[philmont] The water budget

        It helps to stimulate your saliva, which makes you feel less thirsty. It does NOT keep you from needing water, or from dehydrating. It may keep some from drinking to excess, but that would be about all. This is something they used to teach long ago and far away in some survival books.
   
  Andre Houser
   
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  Andre is right on with the pebble thrick. We used to do it in the Army on the llong marches and like he says the irritation stimulated salive and prevents dry mouth, but it actually costs you in body fluid so it might even work against you by causing dehydration effects to set in sooner. We also used to pop salt pills by the hands full also. That wsa dumb! But everyone told you to do it back then. Coaches included and we all know coaches know what is best for people. <g>
   
  In all my years dealing with Scouts adn school kids on field trips, I've only had one case of dehydration. A girl out in Big Bend. It took two days of toting her around in my van and forcing fluids in her to get her back to normal. She wa never in any danger, just did not feel quite well. When we assessed the situation and with others observations we determined what it was. Some adults insisted it was a "stomach bug". We shoved water with a very little Gatorade added to it.
   
  A reminder here that straight Gatorade will dehycrate you fast!
   
  Water budget.
   
  From way back when I've been a two canteen hiker when we used Army canteens. ONe long or hot days, I had to "make" warer, that it filter it through a handkerchief and add iodine tablets or halazone tablets, both nasty things.
   
  At Philont I used a 3L Unblttle and carried a 1L spare bottle in the pack.
   
  I guadalupe mtns and Big Bend opn long day hikes, I use my Camelbak Cloud Walker, yes it's an internal frame Pholks! IT has a 70 oz bladder adn I carry 1L as a spare. I'm usually pretty tight to finish with some water left over so I probably will start carrying my 1L Platy also or switch to a 3L bladder.
   
  That's always worked for me for the past 50 years.
   
  In 2002 our lead advisor, bless his little ignorant heart, complained of headaches each evening. At first I thought it was altitude problems, but I started watching him. He wa drinking about 6-7 L on the trail in addition to his "camel up" water adn water from food.
   
  I had a little talk with him as he was a very ijnexperienced hiker, and he reasoned the Mark Anderson said to drink all the water you can to keep from getting dehydrated. Well, I was there adn that is not what Mark Anderson said.
   
  I asked his to back off on his water consumption to about 4L on the trail and see what happened. Miraculously his headaches went away.
   
  He was opn the edge of some very bad happenings to his little feeble brain and did not even know it.
   
  So, when you go past that 4 L mark on the trail, be really careful. The consequences can be fatal.
   
  We have discussed thie on this list in the past but the feeling is that it happens so infrequently compared to dehydration that over consumption isn't that bad.
   
  I take a different stand on that. It can be fatal. IT's irreversable when you get it going, so why not figure out how much water you use and drink appropriately?
   
  John LeBlanc

       
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Received on Wed Aug 22 21:10:37 2007