Adapting to hot summers

Reminds me of my story in moving to high altitude.  Out mountain biking, huffing and puffing. Encounter a guy who is a local triathlete. I ask him “How long does it take to get used to the altitude here?”  He asked me how old I was. I told him.  He says “Sorry, its too late.”

I am listening for answers to your question.

As I age, the physical degradation that stands out most vividly to me is my declining ability to shed heat.  I still handle cold just fine, maybe even better than in my youth, but heat is now a relentless enemy.  I know that doesn’t answer your question.

Edit:  I’m two weeks away from 61.

I think with training the body can adapt to both colder temperatures and hotter temperatures.

I spent a year working at an adventure camp in the Texas Hill Country. Summer was HOT with basically no shade. We developed a system for the kids.

When a kid arrived they got a 32 oz Nalgene water bottle.  They were instructed to carry it everywhere. After an activity we’d tell the kids to drink their water bottles dry before moving on. We had multiple hydration stations to tank up. I think we even put ice in. Anyway we had kids who weighed 60 to 80 pounds drinking about a gallon a day. I probably drank more. Mid summer my parents stopped by and where amazed by the heat and how it barely bothered me. So I checked the weather. It was 105 degrees for basically the entire week. I had not even noticed it being hotter then normal.

Now I was in my mid 20s but I think there is hope. Drink, drink and drink some more. Find clothes that work. And learn to pace yourself and just get out there until you adjust. I think yo you’ll adapt eventually. I have been using some caffeine laced lemonade packs and they seem to give a bit of kick when I feel lazy.

Now the funny flip side is I’ve adapted to Alaska (started at age 33 I think). Kids here whine about the heat when it hits the 70s. They don’t mind cold till its sub zero. In the summer its rarely below 45 (21 hour days remember). So I adapt to mild weather. Usually in late August or early September we get a cold snap. That first 20 degree morning always feels super cold even with a puffy jacket. By mid winter 20 degrees feels quite warm and I’d probably just wear a fleece unless I was out for a long time.

I think there is some hope, you might just need to experiment.  At 36 I’m maintaining roughly the same pace I did in my 20s but I do work smarter.

Have you considered hiking with an umbrella for shade? I never did but you never know.

Did you come across this article when googling? It might have some info/pointers that could help.

I’m not keen on the heat, and I now live in the subtropics in Oz! I don’t usually hike in summer, shoulder season along the coast is OK with sea breezes. If I’m training my secret is a Camelbak with the bladder contents largely frozen, just topped up with a bit of water before I leave. That gives me ice water for a couple of hours – refreshing, hydrating, and a great morale booster. I’d suggest avoiding the hottest part of the day, try early mornings or late afternoons, and highly recommend an umbrella if there’s no shade. Try a highly breathable shirt (cotton) and avoid polyester or nylon hiking shirts which don’t let any breeze through. Good luck!

I live in an area where we commonly have temperature shifts that can vary by 30-50° from day to day, and humidity that varies from 5-100% in the same amount of time.  Yesterday morning it was 22° and snowing at my house; today it’ll be in the low 50’s, and it’s clear and dry. By July it’ll be 95° with a humidity level to match, with dry upper-40’s nights thrown in here and there just to make you miserable…so I get where you’re coming from on the grueling path to adaptation.  My personal experience is this: stay hydrated, keep moving, and rest as often as is needed.  You will adapt; you’re biologically designed to do so…just don’t ask too much of yourself at any given time.  Sun-shading clothing/hats certainly work, and making sure that you don’t stay too long in severely air-conditioned areas will help as well; that always makes me feel exhausted in the summer.

Also, f*** that guy who said “it’s too late” for the altitude adaptation.

I unexpectedly did 24 miles and ±4000ft in 90+* temps last july. I was fine, my partner almost suffered a bad case of electrolyte depletion and ended up at urgent care for a check out.

1. I had on a long sleeve, bright white, paper thin (but still UPF 40+) shirt. He had on a tank top. (I love Reel Legends Reel-Tec long sleeve white shirts. Its better than wearing nothing!)

2. I had refrigerated my 5L of water over night and it was still cool through the heat of the day. He had room temp water

3. I had on a wide, full brim, light colored sun hat. He had a medium shade baseball cap

I think those 3 things make a world of difference. The cold water goes a loooong way to cool your core from the inside when its hot AF out.

