Heat Exhaustion

Unless you were stopping every hour or two to pee, my guess is that you were suffering from dehydration. I once collapsed and ended up in the hospital for a night for the same reason. I’d been in Europe, got a stomach bug, but was mainly recovered when I got on the airplane home.  Once home, i decided I really needed some exercise and fresh air, and went for a fifty-ish mile bike ride on a warm summer day.

Six hours later, I got up in the middle of the night and passed out.

The ER doc was a part-timer. He’s just returned from a stint with a major pro cycling team. HE listened to me, took one look at my test results, and gave me a couple liters of IV and a couple of hours to absorb it and sent me home.  We even went for a couple of rides later that year.

If you aren’t peeing, you are dehyrated. Urination is your body’s way of getting rid of excess fluids. If you don’t have excess fluids, you should.

I urinated twice, small amounts in the nearly 12 hours.  It’s kind of blurry. I felt like I was drinking enough but prob. not.

How humid was it? It sounds like your sweat wasn’t evaporating fast enough to keep you cool. A towel may have helped.

Weather app said around 70%, but the ground was damp from thunderstorms previous night. Felt much worse than that near the ground. I was disappointed in my OR Echo shirt-which normally excels in heat, with the sweat and moisture it felt like it stopped breathing well.

Anyone else ever feel like this?

Yep, exactly like that…and I was about 9,000′ feet up, on the Easton Glacier, and it wasn’t hot.

Long story short: diagnosis per a physician the day after was severe heat exhaustion that was rapidly accelerating towards something worse.  It was about 80° at the base of hill that day, and I don’t even need to describe my symptoms because you already did: an easy climb was impossible and I was just folding up, no matter what I did.  I was well-hydrated at the time, but something – possibly a latent respiratory virus that showed up about 72 hours later – caused my heat control to go haywire, and there was no stopping it.  I literally don’t remember the descent back to the trailhead, or most of that night; my first clear memories were deciding to go to the doctor the next morning.  I never would’ve guessed it to be hear exhaustion, but as the doctor told me: it’s not as much about the ambient heat as it is your body being able to handle the ambient heat…and mine just couldn’t, for whatever reason.  We still don’t know exactly what caused it, but apparently there doesn’t have to be any smoking-gun cause: it can just happen.  So, yeah, I feel you…and it f***ing sucks.  Don’t let it get to you, though: it was just your turn to have a bad day on the hill.

I do tend to up the electrolytes on humid days. Emergen-c and Pedialyte. No alcohol or surgery soft drinks to block your pores.

Kind of generic advice from AI.

AI Overview

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Humidity exhaustion occurs when high humidity prevents sweat from evaporating, making it hard for the body to cool down and potentially leading to heat exhaustion or heatstroke. Symptoms include excessive sweating, thirst, dizziness, and muscle cramps. To prevent it, stay in cool, air-conditioned spaces, drink plenty of fluids, and avoid strenuous activity during the hottest, most humid parts of the day.
What is humidity exhaustion?
It’s a form of heat-related illness where the body’s natural cooling mechanism – sweating – becomes ineffective.
High humidity in the air prevents sweat from evaporating off the skin, which is essential for removing heat and cooling the body.
This leads to the body working harder to stay cool, increasing the risk of overheating and leading to symptoms of heat exhaustion.
Symptoms of Humidity Exhaustion
heavy sweating, thirst, fatigue, muscle cramps, dizziness, nausea, and headache.
How to Prevent Humidity Exhaustion
Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water and electrolyte-rich sports drinks to replenish lost fluids and salts.
Seek cool environments: Stay in air-conditioned rooms or find shady spots to avoid direct sun.
Limit activity: Plan vigorous physical activity for cooler parts of the day.
Wear appropriate clothing: Choose light, loose-fitting clothes that allow for sweat evaporation.
Be cautious with certain medications: Some medications can increase the risk of heat-related illnesses.
What to do if you experience symptoms
Move to a cool, shaded, or air-conditioned area immediately.
Drink fluids if you are conscious.
Loosen or remove clothing.
Seek medical attention if symptoms are severe or do not improve.

