, your sweat can’t evaporate, further stressing your body.

First you’ll feel a little nauseous. Then your buddy will say, “You look kind of pale, why don’t you use some of my tanning oil?” Your legs will start to cramp up, your pulse will weaken, and finally you’ll clutch your chest and collapse, wishing that all those fast food places weren’t right next to your office.

Don’t wait for this to happen. If you start feel dizzy or clammy in the backcountry heat, sit down, cool off, and hydrate. Try to find some cool water or shade to sit in. If your symptoms worsen, get medical help immediately.

Summer bouldering in wool, photo courtesy of Ibex

How to stay cool in the heat.

Choose a cooling outfit.

It might be tempting to point to an outfit in the Western store and say, “You’re with me, leather,” but only an idiot would say something like that. Choose lightweight, loose-fitting, light-colored clothes. For a super-hot, hour-long hike, Patagonia’s Puckerware shirts keep a cool layer of air between your skin and the shirt’s fabric. For a full day of trail running or hiking, The North Face Optimus Mesh Shirt breathes efficiently and quickly wicks moisture to its exterior where it can evaporate and cool you down. On long backcountry hauls, wear the Ibex wool Echo T-Shirt. Lightweight merino is a cooling summer fabric, plus it won’t stink like your Capilene after a day on the trail.

Cool Wool in the Summertime - Free ibex tee

Wear your party pants.

Convertible pants turn to shorts for midday heat, and then you switch back to pants without even taking off your shoes. Go with some lightweight shorts with a liner and leave your underwear at home.

Make your own shade.

Put on a big sun visor or safari hat and your favorite Jackie-O sunglasses. Also, slather on the sunscreen.

Drink plenty of water and virgin margaritas.

Fill up your small hydration pack with water or a recovery drink on short hikes. If you’re shouldering a lot of gear or hiking all day, gear up with a large hydration pack. Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and sugary drinks. Start drinking water before you get on the trail.

Slow down during the afternoon.

Instead of sleeping in and breaking down camp at noon, do most of your hiking before the hottest part of the day. Get up early and then take a long break at midday. Find some shade and keep drinking lots of water.

Eat small, spicy meals.

Frequently eating small meals makes it easy for your body to digest food. Instead of feeling sluggish, you’ll be energized. Spicy food might not sound great when it’s 110F, but it can stimulate heat receptors in your mouth and make sweat pour off your face. Some people (hippies) also say that drinking chrysanthemum tea will help cool you off.

Get used to the heat before you go out.

Roll down the windows in your car on the way to the trailhead. Give your body a chance to adapt to the heat instead of jumping out of your air-conditioned car and running up the canyon. This will let you exercise with a lower heart rate.

Close your eyes and think.

Sit back and imagine turning your skis in neck-deep Utah powder or racing in the Iditarod. Some people can actually drop their core temp through visualization.

No gear or tips can make up for common sense in the backcountry. Carry or cache enough water on your route to stay hydrated, and don’t be embarrassed to say you need a break when you’re hiking with your triathlete friends, they’re feeling the heat, too.