My wife hates hiking in intense sun (which is all we get for 7 months a year in SoCal) so I think im going to get a Zpacks umbrella https://zpacks.com/products/lotus-umbrella I imagine just keeping the infra red solar load off you would take 10-20 degrees off the perceived temp as well.

Just for clarification, is it the heat that is unbearable or the heat and humidity?  I ask because I am fine with hot and dry, warm to hot with humidity take a lot out of me.

As with much else you must train and condition for heat.

Focusing on water, electrolytes, clothes etc matters but what’s far more important is to systematically condition your body by gradually training in the heat. It does not happen overnight – heat adaptation takes time and patience. Each summer you might have to start slow and build up gradually.

Get used to getting older! Just know that our bodies are remarkably adaptable and can be trained for a range of conditions. You have to work at it.

Note: If you have tried to heat adapt without much success, it might be a good idea to seek out a medical opinion to rule out any underlying condition that might be the cause.

Don’t give up! As Pedestrian mentioned above, you can train for the heat, but it takes some time and effort. I live in a desert area and summer temps here frequently top out over 100F daily. As the temps warm up each Spring, and all through summer hiking season, I purposely expose myself to hot weather as much as possible. I actually treat heat exposure as an exercise, and like exercise, it works if you’re consistent about it. Also, like exercise, as you age, it may take longer to get in shape. But, once you’re in shape you’ll really appreciate the effort you put forth.
However, even heat adapted, I still think hiking in triple digit heat sucks, so I do a few more things to make the heat more tolerable:
– I cover up. I hate sunscreen anyway, so I wear long pants and shirts, giant sunhat, and sun gloves. I find the sun hitting my skin makes me hotter than wearing clothes.
– I use an umbrella. They work.
– On day hikes, I bring along a container of cold water, sometimes just to pour over my head, or down my shirt.
– This is something I do all the time anyway, but breathing only through the nose can help greatly with staying hydrated, which relates to staying cool.
– Speaking of hydration, don’t overdo it. I have a few times and it can make you feel as bad as being really dehydrated. Assuming I’m well hydrated, I will often skip drinking my water and just wet my hat or clothes with it.
– Slow down. It makes a big difference in being able to control body heat.
– Hike early. During summer I’m usually on the trail before sunrise, so I can at least have a couple of hours of fairly pleasant hiking.
– I shed a few pounds. I’ve never had a weight problem, but after doing some research on heat adaptation and body mass, I decided to get really lean, and it made a difference. Here’s one article – https://www2.palomar.edu/anthro/adapt/adapt_2.htm
I hope some of this helps.

https://www.outsideonline.com/2420838/cold-exercise-adaptation-research

They mention that you can adapt to heat

“It’s well known that repeated exposure to heat triggers a series of physiological changes like enhanced sweating and increased blood plasma volume that make us better at dealing with hot conditions. ”

but you can’t beneficially adapt to cold.  When they talk about cold, they’re just talking about skin temperature.  You do adapt to cold, but it just changes your perception of cold.  Your cold hands quit bothering you, but that can be a bad thing – you’re more likely to not be warned that you should protect your hands from frostbite.  Also, there are changes short of frostbite that can cause permanent damage.

personally, after a few hot trips I think I can tolerate heat more

and after a few cold trips, I think I don’t need as much insulation to stay warm

but make sure that your hands and feet don’t get cold, as in numb.

but you can’t beneficially adapt to cold.
I would not be so sure about that. We do notice some adaptation each year as the winter wears on. Ditto of course for the summer heat.

Cheers

Logically, we have to possess some ability to adapt to cold; if we can seasonally adapt to heat, then that adaptation implies not only an existing adaptation for not-heat, but a seasonal reset that requires a periodic re-adaptation.  This means that in some way, we’re adapting to cold as well as heat; it may not be extreme cold, but it’s still an adaptation.  I think the question, here, is rather one of “to what temperature limits can we commonly adapt?”

In that article, they looked at whether your skin adapts to cold

What they concluded, was that you adapt, but it’s a bad thing

You just don’t feel the cold as much, but then you’ll let your hands and feet get colder and get frost bit.  Or you can do long term damage short of frost bite.

Yeah, I agree, it seems like after experiencing cold, I can be comfortable at a lower temperature with the same insulation

Just make sure you don’t let your hands and feet get too cold