1. Determine How Much Water You Need
When hiking, you'll need plenty of water. Most doctors agree that adult humans need about 64 oz. of water when at rest. When you're hiking, you're expending water in sweat, especially if it's warm out, so you'll need more than that. Dehydration is extremely serious, so it's important to stay hydrated while hiking. Dehydration can lead to health problems on top of decreasing your performance. You should take a few sips of water every 5 to 10 minutes. This will help keep water in your system and prevent your body from flushing it out. Make sure it's only a few small sips, because you could end up drinking your entire water supply in just a few hours.
2. Carry Your Own Water
If you're going on a day trip, you should be able to carry your own drinking water while hiking. You can carry water in plastic water bottles or canteens. Make sure you avoid chugging the whole container in one setting. You should also keep the container, just in case you're gone longer than you planned and need to find a refill. You can also carry a hydration pack, which is a backpack-shaped container that holds water. Hydration packs are more durable than water bottles and can hold more water in a more transportable way.
3. Drink the Water You've Found
If you don't want to carry water and you know you'll be passing water sources, you can plan on drinking that water, if you do some things to it first to make it safe. You can boil the water you've found for 2 minutes, but it's a pain to start a fire every few hours when hiking. You can also add iodine to the water to make it drinkable. Iodine-treated water tastes horrible, though, so some people will add packages of dried sports drinks to iodine water to make it palatable. You can also use a water filter or a water purifier, which is expensive but also the most healthy option.
4. Watch Out for Signs of Dehydration
Take note of signs of dehydration to keep yourself hydrated. Signs of dehydration include dizziness, confusion, headaches, loss of energy, anxiety, dry skin and a rapid pulse. Other signs include dark urine and sticky saliva. If you start noticing any of these symptoms, take a break. Sit down for at least 30 minutes, drink some water and eat. Also, if you notice you're making silly mistakes, take a break. You may be dehydrated.
