With my heat related issues, I’ve had to scale down my summer hiking. In the summer months the sun is almost straight above at 9:00am! The temps are already climbing into the 80s and it’s not even noon. In the high country where it’s nothing but granite and lots of uphill, its HOT! So, that means I need to be at the trail head at sunrise which is 5:30am, and that means leaving my house at 4:00am! If that’s what I have to do to keep hiking in the summer, then so be it! I’ll also be doing more Kayaking!
Advantages of the early morning mountain hike: No people and more wildlife! Win Win!
***There were a few trails which I hadn’t done before which are highlighted.
Wildflowers are off the charts – The views are amazing – You get a great workout – It’s a favorite hike of the Truckee locals and they are nice folks to chat with along the way.
What I have to be aware of:
It’s hot – I blogged about my heat issues in the past) The trail (PCT) goes through the two tunnels under I-80. Until the snow at the top is completely gone, the tunnels are full of water. I mean knee deep cold as hell rushing water through both tunnels. This year it didn’t clear out until July because of the late snow dump in the Sierra. However, this means that the temps are now hotter than I prefer to get to the top. A very very early start is advised if heat is an issue like it is for me. This trail has a 1500 foot elevation gain in a little over 3 miles with hardly any switch backs making it a hard hike. It’s even a workout going back down as the footing is a little loose.
I try and this trail at least once a year and get up there as EARLY as my hiking partners are willing to go. This year it was later in the am than I would have preferred (8:00am) and we didn’t get back to the car until 2:00pm which is the hottest part of the day and I was spent! I felt like a sloth and my legs were full of lead. I like to get back to the car by noon.
Advice for Senior Flatlander Hikers
GO EARLY. 80 degrees up at altitude going uphill will feel like it’s 100. In the summer, sunrise is 5:30am or so. By 9:00am the sun is very high in the sky. You get the picture. Get an Ultralight hiking umbrella – carry lots of water with electrolytes – eat salty snacks- take a cooling towel to dip into the cold streams if they are still running – take LOTS of rest stops – Listen to your body. Enjoy the scenery
Now for the show!
I got the Relive app which takes the data from my navigation app Gaia and turns it into a cool 3D map of my movements on the trail. Pretty cool! Take a look!
HEAT INTOLERANCE: I’ve always been a wimp when it came to extreme heat. When I was 10 years old, I passed out on the neighbors driveway smack on my face while playing “tag” with the neighborhood kids in 100+ temps. I woke up to find my front teeth broken in half and passed out again! Fast forward to adult life, I seemed to tolerate the heat better as I became acclimated – I was young! The next time I became dangerously over-heated was when I was performing at a rodeo in the California foothills in August in my early 40s. The temps were well over 100 and I was wearing the usual rodeo garb of long sleeve spandex shirt, jeans, boots, thick leather chaps, cowboy hat, etc. I did this for years and rodeo season is always in the summer. It was HOT but I tolerated it.
Jan and Oreo Folsom Pro Rodeo
On this day, I remember going straight back to my horse trailer to strip off all of that garb in my tiny un-air conditioned dressing/tack room… a literal hotbox that was most likely over 120 degrees. I quickly changed into shorts and a tank top and I came out of that trailer staggering, almost puking and about to pass out. Thankfully, we had a couple of ER nurses on our drill team that started pouring cold on me to cool my core down. They gave me the nickname of”code 2″. ER code for “person passing out”. Later, the nurses bought me a little water spritzer fan to carry around with the words “Code 2” taped to it.
Now that I’m 60 and post Menopausal, my thermostat is all jacked up (as my husband calls it) and I go code 2 quickly. One would think that hiking in 85 degrees would be a nice day. But, 85 degrees at 8500 feet or more equates to 95+ in that thin air, especially if you are climbing a steep grade for a few miles in full sun and on granite slabs. I do hike with a light UV hiking sun umbrella which helps some.
On this particular hike, I was almost at a Code 2 just 1/8 mile from my destination. I became nauseous and I knew I was in trouble. When my body talks, I LISTEN! I immediately stopped in the shade, took off my pack and sat… for a really long time. I chugged my electrolyte enhanced water (that I had been drinking throughout the hike), ate a salt tab and munched on some salty snacks. When I felt I had re-set my body temp, I hiked that last short distance to the top.
The rest of my summer will most likely be kayaking and water sports until it cools down about 20 degrees in the high country.
I highly recommend reading the book “Death in the Grand Canyon” It was written by the Park’s doctor and river guide that worked in the Grand Canyon for many years. I learned a lot about heat exhaustion, hypothermia, and all of the other ailments and disasters at the park, etc. The stories are horrific, but a great learning tool for all who venture into the wild.
Here is the video of my HOT hike this week. No Dialogue, just views, an unbelievable array of wildflowers and some soothing music.
Take a minute and enter your email on the right to get alerts when I upload a new blog post! You won’t regret it, and I’m pretty sure Unicorns will appear at your door. I think… Not sure.. but pretty sure… give it a try!
twylaworld.com 
You must be logged in to post a comment.