I thought one could overcome the heat with enough water and electrolytes but I was mistaken.

When humidity is low enough that your sweat evaporates enough to cool you (like in a desert), then that can work.

When humidity is high, it can be extremely difficult to stay cool above about 90F. Walking slowly, stopping often, seeking shade and/or using a sun umbrella are your best defenses.

Sometimes a buff, shirt, or hat dipped in water can provide extra cooling, but I find that most effective in weather in which it is unnecessary (because sweat works, as in a desert).

I was drinking 1L/5 miles or so

However, that’s nowhere near enough water for me. I would double that or more.

Thanks for the replies. The overheating seems spot on. Drinking warm water as the bottles heat up in the pockets surely doesn’t help. After 1.5 hour home with the A/C blasting, I was still sweating.

I have only bailed on hikes a few times, one bad altitude sickness, once weather and this time. Feels bad bailing, like I am letting myself down, which is silly I know.

These days, it doesn’t take much for me to feel as bad as you described when in the heat and/or high elevation. Especially on day one of a trip. But I try to stick it out. Set up the tent, relax,  regroup, and rehydrate overnight, and my attitude is always good again in the morning.

I contemplated that. The finite amount of water with thought of rationing it until the next day along with my bad attitude pushed me to bail. If the water source was closer to my camp-not possible in this trip-It might have swayed me to stay.

If you don’t have to turn back once in awhile, you’re not hiking hard enough. Taking care of yourself is rule number one in any survival situation. Days like that there isn’t much you can do. Sometimes trying to tough it out is nothing but suicide. Embrace the wisdom from lessons learned. You didn’t let yourself down. You’re tougher than you were yesterday. Smarter too and best of all still breathing.

If you don’t have to turn back once in awhile, you’re not hiking hard enough. I love that. Yes,  I try to learn a lesson from each experience so it’s not wasted. I still beat myself up over things like this for some reason.

That’s a good point, being far from water would probably affect my decision also. I’m rarely in that situation.

That sounds exactly like Heat Exhaustion which I’ve experienced once in the heat of Bryce Canyon (and had it called out to me by my companion) and dealt with it many times on the trail while leading trips and with the guy I did most of my trips with 40 years ago.  The conditions were ripe for it and key to me was,

“I was irritated, slightly confused and in a fog.”

I first notice HE in a companion or coworker not by the rapid pulse or pale complexion but by their changed mental state.  A normally cheerful person is grumpy, a smart person dumb, while attention, memory and decision making are poor.  A normally talkative person may get quiet and withdrawn (making it harder to notice their confusion and irritation).  At which point, I spin them around to look at their face (which is pale) and check their pulse (which is rapid).

They have, over time, been exerting themselves beyond their ability to cool due to some combination of slope, pack weight, clothing (e.g. wearing PPE at a toxic waste site), solar input, air temps, and humidity.  You need to change whatever you can about that – slow the pace, stop going uphill, get them out of the sun and into the breeze, apply water externally and keep flipping wet clothes / bandanas over so the outer cooler side is rotated back against their skin.

Precautions include a sunbrella (I feel 10-15F cooler underneath one), a siesta in the heat of the afternoon like more advanced cultures have adopted, more hydration (like multiple liters!) – especially if you haven’t peed for two hours or it was minimal volume and/or dark in color.  If there is a stream around, get your ankles and wrists into the flowing water.

I vaguely remember that in a situation like this you can drink too much water, which will then make things worse

Normally, if you’re drinking too much water your pee will be clear, but in this case that can be confusing – pee still dark so you drink more water which makes it worse

Maybe someone knows something about this

I vaguely remember this was more like for running a marathon when it’s hot

David, I have seen your suggestion of a “sunbrella” on other threads. Is that a specific product? Or is it short for “sun umbrella”?

You can sweat too much and concentrate your urine.  From a layman’s viewpoint, dehydration can cause your poop to melt.

