All About Water for DAY HIKING - What I Pack, Why, and More *super important* (hiking essentials)

hey guys welcome to the channel today we are  doing a deep dive into hydration and water for day   hikers this is such an important topic and we're  going to talk about why in the video but it's also   the area that i see a lot of hikers both beginner  and experienced hikers go wrong so let's start off   with the very sobering reality that in general  humans can last about three days without water   three days right that is not a long time and so  we really want to be prepared when we head out on   these hikes to be able to stay hydrated even  if something goes wrong you have to stay out   longer than you expected right in this video we're  talking about day hikes but what if that day hike   turns into an overnight what if you end up in  a survival situation or an emergency situation   water is so important so this is a crucial topic  to talk about this is something that like i said i   see so many people go wrong now that three days  is kind of assuming you're hydrated going into   that three days which is probably not the case  at any given moment you and i are probably not   hydrated we drink coffee we drink sodas all these  things that really dehydrate us and then we don't   drink enough water in addition to that when you're  out on the trail you're hiking you're sweating   like all these things right so that three-day  window is realistically probably even shorter   so what are some of the things that we  can do to better prepare for a day hike   so that we can stay hydrated when we're out  on the trail and be able to adapt to maybe   unexpected or changing conditions that we might  encounter that's what i want to go over in this   video i cannot tell you how many times i've been  out on a hike and seen so many people hiking with   literally nothing so we're not going to go into  all the other day hiking gear that i carry and why   but but literally no water just a few weeks ago  i went out on a hike with a friend it was a seven   mile hike over 3000 feet of elevation gain and we  arrived at the trailhead the same time as another   group and pretty much everyone in that group  except for i think one person was carrying nothing   no water no snacks no no other gear so i want to  hopefully prevent that you're watching this video   so you're not going to be one of those people  that's carrying nothing but one of the other   common things that i see is someone carrying just  one single plastic water bottle in their hand as   they're moving along on the trail i guess that's  better than nothing right that is a little bit   of water but i can pretty much guarantee that's  not enough water for the duration of the hike   and it's kind of annoying to hold that in your  hand and it's just not a good system because you   can't get any more water if you need some which  likely you're going to need more than just one   little plastic water bottle so that's also not  really a great way of carrying water when you're   out hiking the next thing that i see a lot is  people carrying perhaps a bigger water bottle   that's on you know in a pocket on the outside  of their pack or even inside their backpack   and again that's not going to be an ideal system  because now you got to stop take your backpack off   to drink some water and then put it back in  there and then start hiking again i can pretty   much guarantee that you will not stop to do that  nearly as often as you need to to actually stay   hydrated in addition again same problem with just  carrying a water bottle that's a finite amount of   water always in the back of my head i'm like what  if i need more water because water is so important   i'm thinking what if i need more water and if i'm  just carrying a water bottle well that's all i got   if i run out too bad right so again carrying that  water bottle in your backpack isn't really going   to be the best system when you're out on day hikes  because you want to be drinking water frequently   throughout your hike so that you can stay hydrated  versus having a bottle buried in your bag and then   stopping like once or twice to like chug a ton of  water once you're already experiencing symptoms of   dehydration being able to carry a lot of water  and drink frequently is going to be the best   option for staying hydrated while you're on the  move so that brings me to what i carry this is   a water bladder sometimes called the water  reservoir as you can see it holds quite a bit of   water this is holding two liters of water and you  can get bigger ones as well and it has a hose here   the hose system is really what you want so this  slides right into my backpack and i'll show you   a close-up of that so it slides into the backpack  right close to my back and it has a little pouch   there so that it's not sloshing side to side as  i hike that's really important and then this hose   is awesome because it threads through the  backpack and it comes and it sits right by   my face all right so this goes into the backpack  and you'll have to look at your day hiking   backpack i would recommend buying a backpack that  has some of them actually come with these bladders   or it just has the system to where you can store  them easily so this goes into a little pouch here   the water bladder is something that i usually  put in my backpack first before all my other gear   and it actually clips in so that it doesn't slide  down it doesn't move side to side because that's   not going to be comfortable as you're hiking and  then this actually feeds through there's a little   slot here and it will come out the back of the