Electrolyte Drink Suggestions

[Monty Montana]

John, the Powerbar Endurance mix you like is on sale at REIoutlet.com for $6.93 (22 servings).

[W I S N E R !]

Unless I was trying to cover very large distances quickly (and exiting the realm of "normal" backpacking)I've never felt electrolyte drinks were necessary for me when backpacking- trail foods have plenty of everything I need and sticky bottles are a nuisance.

I use electrolyte drinks when distance running- mainly because eating is not as convenient.

[John Brochu]

>>>John, the Powerbar Endurance mix you like is on sale at REIoutlet.com for $6.93 (22 servings).<<<

Hey Monty, thanks for the heads up. But that drink is different than the one I use. I use the Powerbar Electrolyte, which doesn't really have any other nutrition like carbs and whatnot.

Here is the link to the product I use… http://www.powerbar.com/products/3/POWERBAR_ELECTROLYTES_Natural_Berry.aspx

There is a berry flavor and a lemon flavor. It comes in a box of 8 individual single serving "tubes." You can see a picture of the tubes on the box pictured on the webpage.

I'm not sure how much the electrolytes actually help, but I figure they can't hurt if I'm sweating a lot and it has a lot of flavor for something that weighs very little.

[John S.]

Monty, hyponatremia is a decreased sodium level and the pathophysiology in acute cases has to do with brain swelling. When the brain swells quickly, the soft brain pushes against rigid structures in the skull. This compresses vital areas of the brain (brain stem has areas controlling breathing, etc) and may lead to death.

You said, "What happens is the K level becomes too diluted to regulate heart function, which goes into arrythmias and possible death."

[M G]

"and exiting the realm of "normal" backpacking"

What is normal backpacking?

[W I S N E R !]

I was avoiding the dreaded "fastpacking" and the ensuing semantics debate.

I guess when I say "normal" backpacking, I'm referring to what it seems the majority of people out there are doing. Stuff along the lines of 8-15 miles a day at a leisurely pace. Plenty of rest stops. Stopping for photos. No big hurry. Nothing that's particularly taxing on the cardio.

That's a very different style than trying to do 25-30+ miles a day, moving steadily, not making unnecessary stops, etc.

One style obviously places greater demands on the body than the other.

As for "normal", maybe that's not the best word. On solo trips, the latter scenario is normal for me.

But my point is that the majority of backpackers are traveling in a leisurely way. That's been my experience; when traveling the JMT the majority I met were doing it in anywhere from 16-21 days. That's certainly leisurely in my book.

[Adrian B]

>What is normal backpacking?

Not running, getting a full nights sleep each night, not having too much of a caloric deficit. i.e. a sustainable pace over many days/weeks.

So for this, powders, gels etc all seem like fiddly+messy+bulky+heavy ways to get calories. Andrew Skurka sticks to solid food – frankly if it's good enough for him at 15+ hours non stop a day, it's good enough for me !

Racing/climbing is a different matter though. And one person's 15 hour day of walking is a standard day's walk, while it might be someone else's unsustainable race effort.

Extreme Alpinism" by Mark Twight has some good discussion on the nutrition (when climbing he avoided solid food altogether and stuck to gels/drinks only). It's coming up to ten years old though, and as he admit's in the book it's hard to keep on top of such a large field. But it doesn't seem that the science has fundamentally progressed or changed in any way.

[WV Hiker]

Normally, I just rely on water while hiking or backpacking but on some strenous days after hours of just water and maybe a few snacks an electrolyte drink hits the spot. Call me a Luddite but I'm a fan of Gookinaid from way back. Gookinaid E.R.G. name was changed to Hydralite and now to Vitalyte in case you want to check it out. Works for me.

[Mary D]

I agree with Vernon on Gookinaid. It seems to hit the spot when I'm tired or it's hot. It's not particularly sweet, which is something I dislike about other electrolyte drinks I've tasted. I take my 7 and 9 year old grandkids out a couple of times a year, and it's always a problem getting them to drink enough water. They go without all day and then want to drink a lot at bedtime (with disastrous results to the bedding in the case of the younger one). I found that using half of the usual "dose" of Gookinaid in their water has them drinking plenty of water during the hike!

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