Sounds like good advice flipping the wet cloth. Like flipping a hot pillow at night. I’d often carry a bottle of frozen water. I’d have to time it so I didn’t end up with ice and no water. The canteens of old had cloth covers for cooling purposes. Keep a dry shirt hanging from your pack. Change often. Cotton is good. Tech fabric is better. Take notes on the wind. Much of the desert in southern California had a 1 o’clock breeze. I knew if I made it past noon, I was good. Don’t start midday. Start early and work into the heat. Don’t start in the heat. When it’s hot with high humidity, sit it out. Save it for another day.

Bill: I use “sunbrella” as a generic term for the lightweight, slivered umbrellas designed for blocking sunlight/UV and in this context, the ones sold for backpackers.  Compared to rain umbrellas, they’re lighter with a shorter handle (when deployed).  None fold up really small like some cheap compact rain umbrellas do with a many-part telescoping shaft, but they aren’t as fragile as those either.

The GoLite “Chrome Dome” was my first such sun umbrella 20 years ago and was around 12 ounces.

The last one I got (so I could have one in the car I keep in the L48 and not travel back and forth with it) was Gossamer Gear’s Lightrek, $43, 5.8 ounces, 37.5″ diameter.

There’s also Six Moon Designs Base Silver Shadow – 8.9 OZ, 37″ diameter, $50 which on Amazon would have free shipping.

As I’m in the process of booking flights for the Camino in Spain next year, I just ordered an off-brand, 7-ounce compact slivered umbrella for $18 on Amazon.  I’ll assess it for wind resistance at home, but it would be nice to not have such a long item in my checked bags – I usually pack it in a mailing tube for protection when flying.

I’m often in a 100% nylon long-sleeve, button down fishing shirt.  It has stood up to decades of abuse, has pit and should-blade vents, two big cargo chest pockets, and epaulets on the shoulders that are handy for hands-free umbrella use.  I run the shaft through an epaulet and place the handle of the shaft in one of the cargo pockets.  It doesn’t work for all sun positions, and switchbacks require moving it from shoulder to shoulder, but I’m often able to be hands free.

Beyond the 3-foot-ish diameter backpacking ones, there are golf UV umbrellas that range from 4 feet to almost 6 feet in diameter.  It would have to be a calm day in the mountains to have that much sail area deployed and they’re heavier, but if you were car camping in Colorado or on a Mexican beach without a cabana, might be just the thing.

I vaguely remember that in a situation like this you can drink too much water, which will then make things worse

You’re probably thinking of hyponatremia: it’s salt deprivation due to over-hydration.  You don’t see it often, but it does happen in certain situations: the “tank up beforehand” crowd is most at risk, and long-distance events in hot weather are the most likely environments.

Mexican beach without a cabana

But I have a Tecate.😁

HMG beach umbrella.

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“You’re probably thinking of hyponatremia: it’s salt deprivation due to over-hydration.  You don’t see it often, but it does happen in certain situations: the “tank up beforehand” crowd is most at risk, and long-distance events in hot weather are the most likely environments.”

yeah, that’s what I was thinking.

that could be coupled with heat exhaustion?

“Feels bad bailing, like I am letting myself down, which is silly I know.”

My interpretation of this feeling, from cutting short a solo backpacking trip:

You’re beating yourself up because you’ve been acculturated to believe you must finish what you start because of some inherent moral code, that if you change your plans you’re a “quitter,” that if you do not follow through and “prove yourself” you’re not really a man. It’s that diseased puritanical culture we are all still living with in the west, inherited from our forbears who burned witches at the stake and other noble endeavors; why do we still hang onto what they believed? It’s something to ponder then flush away with the rest of the cultural waste we use to feel guilty and judge others and break down social bonds, creating righteous winners and deserved losers who are voted off the island. Consider it at least, letting all that crap go. You won’t miss it when you do.

In 2007, a Sacramento radio station held a “Hold your wee for a Wii” contest in which 18 people drank as much water as they could without peeing.  A young mother, attempting to win a gaming console for her kids, drank two gallons of water in 3 hours, came in second, won a pair of concert tickets, went home in terrible pain, and died a few hours later of hyponatremia in which low sodium levels cause the brain to swell and push against the skull. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, weakness and, in severe cases like that, seizures, coma and death.

Her widowed husband won $16.5M from the parent company.  Multiple people including a nurse had called in to warm the DJs of the risks and were ignored.