bag  which if i have to complain about one thing about   this bag it is this slot is like nearly impossible  it's going to come through the backpack and i can   zip all this up and now you can put this on either  side of your shoulder and i just slide it through   this little strap here now the water bladder is  in my backpack and the hose is coming down here   by my face guess what now as i'm hiking  along it is super easy for me to sip on   water frequently throughout my hike i don't  even need to stop and it has a little lock   you know you twist it to lock it so that  you set your bag down or something it   doesn't leak water everywhere and it sort of  sits in my peripheral vision so i remember   oh keep drinking water there's water here  and it just makes it so easy and convenient   to both drink a lot of water and carry a lot of  water when you're out hiking so this is kind of   where i think a lot of people stop they have a  big water bladder fill that thing up and they go   out on their day hikes but again this is this is  a finite amount of water and what if you need more   right so we want to take it a step further and  have a way to get more safe drinking water when   we're actually out on the trail so one of the  things that i am doing in order to prepare myself   to be able to get more water when i'm out on the  trail is a lot of research and before every single   hike there is a ton of research that i'm doing  to prepare myself one of those things is looking   for if and where there are water sources along the  hike so for example am i going on a hike that goes   up to an alpine lake am i going to be hiking on a  trail that parallels a stream the entire way or do   i cross a river at some point are there are these  water sources year round so i'm really looking   at the landscape i'm looking at the hike and i'm  trying to figure out where water sources will be   along that hike so that i know i can get more  water if i need it with the appropriate gear that   we'll talk about in a second this is a really  important piece of information to have and if   you're hiking in the desert which i do a lot i  do a lot of hiking in southern utah in the desert   and sometimes the the answer to that research  is there is no water source and that's also   important information to know because then you  can better assess the risk of what you're doing   but chances are there's probably unless again  you're in the desert you know there's probably   water sources that you're passing along the way or  hiking up to and you want to know where they are   so that you can tap into them if you need to so  let's say i'm hiking up to an alpine lake and i   get to the top there and i am out of water and i  want to get some more water i can't just go and   fill up my reservoir in some lake somewhere right  there's all sorts of things that you just don't   want to be drinking in water so we need a way  to purify or filter the water so that it's safe   to drink and that's where i carry a water  filter now i'm not going to go into like   all the many different options of filtering and  purification i'm just going to show you what i do   i carry the sawyer squeeze and you'll have to do  your own research like i said on all the different   options and what might be best for you i love the  sawyer squeeze i've been using this for years it's   going to be hard to to take me away from this  because i really love it it's super lightweight   it's durable it works really well the flow  rate is good it's small it hardly takes   up any space i also have these little bags  that it comes with so this is my dirty bag and i will fill this up with the water from that  alpine lake in our example and twist it on here   and then out will come clean drinking water i can  filter directly into my reservoir which is what i   do i have an adapter that connects to this and  then i can just get fresh drinking water along   my hike if i'm hiking along a stream or crossing a  little river stream or whatever it is i can easily   get more drinking water and so this thing it's  just so small and lightweight it's like why not   carry one it's not something that i think a lot  of day hikers think about because like i said   you know i think the mentality is well i can  just carry all the water i'm going to need   for a day hike and yes while that may be true  again you got to ask yourself since you only   got a three-day window to work with what if  i need to stay out here longer how can i get   more water so something so simple and affordable  as this it's like why not carry it right now   with any of your gear it is so important  that you take the time to really understand   how it works how to use it properly how to  store it and all that kind of stuff because   you don't want to just buy something like this  chuck it in your backpack and hope you'll figure   out how to use it when you're out there and you  actually need it so whatever gear that you do   decide to take you always want to make sure  that you really spend some time reading the   instructions and learning how to use it and take  care of it properly that's super super important   so you know this type of thing isn't even just for  if you are in an emergency or a survival situation   it's also sometimes just so nice to be able to  filter really cold water coming down through the   mountains and i do that all the time because the  water in your reservoir will get kind of just like   warm or room temperature it's sitting right by  your back and sometimes it's really nice to be   able to fill up from that cold water coming down  from a stream you know that snow melt and get ice   cold