Hiking is one pastime that readily comes to mind if you are looking for an outdoor hobby that will keep you active right through your old age. If you want to share adventures, pleasurable memories and build a long-lasting relationship with family and friends, then hiking is for you.
Hiking is not just a fun way to spend your free time, but also a great way to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But while hiking ticks all the right boxes, it is worth noting that there are still dangers you should be wary of. Apart from the risk of physical injuries caused by accidents, the harsh effects of nature and the elements, or even encounters with wild animals, the one major thing that all hikers should be cautious of is the danger of dehydration.
Dehydration is actually the number one risk of hiking because of the physical demands of a typical hike, which can deplete your body fluids and electrolytes. Indeed, electrolytes for hiking are absolutely essential for preventing dehydration and even death. While the summer sunshine you are exposed to during a hike can be a good thing, it could also be cause for concern. Heat exhaustion caused by hot weather and high humidity can quickly lead to dehydration if you fail to hydrate yourself when necessary.
In this post, I highlight a few tips to help you maintain your hiking electrolytes, replace electrolytes, and avoid dehydration. We also reveal the best electrolyte solution to help you stay hydrated all through your hike.
But first, we start with what you need to do in order to avoid dehydration and maintain all the electrolytes in your body whenever you go on a hike.
1. Consume Water Before You Start Your Hike
The first tip is the obvious and arguably the most important one. It is absolutely crucial that before you begin your hike, you drink a cup or two of water. Never wait until you feel thirsty before drinking water. One surefire sign of dehydration is thirst and this should be avoided at all cost when hiking. Feeling thirsty simply means that your water and electrolyte levels are low and in desperate need of replenishing. You should always endeavor to prevent your water and electrolyte levels from dropping to begin with.
If you are a senior citizen, then you may be interest to know that you have about 10% less bodily fluids in comparison to young adults. This means that you need to replenish your body fluids with a regular intake of water while hiking.
Senior citizens are also known to have a lower thirst threshold which implies that they don’t experience feelings of thirst as quickly as younger individuals. This can be dangerous in itself as it means that the elderly are more prone to dehydration than younger adults during a hike.
To avoid experiencing symptoms of dehydration which include dry or cotton mouth, dizziness, and fatigue, you should always stay hydrated by drinking water before, during and even after your hike. Always take a water bottle with you whenever you go on a hike. You can also drink coconut water, as it is a potent electrolyte water. Coconut water provides trace minerals to help replenish electrolytes and resolve electrolyte imbalance issues.
2. Avoid Drinking Alcoholic Beverages
One of the quickest ways to deplete your electrolytes for hiking is through alcohol consumption. While alcohol stimulates thirst and makes you drink plenty water, it can also be a major reason why you may quickly become dehydrated.
As you drink plenty of water as a result of your alcohol intake, you will lose electrolytes faster than normal which could then lead to dehydration. Never drink alcoholic drinks before and during a hike if you want to avoid dehydration. Instead of a drink of your favorite local brew, settle for drinking plain water.
Apart from dehydration, alcohol can also increase your risk of incidents or accidents while hiking because alcohol can diminish your mobility, balance, cognitive and critical thinking skills.
3. Don’t Forget Your Food Packs
Having enough plain water with you on your hike is important, but don’t forget that you also need to eat. Going on long hikes can be exhausting and take up a tremendous amount of energy fuel. However, to replenish lost energy and restore your electrolyte balance, you need to eat. Before going on a hike, you should spend some time in grocery stores stocking up your food supply. You can vary your food packs with a mixture of snacks, dried fruits and food, energy bars, mixed berry, real fruit juice and so on.
Never assume that you can replace eating food with drinking fluids. You should always try to maintain a good balance between eating food, drinking water, electrolyte drinks, sports drink or any other fluid. Also, make sure that you eat at appropriate times while hiking. Do not wait until you are famished before you chow down on a packed meal or snack during your hike. Finally, you should avoid salty snacks as the sodium chloride in them can cause dehydration.
HYDRATION STARTS WITH RECOVERORS!
What Do You Do If You Are Dehydrated?
While it is always advisable to avoid being dehydrated to begin with, it is equally important to know what to do if dehydration is inevitable. It all starts with your preparation for a hike, you should take along with you electrolyte mixes. Most electrolyte mixes will help boost your electrolytes level quicker than traditional sports drinks. There are several hydration mixes you could try out. Himalayan pink salt, nuun tablets, salt tablets or an electrolyte tablet dissolved in drinking water and consumed can help boost your electrolytes.
If you want reliable powdered drink mixes for electrolyte replacements, then I strongly recommend RecoverORS. RecoverORS is an electrolyte drink mix that will not flood your body with too many electrolytes. Instead this electrolyte drink mix will provide you with adequate levels of electrolytes to keep your body hydrated, energized and healthy in hot weather.
Why is RecoverORS the Best Hydration Drink for Hiking?
RecoverORS is a clinician formulated oral hydration solution made in the U.S and approved by both the USDA and FDA. RecoverORS is an electrolyte mix made from essential ingredients that your body needs for hydration and to replace electrolytes. This electrolyte powder is sugar free with all natural flavors, essential minerals, and key electrolytes. There are also no artificial ingredients, artificial sweetener, artificial flavors, artificial coloring or preservatives to worry about.
RecoverORS is an Electrolyte Powder Oral Hydration Solution
RecoverORS electrolyte mixes are electrolyte powders formulated for quick and easy use. These powders dissolve easily in drinking water which makes it an ideal electrolyte drink for providing you with a decent dose of hiking electrolytes. This electrolyte mix will help you to prevent and combat symptoms of dehydration.
RecoverORS is a gluten free medical-grade electrolyte replacement supplement that resolves electrolyte imbalance and acute dehydration. It is also a perfect electrolyte drink to take during and after bouts of acute diarrhea and vomiting, as this electrolyte mix is just like liquid IV. RecoverORS is specially prepared electrolyte powder for hikers that want to hike in hot weather.
If you are looking for the best budget electrolyte powder drink for hiking, I advise that you look no farther than RecoverORS electrolyte drinks for your essential electrolytes and regular electrolyte intake.
Final Thoughts
Hiking can be lots of fun, but on the other hand, it can be a nasty experience if you don’t plan well before your hike. One of the major dangers faced by hikers on a hike is dehydration. However, you can avoid this problem with proper preparation. As you prepare for your hike, it is important to equip yourself with hiking essentials like a water bottle, packed meals or snacks, an energy bar, and reliable, easy to use electrolyte mixes.
RecoverORS is the best powered drink mixes for hiking because it is a portable, ready to use oral hydration solution with zero sugar and no artificial sweeteners. This electrolyte concentrate provides you with essential minerals to maintain fluid balance, increase blood sugar and prevent dehydration before, during and after your hike.
On a final note, senior citizens have 10% less fluids than the average young adult, so while hiking is great for their health, they need to stay hydrated at all times. Electrolyte supplements can help senior citizens avoid an upset stomach and muscle cramps while improving their nerve function in the process.
While there are many hydration mixes that can provide you with trace minerals, trace elements, amino acids, and essential electrolytes, RecoverORS is one that ticks all the boxes. It is a sugar free, gluten free, electrolyte mix that answers the questions of how many calories and how much sodium you need in consuming electrolytes for hiking. RecoverORS is an electrolyte drink that is much better than sports drinks with no artificial sweeteners or artificial ingredients to be bothered about.
For me, RecoverORS is the best overall electrolyte powder. This electrolyte mix helps to replenish electrolytes on humid, summer days better than coconut water, lemon lime, liquid IV, and most sports drink.