water to drink on a hot day it's so nice so i  use this a lot just for that kind of enjoyment of   being able to get cold water when i'm actually  out hiking all right let's take this even   further i told you we're going deep today in all  things hydration and water for day hikers and this   brings me to an old adage two is one one is none  so for any of your essential life-saving survival   gear such as your ability to get clean drinking  water two is one one is none in other words you   really want backups of these life-saving systems  and pieces of gear what if this breaks what if   i'm dependent on this and i lose it i drop it it  it just isn't working i want to have some sort of   backup in order to get me through that survival  situation for me for a backup i personally choose   to carry water purification tablets and just  gives me something else like an extra layer   to my crucial gear i've never had to tap into  them because part of your pre-hike preparation   is making sure that your gear is working properly  and like i said taking really good care of things   so luckily i've never had to use my backup for my  filter but i like the peace of mind knowing that   it's there so i'm always checking to make sure  that this is working properly before i head out   on the trail so that i don't end up in a situation  where i'm like carrying this thing but it's like   broken for some reason i can't figure out why or  whatever it may be like i want to check make sure   things are working smoothly as i'm packing my gear  at home in addition to me carrying a backup to my   system here nick and i hike together all the time  and nick also carries one of these it's a great   thing for every single person in your group to  have i do not like being dependent on other people   in my group to carry something as crucial as a  water filter and a way to get more clean water   again it's so small it's so lightweight it's  like why not everyone carry it and then within   that group you have multiple backups of this  stuff so it's just something to keep in mind   if you are hiking with friends and family like  encouraging everyone to think through this stuff   and really be prepared all on their own in case  someone gets separated or whatever it is i want to   hit the trail self-sufficient and confident with  the gear that i'm packing and that i know how to   use it so with this setup i both can carry a good  amount of water sip on it and drink it frequently   throughout the hike and i can get more water if i  need to from nearby streams or lakes that i might   be hiking by so this is a great system that works  really well for me when i head out on my day hikes   and i love the peace of mind of knowing i have  backups to these systems and that i can get more   water again that research at home is going to  be crucial so that you know where water sources   are along your hike should you need to tap into  them the last thing i want to just touch upon is   when you're sweating a lot and it's really hot  and sunny and all that kind of stuff you're losing   more than just water right you're losing salts and  so you want to carry perhaps some electrolytes as   well to help you stay hydrated so it's not always  just water but also those electrolytes will help   you retain water and like i said just stay  hydrated better so i carry electrolyte tablets   tablets or powders in my backpack and if you want  me to make another video on the ones that i have   tried and that i really like and why and all that  kind of stuff i'm happy to do that just comment   below if you'd like to see a video specifically on  electrolytes that i carry but that is just another   piece of gear another part of the hydration puzzle  that is important to mention so that really rounds   out kind of everything i know about water for day  hikers and some of the ways that i'm preparing   for unexpected situations when it comes to water  out on the trail you are responsible for yourself   it is so important to take care of yourself when  you're actually out on the trail and listen to   your body and be proactive in staying hydrated  and healthy hydration also really starts at   home right like you don't wanna chug two cups of  coffee at six a.m and then just like start a hike   i'm always thinking about like drinking water  and having a good meal and starting off a hike   hydrated and well fed so that i can have a good  safe experience when i'm out there so you have   to listen to yourself and be proactive if you're  with a group if you need to stop and take a break   you know speak up say so and make sure that you're  drinking water because other people aren't going   to be as aware of how you feel as you would  be right so you're responsible for yourself   drink before you're thirsty be proactive in  taking breaks and going at a good pace on   your hike so that you can stay hydrated and not  get dehydrated and burnt out and all that stuff   so i hope this video was helpful if you liked it  make sure to give it a thumbs up and share it with   a friend share it with a hiking buddy or family  member people that you go outside with often what   is the biggest takeaway that you got from this  video i'd love to chat with you in the comments   below so make sure to say hi there and subscribe  to my channel for more hiking and camping content you

Channel: amandaoutside

Views: 17,923

Keywords: hiking essentials, water for hiking, hiking for beginners, hiking preparation, hiking tips, what gear to pack hiking, day hiker, hiking gear, hiking, amanda outside

Id: xm23w5frHZg

Length: 16min 5sec (965 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 07 2021